Wide receiver turned emergency quarterback Malique Pearse took the snap, avoided one EHS rusher, rolled to his right and launched a desperation pass. Somehow, Blake Ladage got behind the Effingham secondary and went up high to snag the ball in the back of the end zone for the touchdown.
Starting quarterback Baron Odam then returned to the field and fired a strike to Clark Durbin for the two-point conversion.
A large throng of Effingham fans that had made the 61-mile drive were left stunned. A group that was ready to erupt just seconds earlier had to watch the celebration unfold on the other side of the field. The agony of defeat was setting in.
The scoreboard said it all – Taylorville 42; Effingham 41.
“I liked how our guys competed and kept playing tonight,” EHS coach Brett Hefner said. “But moral victories don’t get you anything. At the end of the day, we made too many mistakes and didn’t take capitalize of the opportunities we had. You just can’t do that.”
The Hearts, who found themselves trailing by a touchdown on four different occasions, battled back to tie the score late in the game and then went ahead after the first possession in overtime.
A third down, seven-yard completion from Jaxon Bridges to Weldon Dunston IV got the ball to the one. Dunston then bulled his way across the goal line and Maicol Sefton booted the extra point to give the Hearts a 41-34 lead.
On that extra point, Odam was injured when trying to block the kick. He was helped off the field, forcing Pearse to take the snaps.
A first down run was stopped for no gain, a reverse on second down resulted in a 10-yard loss and the third down pass was incomplete. But Pearse’s fourth-down “Hail Mary” was hauled in, setting the stage for Taylorville’s game-winning two-point conversion.
“It was 4th and 20. You just can’t let anybody get behind you in the end zone,” Hefner noted. “We didn’t get pressure on the quarterback, so he had time to throw. And then their guy got behind us. Just can’t happen.”
It brought an end to a game the Hearts dominated in many ways. They ran 68 plays, combined to just 49 for the hosts. EHS racked up 408 offensive yards and limited Taylorville to just 255 – and 157 of those came on just four plays.
But as Coach Hefner pointed out, there were just too many mistakes.
After turning the ball over only once in the first five contests, the Hearts were guilty of three turnovers in the first half. The first fumble set up Taylorville’s first touchdown and the interception was turned into a pick-six midway through the second period.
In the second half, the Hearts had a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty and a field goal attempt thwarted due to a low snap that eluded the holder. Then on the potential game-winning extra point, another bad snap – this time very high – threw off the timing and the kick sailed right of the goal post resulting in a tie at the end of regulation.
“We did a lot of things well tonight,” Hefner admitted. “We scored 41 points. But we were still a couple plays from winning. You just can’t make the number of mistakes we made tonight and beat a good football team. It just won’t happen.”
The Hearts jumped out to a 7-0 lead. On the just the fourth play, an Odam pass was deflected and then intercepted by Hunter Holland, giving EHS possession at the Taylorville 42. A third down completion to Maxx Kistler of 15 yards kept the drive going. On the ninth play from the 15-yard line, Bridges connected with Wade Bushur, who broke a tackle and lunged across the goal line for the score.
The Tornadoes came right back. Owen Younker returned the ensuing kickoff 44 yards to midfield. From there, they put together a nine-play drive, culminating with an eight-yard scoring pass from Odam to Spencer Brown.
At that point, the turnovers took over. EHS put the ball on the ground after four plays and Taylorville responded with a six-play, 43-yard scoring drive. The big play was a 31-yard strike from Odam to Pearse that set up Odams’ one-yard plunge to put the home team on top, 14-7.
Effingham did come back and tie the game. On the fourth play, Dunston took the handoff, shredded one tackler and broke free, racing 75 yards down the middle of the field for the tying score.
After forcing a punt, the Hearts had good field position at the Tornadoes 48. But on the second play, Cash Foraker picked off a Max Buzzard pass and raced 56 yards for the score.
Even though Effingham fumbled the ball away again on its next possession, it still managed to knot the score by halftime. An 18-yard completion from Bridges to Dunston got the Hearts close and Dunston covered the final four yards to make it 21-21 at intermission.
“I thought we were fortunate to be tied at halftime with the mistakes we made,” Hefner said. “You see what happens when you give away possessions.”
The Hearts had a great chance to take the lead late in the third period. A nine-play drive that included a 44-yard run by quarterback Max Buzzard moved the ball to the THS 15. Dunston then broke loose for what appeared to be a touchdown run, but it was nullified due to the holding penalty.
A few plays later, Effingham attempted a field goal try. But the snap never got off the ground and rolled past the holder, giving Taylorville possession at its own 35.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Odam faked a handoff to the running back, broke to the outside and ran untouched 36 yards for the score.
But as would be the case from that point on, the Hearts responded. They put together a 10-play, 62-yard drive, highlighted by a 33-yard pass from Bridges to Hayden Wendling. Dunston bulled his way from one-yard out to tie the game.
Then back came Taylorville. On its third play, Odam threw a short pass to Pearse at the line scrimmage. Pearse then eluded a couple tackles and sprinted 70 yards for the score.
And then it was Effingham’s turn again. Taking possession at the 6:26 mark, the Hearts went on an impressive 12-play drive that was aided by two face mask penalties against the Tornadoes. On the 12th play – a fourth down call – it was Dunston that once again ran it in from one-yard out with only 1:35 to play.
Unfortunately, the snap on the ensuing extra point was very high. The result was a potential game-winning kick that was wide right – the only missed extra point of the game for Effingham.
The Tornadoes did return the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to the EHS 32. But a pair of quarterback sacks by Michael Love and Max Flack prevented Taylorville from doing any damage and forced the overtime period.
The Tornadoes finished with 161 yards through the air and 94 on the ground. Odam was 7-for-18 and Pearse finished with four catches for 110 yards.
The Hearts did well both on the ground and through the air. Bridges was 11-for-15 for 129 yards. He connected with five different receivers.
Dunston was the workhorse once again. The senior tailback carried the ball 44 times and picked up 210 yards – the fourth time this season he has topped the 200-yard plateau. He also scored five touchdowns. Dunston has now run for 1,367 yards in six games and has 24 TDs.
“There were some good things tonight, but we still gave up too many explosive plays and made too many mistakes,” Hefner said. “We don’t have the margin for error this year to overcome those things.
“More games are actually lost than won,” Hefner said. “That was probably the case tonight.”
The Hearts are now 4-2 overall and dropped to 2-1 in the Apollo. They will return home to face Mahomet-Seymour next week. The Bulldogs are also 4-2 overall and stand 3-0 in league play after defeating Mt. Zion 38-14 Friday night.
Kickoff at Washington Saving Bank Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
