Like last year, the 2019 team enters with question marks. Gone are 12 seniors, including six all-conference players, a record-setting quarterback and the team’s leader on both sides of the ball.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate seasons like last year,” said Brett Hefner, who will enter his fifth season as the EHS head coach and sports a 25-16 overall mark. “Not very many people had any expectations for us, which made that season even more enjoyable. And I think it’s something we can build off of going into this year.”
Since this is year No. 5, Hefner’s system is the only one these players know.
“And that is real benefit,” he admitted. “The carryover is nice. Our starting point each year just increases. The verbiage, the way we do things; the kids know all that. They could probably run practices darn near by themselves, which is how you want it.”
Yes, there are some holes to fill. But the cupboard is far from bare.
The Hearts return a combination of starters and kids that played quite a bit on offense and eight starters return to a defensive unit that just got better and better a year ago.
Hefner, like every year, expects to feature a balanced offensive attack. Gone are quarterback Landon Wolfe, who broke virtually every school record for passing, and threw for 2,172 yards and 26 touchdowns; and Kendall Ballman, an all-Apollo player and the team’s leading rusher with 1,249 yards.
Also missing are three starting offensive linemen – Matthew Hites, Reese Evans and Jason Bowlin. Both Bowlin and Hites were all-conference selections.
But there is still plenty of experience to build this year’s offense around.
Up front, guard Justin Baker and tackle Ethan Huss return as starters. Stetson Green will be the center, Marcus Hites the other guard and Nathan Barnes will play tackle. Baker, Green and Hites are seniors, while Huss and Barnes are juniors. Baker is just 215 pound and Hites is a 240-pounder, while the other three weigh in at 280, 290 and 315.
“I like having good size in the line,” Hefner admitted. “These kids have had an outstanding off-season in the weight room. They’ve added some extra size, but they still move pretty well.”
Tight end is a position of strength for the Hearts. Jacob Briggerman (junior) and Kollin Waymoth (senior) have good hands and can also block well. They combined for 17 catches and 207 yards a year ago.
“Jacob and Kollin can both catch the ball and block,” Hefner said. “They give us additional weapons.”
Junior Tristin Duncan, the team’s leading receiver and a second team all-league pick, give the Hearts a legitimate deep threat. The speedster caught 33 passes for 815 yards, an average of nearly 25 yards per reception. And he missed several games due to an injury.
Senior Cameron Kalber, who had 23 catches for 216 yards, also returns and juniors Holden Lewis and Parker Wolfe will also see playing time at the wide receiver position.
“Tristin emerged as quite a threat last year,” Hefner said. “But I really expected that. He almost got a chance to play his freshman year. He has some real talent, but teams will have a game plan to try to contain him. So it’s important that we develop other threats this year.”
Leading the rushing game will be senior Logan Brown. He was a key part of last year’s offense and racked up 724 yards on 152 carries. Junior Chase Woomer and sophomore Keegan Baker will also see action at running back, while senior Jett Gillum will switch from tight end to fullback. Gillum caught eight passes for 86 yards a year ago.
“We’re moving Jett to fullback, but you might still see him in some groupings at tight end,” Hefner said. “In fact, Jett probably has more offensive sets to learn than anyone. Football has become a personnel game. Jeff allows us to have different groupings on the field without bringing different personnel into the game.”
Senior Nate Shackelford will be the quarterback. He played QB sparingly during his sophomore season, but was a wide receiver a year ago, catching 17 passes for 271 yards. He is very athletic and brings speed to the quarterback position.
“He’s certainly a dual threat,” Hefner explained. “He grew up playing quarterback. But he was too good of an athlete not to get him on the field last year. He did a very good job for us at wide receiver, but quarterback is his natural position. This should be a smooth transition for him.”
And it will allow Hefner to add a new wrinkle to the offense.
“Two years ago we had Terrence and last year we were able to throw the ball consistently,” Hefner said. “This year, we’re going to the next evolution by adding a designed quarterback running game. It will give defenses something else to prepare for.”
Hefner noted some similarities between Shackelford and Wolfe.
“Both know the offense really well; both know where the ball should go; and both are tremendous competitors that want to win,” the coach said. “But Landon had 33 games at quarterback and Nate hasn’t started any; and nothing compares to game reps.
“But Nate has varsity experience and understands the speed of the game. That won’t be a surprise to him.”
Defensively, the Hearts will utilize a 4-2-5 format.
Key losses from last year are Ballman – the heart and soul of the team -- at free safety, Gage Franklin at linebacker and Kaleb Kihne at defensive end. All three were named all-conference.
But eight other starters return and Hefner is high on this group.
“They showed a lot of growth last year and I’m hoping they pick up right where they left off,” he said. “It may take our offense a couple games to settle in, so our defense may need to carry a little more of the load early. But if they play the way they’re capable of, that will be fine.”
Three starters return to the defensive line – senior defensive end Austin Herboth, an all-conference selection, and defensive tackles (junior) Alex Baughman and (senior) Hayvin Prather. Senior Dawson Whitten will be the other defensive end.
Senior Mason Hasty returns as a starting linebacker and will be joined by junior Jacob Stoneburner will move from fullback.
The defensive secondary is a very experienced group. Seniors Logan Brown and Logan Arend will return as starting safeties, along with newcomer, junior Jakob Logan. Parker Wolfe will be one of the cornerbacks, while senior Luke Spencer and junior Gunnar Franklin will share responsibilities at the other cornerback spot.
“Defense should be a real strength of our team this year,” Hefner said. “I’m looking forward to watching these kids play together.”
On special teams, Whitten will be the punter; Ivan Angel and Beau Hefner will share kicking duties; while Spencer will be the long snapper and Wolfe the holder.
The Hearts face a tough schedule. Six of their opponents qualified for the playoffs in 2018. EHS will have four games at home and five on the road,
They will open Friday at Breese Mater Dei and then celebrate their home opener September 6 against Lincoln*, a team with 19 seniors and one that Hefner believes could be a “sleeper” in the conference.
The remaining schedule is Sept. 13 at Jerseyville; Sept. 20 at home against *Mahomet-Seymour; Sept. 27 at *Charleston; Oct. 4 at home vs. *Mattoon; Oct. 11 at *Taylorville; Oct. 18 at *Mt. Zion; and Oct. 25 at home against Freeburg (* denotes Apollo Conference games).
“The conference will be very competitive again,” Hefner said. “Both us and Mt. Zion return quite a few kids. Mahomet has a new coach that likes to run the spread and go no-huddle. Plus, Taylorville is always good and Mattoon and Charleston also have quite a few kids coming back. So it will be tough every night.”
Effingham is 11-1 in conference play the previous two seasons.
When asked about goals, Hefner said they are the same every year – win the conference championship, make the playoffs and advance as far as possible.
“I’ve been real pleased with what I’ve seen from the kids at practice,” the veteran coach noted. “We certainly have some potential. But there will be kids seeing their first real varsity action. How quickly will they be able to adjust to the speed of the game? That’s always the No. 1 thing when the season begins.”
And that season kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday night at Breese Mater Dei.
Go Hearts!
