“He’s done a good job. That program is better now,” Hefner noted. “They will be fundamentally sound, very physical and well-coached.”

Charleston started its season with three straight victories – 34-0 over Rantoul; 25-18 over Paris; and 45-34 over Jerseyville. But Mahomet-Seymour returned a kickoff and punt for touchdowns, plus recovered two onside kicks – all early in the game – to break out to a quick and dominating lead that resulted in the mercy clock being turned on before halftime.

“Don’t let that fool you,” Hefner said. “They had some things happen early that turned that game. But I guarantee they will come in here and compete hard.”

The Trojans are averaging 333 yards of offense a game – 207 on the ground; 126 through the air.

“They are a run-first, tailback-oriented attack,” Hefner explained. “You have to be prepared to stop the run first with them. But they like to utilize a quick passing game, too. They are as good as anyone we’ve seen when it comes to that.”

Senior quarterback Luke Bonnstetter has completed 54% of his passes, connecting on 38-of-71 attempts for 502 yards. He has thrown three touchdowns and two interceptions.

They have used three running backs. Senior tailback Ben Coffey is the workhorse, carrying the ball 50 times for 225 yards so far. Senior Marcellx Boling is the fullback. He has rushed it 35 times for 265 yards and four TDs. Sophomore Treylin Couch has also seen action at tailback and has averaged 15 yards a carry. He has run the ball 19 times for 286 yards and five TDs.

Bonnstetter likes to spread his passes around. Wide receivers Braxton Hanner, Chase Clough and Mason Redfern have caught, 9, 8 and 7 passes respectively, for a total of 361 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, the Trojans use a 4-4 scheme. Coffey is averaging 11 tackles and has already recorded seven tackles for a loss from his linebacker position.

“They do a good job of keeping the ball in front of them,” Hefner said. “They force you to earn your yardage.”

The Hearts have proven to be effective running the ball, averaging 267 yards a game. Senior Weldon Dunston IV is one of the top runners in the state. He has carried the ball 109 times already and amassed 891 yards on the ground. That’s an average of 27 carries and 223 yards.

Junior quarterbacks Jaxon Bridges and Max Buzzard have combined to complete 58% of their throws, connecting on 29-of-52 attempts for 393 yards and one TD. Bridges, who is more of a passer, has accounted for most of that, completing 23-of-38 attempts for 311 yards. Maxx Kistler has hauled in 11 of those passes for 131 yards, including a 45-yard scoring strike last week.

Offensively, the Hearts had 462 total yards against Mattoon. Dunston ran for 287 yards and scored five touchdowns. He now has 15 TDs on the season. And the quarterbacks had just one incompletion, going 7-for-8. Neither Bridges nor Buzzard have thrown an interception.

“For the most part, I thought our offense was pretty efficient last week,” Hefner noted. “I thought the guys up front did a good job blocking and protecting the passers. I thought both quarterbacks played well. We met every goal we set for the game. It’s been a while since we’ve done that.”

The EHS defense continues to be a work in progress. After giving up too many explosive plays, Hefner switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 scheme last week. That resulted in removing one player from the defensive line to add more coverage in the secondary.

“And we saw what can happen when you do that,” Hefner said. “You can give up a whole bunch of rushing yards (EHS allowed 304 to Mattoon). So, there were some parts of the change we liked. And some parts we didn’t. We’re still trying to figure out what works best for this group.”

Friday night will also be the end of Homecoming Week.

“There’s a lot of distractions this week,” he said. “During the years we’ve had a really experienced team, I didn’t worry as much. The guys had been through it and learned how to manage those distractions. It creates a change in the normal routine, plus we lose some practice time. It’s never been one of my favorite weeks.”

And for the fourth time in five weeks, rain is in the forecast. Hopefully, it will somehow miss Jack Klosterman Field, along with the lightning that resulted in a one-hour delay last week.

Kickoff at Washington Savings Bank Stadium is set for 7 p.m.