Hearts are No. 3 seed in Class 4A playoffs; will open at home Saturday against Breese Central

The Effingham Hearts gathered for a team photo Saturday night following the IHSA Selection Show for the 2019 high school football players. EHS will open play in Class 4A at home Saturday against Breese Central. ET Sports Report photo by Steve Raymond.

And none of those pairings had a greater effect than they did on Class 4A. For example, two of the top-ranked 4A teams throughout the season – Mt. Zion and Rochester – both ended up in the Class 5A bracket. Rochester will be the smallest school in that class, with an enrollment of 770, and Mt. Zion isn’t much bigger at 779.

Taylorville, with an enrollment of 769, barely squeezed into the Class 4A field, giving the Apollo Conference three representatives in this year’s playoffs.

“It’s tough because there are bubble teams every year,” Hefner explained. “And depending on how some of the games turn out that final week, you never know where some teams will end up. There’s always that chance they can slide up or down a bracket.”

The IHSA selects 32 teams for each of the eight classes. The pairings were announced Saturday night. The Effingham Hearts football team, along with the coaches, parents and members of the media, met at Heartland Dental to see just which teams secured a playoff spot, along with who they would be playing.

Here is the schedule for the Southern Bracket:

No. 16 Taylorville (5-4) vs. No. 1 Chillicothe (IVC) (9-0); No. 9 Murphysboro (7-2) vs. No. 8 Bethalto Civic Memorial (7-2); No. 13 Clinton (6-3) vs. No. 4 Tolono Unity (8-1); No. 12 Kankakee McNamara (6-3) vs. No. 5 Paris (8-1); No. 15 Roxanna (5-4) vs. No. 2 Columbia (9-0); No. 10 Fairbury Prairie Central (7-2) vs. No. 7 Olney (7-2); No. 14 Breese Central (5-4) vs. No. 3 Effingham (8-1); No. 11 Salem (7-2) vs. No. 6 Benton (8-1).

The winner of the Effingham-Breese Central game will face the winner of the Salem-Benton contest.

Here is the schedule for the Northern Bracket in Class 4A:

No. 16 Chicago Phoenix (3-4) vs. No. 1 Coal City (9-0); No. 9 Chicago Agricultural Science (6-2) vs. No. 8 Kewanee (6-3); No. 13 Chicago Clark (5-3) vs. No. 4 Wheaton St. Francis (8-1); No. 12 North Chicago (5-4) vs. No. 5 Genoa-Kingston (8-1); No. 15 Chicago Urban Prep (4-5) vs. No. 2 Richmond-Burton (9-0); No. 19 Manteno (5-4) vs. No. 7 Marengo (7-2); No. 14 Chicago Sullivan (5-3) vs. No. 3 Elmhurst Immaculate Conception (8-1); No. 11 Dixon (5-4) vs. No. 6 Stillman Valley (8-1).

“Most people think one of four teams – Coal City, Immaculate Conception, Richmond-Burton or St. Francis – could come out of the North,” Hefner said. “But, overall, I think the North is pretty wide open, too. There are some really good teams in that bracket.”

The Hearts will be making their third straight playoff appearance and opening at home for the second time in that span.

“We really like playing at home. It lets the kids stay in their normal routine,” Hefner explained.

Like the players, he, too was pleased with the draw.

“Since there doesn’t appear to be a dominant team in the Southern Bracket, I imagine every coach was pleased with the draw,” he said. “But now we need to go out and play. This is a great time of year for the kids. This is exactly where we want to be.”