Given new life, the Braves proceeded to finish off the drive, relying on their terrific running back Sage Davis. The 225-pound strong, speedy senior broke loose on consecutive runs of 32 and 15 yards, the latter resulting in the score with only 2:03 left in the contest.

Davis had a remarkable game. He carried the ball 21 times, averaged nearly 12 yards per carry and finished with 249 yards and three touchdowns.

“We knew No. 22 could run,” Hefner admitted. “He’s a load to bring down. When he gets a full head of steam, watch out. You’re going to be in trouble.”

And he got a full head of steam going in the first half that put Effingham in a big hole.

His first big run capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive on Mt. Zion’s opening possession of the game. Davis broke loose for a 22-yard romp that put the Braves on top 7-0.

The Hearts responded late in the opening quarter. A 21-yard pass completion to Jett Gillum and a defensive holding penalty against Mt. Zion put EHS in good scoring position. Quarterback Nate Shackelford, who also turned in an outstanding performance, capped the 8-play, 72-yard drive by avoiding the rush, getting loose around the corner and racing 20 yards for the tying touchdown.

But the rest of the first half belonged to the Braves.

And they put those weapons Coach Hefner referred on display.

After the Effingham TD, Mt. Zion’s next two possessions consisted of two plays and a total of 23 seconds. The first was an 82-yard scoring strike to Christian Keyhea and the second was a perfectly thrown pass to tight end Drew London over the middle, who hauled it in and out-ran the EHS secondary for a 76-yard scoring play. That put the Braves on top 21-7 at the 10:24 mark of the second period.

Late in the first half, the hosts made it a three-touchdown margin by striking quickly again. Taking over at their own 32, the Braves needed just two plays and 59 seconds to find the end zone. And it was Davis that struck again, bolting up the middle and running untouched for 58 yards.

The Hearts looked like they would cut into that margin before intermission, driving inside the Mt. Zion 20. But Shackelford had a pass picked off near the end zone that stopped the drive.

“We simply got out-toughed in that first half,” Hefner said. “It took us a while to adjust to their speed and physicality. There was a shock factor involved.

“We didn’t make any adjustments at halftime,” Hefner added. “We just knew we had to play better. I was proud of how the kids responded. They just kept playing and came back in that second half. We were one 3rd-and-11 play away from getting the ball back and having a chance to tie the game.”

The Hearts defense did play better in the third quarter, but their offense continued to sputter, punting the ball on each of their first three possessions. But late in that period, the EHS defense forced Davis to fumble the ball and Jacob Stoneburner recovered at the Mt. Zion 32.

A 19-yard pass to Cam Kalber was a key play and Shackelford capped the drive with a nine-yard run to close the gap to 28-14.

The Braves responded with pass plays of 20 and 29 yards, setting up a 39-yard field goal by Jonathan Oliger, but the Hearts just kept pushing. On their ensuing possession, Shackelford had runs of 16 and 22 yards and then connected with Gillum, who turned a short pass into a 32-yard scoring play that made it 31-20.

After stopping Mt. Zion, Effingham immediately got into scoring position agin when Shackelford found Tristin Duncan for a 60-yard pass play that moved the ball inside the Braves 10. The Hearts weren’t able to reach the end zone, but Angel’s field goal made it a one possession contest.

The Braves finished with 562 offensive yards, the most, by far, against the EHS defense this season. The Hearts first seven opponents averaged 200 yards per game. Mt. Zion had 286 yards on the ground and another 276 through the air.

The Hearts finished with 428 yards on offense. They ran for 164 and Shackelford threw for 264 more, completing 14-of-28 attempts with one touchdown and one interception. The senior QB also ran for 73 yards, a total that would have been much high had it not been for being sacked six times for minus-27 yards – three of those by Davis, who is also a defensive end for the Braves.

“That was the bad thing for Nate,” Hefner said. “He was running for his life most of the game. He didn’t have much time to do anything. We had some protection issues.”

The Hearts are now 7-1 overall and finished 5-1 in the Apollo Conference. They will end their regular season at home Friday night against Freeburg. The Midgets will enter the game with a 4-4 record after dropping a 20-14 decision to Salem.

It will also be Senior Night at Effingham.

“I’m not worried about our kids being ready to play. It will be Senior Night and that’s a game they will want to play well,” Hefner noted. “I am worried about our overall health. We’ve never been this banged up since I’ve been here.”

Despite the loss, there is still much to play for.

“This loss is not the end of the world,” Hefner emphasized. “We have a chance to get to 8-1 and secure a home game in the playoffs. This is still a fun time of the year.”