Friday night’s non-conference matchup will feature a pair of teams going in different directions. While the Hearts are the midst of a three-game skid after starting the season 4-1, Centralia is riding high, having won four of its past five games, and averaging nearly 42 points in those four victories.

“They’ve been playing very well,” Hefner noted. “We expected this. They had a lot of good people coming back. They’re playing a lot of seniors who are bigger, stronger and better this year. This will be a tough test for us.”

Centralia has wins over Salem, Granite City, Carbondale, Marion and Mt. Vernon. They have cracked the 40-point plateau in four of those wins. The Orphans have been defeated by Collinsville, Waterloo and Cahokia. Their three losses have been by a total of 14 points, including a two-point setback to Collinsville and one-point loss to Waterloo. Overall, Centralia has outscored its opponents 271-159.

Offensively, the Orphans have proven capable of moving the ball both on the ground and in the air.

“We have seen their game films from Mt. Vernon and Cahokia,” Hefner said. “Against Mt. Vernon, they lined up and ran the ball. Against Cahokia, they spread out four receivers and threw it. So, we have to prepare for a little bit of everything.”

The Centralia offense is led by freshman quarterback Archie Goewey. He’s already 6’2” and 210 pounds.

“He’s the coach’s son,” Hefner said. “He can run the ball and throws the ball very well. He manages the game well and makes good decisions.”

The Orphans’ running game is led by junior Mike Brown. They also have a quartet of good receivers – freshman Kenny Bratton, junior KyMariyon Bratton and senior Xavier Koch; and sophomore tight end Micheal Organ.

A year ago, Effingham amassed 594 offensive yards and came away with a 61-34 win at Centralia. In that game, however, Koch hauled in eight passes for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Orphans racked up 427 yards of their own.

Hefner describes Centralia’s offensive and defensive lines as being “big and athletic.” The offensive line averages 264 pounds and includes a 330-pound tackle. The defensive line includes a 320-pounder and averages 280 pounds. And none of those linemen play both ways.

“They’re big up front,” Hefner said. “They have several returning starters on defense – three lineman, two linebackers and two secondary players. They’ll be big and athletic on both sides of the ball.”

The Orphans were big last year, as well. The Hearts will be hoping to have the same type of success offensively they had a year ago. Weldon Dunston IV had a huge game, racking up 307 yards on 38 carries and scoring six touchdowns.

But Effingham will have to perform better on offense than it has the past two weeks. Against Mahomet-Seymour and Mt. Zion, the Hearts had a total of 288 yards and failed to score either game.

“You can’t give up big plays on defense and then not block well on offense and expect to be successful,” Hefner noted. “If you don’t block people, it’s going to be tough to do much in either the run game or the passing game. We’ve seen that the last two weeks. We didn’t even threaten to score in either game.”

The Hearts will be playing without three starters on their offensive line – tight end Colton Webb, guard Landon Wallace and tackle Rylan Pals – all out due to injury. Pals suffered an ankle injury in last week’s 28-0 setback at Mt. Zion. Defensive back Hayden Wendling sustained a knee injury last week and is also out.

Effingham needs to get its running game back in gear. Through six games, the Hearts were averaging 275 yards on the ground, with Dunston gaining 229 a game. They were limited to just 22 against Mahomet-Seymour and 108 against Mt. Zion.

The Hearts have their proverbial backs against the wall. It’s win or go home. You can insert any of the sports cliches you wish.

But a victory produces a winning season and a trip to the coveted playoffs.

“There are a whole lot of teams playing in Week 9 that would like to have the opportunity we do, but don’t,” Hefner said. “Now it’s up to us. We control whether or not we play again next week.”

Kickoff at Jack Klosterman Field will be at 7 p.m.