Five running plays later, Chase Woomer found the end zone from two yards out and the Hearts were on top to stay, 7-0.

Mahomet’s next three possessions ended with an interception, punt and a lost fumble, allowing EHS to begin drives at the 35, 36 and 32 yard lines. Each one ended with a touchdown.

The second possession was set up by Jakob Logan’s first of two interceptions. It took four plays and 90 seconds for the Hearts to light up the scoreboard again. Receptions by Tristan Duncan and Kollin Waymoth moved the ball inside the 10 and Woomer capped the short drive with another two-yard run.

A 27-yard punt then set up Effingham at the Bulldogs’ 36. Quarterback Nate Shackelford ran for 18 yards, found Jett Gillum for a 14-yard reception and then connected with Jacob Briggerman for a 7-yard scoring strike. With 1:14 still remaining in the opening period, the Hearts had a commanding 21-0 lead.

“We were able to get out of the gate quick,” said EHS coach Brett Hefner. “Our defense played well, and offensively, we’re executing at pretty high level right now.”

And before the first 12 minutes had expired, Parker Wolfe recovered a fumble, giving the Hearts the ball at the visitors 32-yard line. On the fifth play, Shackelford found Gillum for a five-yard TD pass and it was 28-0.

The Bulldogs scored their only touchdown on their ensuing possession. Quarterback Braden Finch completed a 41-yard pass and then scored on a one-yard sneak.

But Effingham responded. Shackelford connected with Gillum for 27 yards and then scampered 22 yards for a touchdown to send the Hearts to the locker room with a 35-7 lead at intermission.

“I was a little concerned before the game,” Hefner noted. “We knew Logan (Brown) would be out with an ankle injury, but then on Thursday, Ethan Huss got hurt at school. He was just standing up and his knee locked up on him. We don’t have a ton of depth on the line, so that meant we either had new kids playing or moving kids to positions they don’t normally play. But we’re fortunate to have kids that can step in and do the job; they understand what we’re doing.”

Even without Brown, the team’s leading rusher, and Huss, who anchors the defensive line, the Hearts had no trouble with the Bulldogs. And after just two possessions in the third quarter, the lead surpassed 40 points, the mercy rule kicked in and the clock ran continually.

Effingham came out throwing the ball in the third period. Shackelford connected with Duncan for 11, Jacob Stoneburner for 13 and Waymoth for 28 yards. The senior QB then capped the seven-play, 66-yard drive when he avoided a rush, broke a tackle and raced 15 yards for the score.

Following another fake punt that gave the Hearts the ball at the 10 (another head-scratcher), it took just one play for Keegan Baker to cover those yards and make it 49-7 with 7:47 to play in the third period.

Effingham’s defense was strong throughout. The Hearts limited Mahomet-Seymour to 189 total yards and only 23 on the ground. EHS forced five turnovers that included four interceptions -- Logan had two, while Stoneburner and Trevon Benavides each had one – and also recorded quarterback sacks by Mason Hasty and Dawson Whitten.

“Our pass defense was good,” Hefner said. “The kids work hard and listen to the game plan. We’re seeing them make more and more plays every game.”

Offensively, Shackelford accounted for 308 of the team’s 375 total yards. He ran for 69 and completed 17-of-22 passes for 239 more. He threw for two scores and ran for two more.

“Shack is also playing at a high level and he’s just going to keep getting better,” Hefner said. “The fact that he can make plays with his feet is a bonus. It really helps to have his ability to keep plays alive.”

Duncan set a new school record. He hauled in eight passes for 107 yards and is now the career leader in receiving yards for Effingham High School. He broke the record set 50 years ago by Steve Klosterman and Duncan, just a junior, still has a season and a half to play.

The Hearts, who improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Apollo Conference, will travel to Charleston next Friday night for another league game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.