But before the Hearts could think about Taylorville and Mt. Zion, they had to get past Mattoon. And after the first 12 minutes, the large crowd at Jack Klosterman Field knew the game was well in hand.

The EHS defense set the tone on the very first series, limiting Mattoon to three plays and a punt, a trend that continued throughout the first half.

And offensively, the Hearts couldn’t be stopped. What a difference a week made.

After turning the ball over six times last week at Charleston, committing eight penalties and making multiple mistakes, Effingham came out crisp and efficient Friday night and it started on the first possession.

Chase Woomer was on his way to a 136-yard performance on the ground and quarterback Nate Shackelford showed his pinpoint passing accuracy, completing all four of his passes, including a 13-yard touchdown strike to Jett Gillum, putting the Hearts on top to stay, 7-0, just seven minutes into the contest.

But that was just the first of three first-quarter scores and six touchdowns in the opening half.

“Our focus was much better tonight,” Hefner admitted. “It makes a big difference when you don’t turn the ball over. We have a lot of weapons.”

And they were all on display – on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, Effingham totally dominated the Green Wave, who dipped to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the league. Six of their nine possessions in the opening 24 minutes resulted in three plays and a punt. One ended with a fumble and another on a failed fourth down run. Mattoon did have a 47-yard pass play in the opening half, but that drive stalled at the Hearts 39.

Meanwhile, the EHS offense was virtually unstoppable.

The second possession was a one-play scoring drive. Shackelford found speedy wide receiver Tristin Duncan open behind the Mattoon secondary for a 40-yard TD. The third drive appeared headed for pay dirt again, but a problem with the handoff between Shackelford and Woomer resulted in a lost fumble inside the Green Wave 20.

But that proved to be just a momentary lapse for Effingham’s potent attack. Woomer, who compiled 91 of his rushing yards in the opening quarter, scored the first of his three TDs with only five seconds left to send the Hearts into the second period with an already comfortable 21-0 advantage.

A series of big plays highlighted the Hearts next possession. Shackelford had completions of 40 yards to Duncan and 13 to Jacob Briggerman and Woomer broke loose for a 22-yard scamper and then covered the final 12 yards for the touchdown.

Before the half was over, Woomer added a four-yard scoring run and Shackelford notched his third TD pass, hitting Holden Lewis for a nine-yard score, sending the Hearts to the locker room with a commanding 42-0 lead and a continuously running clock throughout the second half.

The Hearts racked up 321 offensive yards in that opening half, while limiting Mattoon to just 45. With the running clock, there were just a few possessions in the second half. The Green Wave finished with only 95 offensive yards. That included minus-47 on the ground, thanks to seven quarterback sacks by the EHS defense, including three by Austin Herboth.

“Our defense is playing pretty well,” Hefner noted. “We’re not huge up front, but we’ve got athletic guys that can really run. Seven sacks is great. Mattoon has an athletic quarterback, but we weren’t going to let them dictate things offensively.”

Effingham finished with a balanced offensive attack, racking up 179 yards on the ground and another 149 through the air. Shackelford completed 10-of-16 attempts with no interceptions and three TDs. Duncan hauled in four of those passes for 92 yards.

For Woomer, who has started at running since Logan Brown injured an ankle three weeks ago, it was his second straight game cracking the 100-yard plateau after running for 134 yards last week against Charleston.

“Chase hasn’t played much running back before this year,” Hefner explained. “He’s just going to keep getting better the more reps he gets. There’s an art to finishing runs and he’s learning.”

And Hefner was pleased to have his three injured starters back on the field – Logan Brown on defense, plus Ethan Huss (knee) and Stetson Green (hand) on the offensive line.

“There’s a comfort factor for everybody to have these kids back,” Hefner said. “Big E, Stetson and Logan are important to this team. It was definitely nice to have all the Army back tonight. Everybody will be able to enjoy Homecoming.”

The Hearts, who are ranked in the top 10 in Class 4A, improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the league, as they eye a date with Taylorville next week. The Tornados are now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in league play after suffering a 31-14 setback Friday night to Mt. Zion, leaving the Hearts and Braves as the only two unbeaten teams in the Apollo Conference.

“It was great to see how our kids bounced back, especially after how we played last week,” Hefner said. “Tonight’s game was huge. It sets up a very important game for us next week.”

Kickoff in Taylorville will be at 7 p.m.