In fact, the tone was set on the game’s first play. Taylorville threw a backward pass that resulted in a fumble and was recovered by Effingham’s Mason Hasty at the Tornados 17 yard line. The Hearts appeared to score on the second play when Jett Gillum hauled in a short pass and powered his way into the end zone. But a holding call nullified the TD and the drive stalled.

But after forcing Taylorville to punt on its next possession, the Hearts went to work. The four-play, 56-yard drive was helped by a pass interference call and culminated with a 19-yard scamper by quarterback Nate Shackelford to put the Hearts up 7-0 less than five minutes into the game.

But it was just the first of three scores in the opening period.

Taylorville appeared headed for a tying TD on its ensuing possession, but the EHS defense stiffened and stopped the drive at the seven yard line. The Hearts then proceeded to put together an impressive 93-yard drive.

Junior running back Chase Woomer had runs of 12 and 26 yards, while Gillum had a 16-yard reception and Shackelford then found Cam Kalber behind the Taylorville secondary for a 31-yard scoring strike that made it 14-0.

Moments later, Logan Brown picked off a pass by Tornados quarterback Caden Mileham and returned it 19 yards to the THS 14. It took just two plays for the Hearts to find the end zone again, and again it was Shackelford that broke loose for an 11-yard scoring burst that made it a three-touchdown spread after only 11 minutes of play.

“That first quarter was huge,” Coach Hefner noted. “Jumping out to a 21-0 lead was great. It’s our guys. Each year we’ve been fortunate to have a group that just gets better and better as the season goes along.

“And our quarterback is pretty good,” the coach added. “When plays break down, we’ve got a quarterback that can make things happen. We’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays and Nate is one of them.”

Shackelford racked up 207 total yards in the game. He ran for 78 and threw for 129 more, completing 9-of-13 passes.

But that offense really stalled in the second period, gaining just 21 yards and getting only one first down. And an interception that deflected off Tristin Duncan’s hands into Camden Woodward’s hands set up Taylorville’s only score of the night.

Starting at the Hearts 13, the Tornados scored three plays later when Ethan Mileham broke open and hauled in a 13-yard reception for the TD with just 1:40 left in the first half.

It was 21-6 at intermission.

If the hosts had any thoughts of a comeback, they were thwarted quickly in the second half. It started with a 6-play, 61-yard drive that include a little bit of luck.

Shackelford broke free for a 19-yard run before getting hit and losing control of the ball. But it bounced straight up in the air and was hauled in by Duncan, who ran another 10 yards, giving the Hearts a first down. Woomer capped the drive with a 15-yard burst to make it 27-6.

Taylorville reached the Hearts 15 on its ensuing possession before being stopped and Effingham immediately responded with another long scoring drive, this time 11 plays and 85 yards.

Shackelford connected with Duncan for 14 yards and then found his speedy receiver down the sideline for a 38-yard gain. Woomer found the end zone again from one yard out to increase the margin to 34-6 heading into the final12 minutes.

Reserve running backs Keegan Baker and Trevor Donsbach continued Effingham’s punishing ground attack in the fourth period, combining for 84 yards. Donsbach had one run for 28 yards, while Baker had carries of 15 and 12 and scored twice to put the finishing touches on the 42-point blowout.

“Our kids really battled tonight,” Hefner said. “We’re banged up, but the effort we got from these kids was great. They were fighting their tails off. I’m proud of them.”

Defensively, the Tornados decided to double-team Duncan and try to contain Effingham’s passing game. So the Hearts responded by running the football 44 times and amassing 301 yards on the ground, which is their season high.

“If they were going to double Tristin, it left fewer people in the box, which meant we had to run the football,” Hefner explained. “It left them seven to defend the run. With the way our offensive line has been playing, I felt our chances were good at being able to run.”

Woomer led the way with his second straight 100-yard performance. He carried the ball 25 times for 129 yards.

“For Chase to handle the load while Logan has been recovering from an injury has been a big deal for us,” Hefner said. “I think Logan will be able to play offense next week, but Chase has done a heckuva job and just gets better and better each game.”

And on defense, the Hearts were very stingy. The Tornados finished with 204 total yards, but were limited to only 46 in the second half. EHS forced four turnovers – interceptions by Brown and Jakob Logan; and fumble recoveries by Hasty and Austin Herboth, the latter set up when Alex Baughman sacked the THS quarterback and jarred the ball loose.

So the stage is set for Friday night’s championship.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Hefner admitted. “Mt. Zion is really good. They have a lot of weapons. Plus, they were everybody’s pick to win the league. They will be playing at home and will be the heavy favorites. I imagine there will be a lot of people there. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.