The Cougars are part of the Cahokia Conference. Columbia was the league champion at 9-0, followed by Salem at 7-2 and Breese Central at 5-4. Other members of the conference include Freeburg, Red Bud, Trenton Wesclin and Carlyle.
“They play in a good conference,” Hefner said. “Traditionally, it’s a physical league. Other than Columbia, who goes no-huddle and runs a spread offense, the other teams are pretty much run first.”
The Cougars five wins came against Freeburg (14-11), Carlyle (38-0), Red Bud (21-20), Trenton Wesclin and Herrin, while their losses were to Wood River (24-20), Salem (27-6), Breese Mater Dei (35-14) and Columbia (56-18).
“We don’t know a ton about Breese Central, but we’ve been watching film,” Hefner noted. “I imagine they are similar to Breese Mater Dei. They’ll be big, strong and have some skilled kids that are very athletic. They will also play hard and be very well coached.”
The Cougars will enter the contest averaging 22 points a game on both sides of the ball, having scored 199 and given up 200 during the regular season.
The Hearts, on the other hand, have a much different margin. They have scored 351 points, an average of 39 per game, while allowing 147 total points or 16 a game.
Breese Central averages 319 offensive yards per contest and features a balanced attack. They run for 165 yards and pass for another 154.
Effingham gains 396 yards per game and that would have been higher had it not been for a couple games with a continually running clock throughout the second half. The Hearts average 182 rushing yards and 213 passing yards each game.
The Breese Central offense is led by junior quarterback Kyle Athmer. He has completed 53 percent of his passes, connecting on 87-of-165 attempts for 1,192 yards. He has thrown for 13 touchdowns with just one interception. Junior Shane Becker is Athmer’s favorite receiver, hauling in 32 catches for 594 yards and five TDs.
The ground attack is led by senior running back Tyler Huegen. He averages 119 yards a game. Huegen has carried the ball 173 times for 1,070 yards and has scored 11 times. He has cracked the 100-yard plateau five times this season.
Nate Shackelford directs the EHS offensive attack. The senior quarterback has had a fantastic season, piling up 2,346 all-purpose yards. He has completed 111-of-168 pass attempts, an eye-popping 66 percent completion rate. He has thrown for 1,921 yards and 24 touchdowns, while only being picked off six times.
Shackelford, a true dual threat QB, has also run for 425 yards and six more touchdowns.
He has a talented group of receivers to throw to. His favorite target, junior speedster Tristin Duncan, has also had a phenomenal season. He has hauled in 53 receptions for 1,094 yards and 10 TDs. He is the school record holder for catches in a season and receiving yards in a career.
Jett Gillum has 24 receptions for another 349 yards and 6 touchdowns. Holden Lewis, Parker Wolfe, Cam Kalber, Jacob Briggerman and Kollin Waymoth are also important parts of the passing attack.
Junior Chase Woomer has emerged as the leading rusher after senior Logan Brown suffered an ankle injury early in the season. Woomer has three 100-yard games to his credit and has gained 693 total yards and scored 11 touchdowns.
On defense, the Hearts have recorded 18 quarterback sacks and intercepted 15 passes. Breese Central has 6 sacks and 5 picks.
So the stage is set for the opening-round game.
“The No. 1 thing for us this week is to get as healthy as we can before Saturday,” Coach Hefner emphasized. “It’s important we find that balance this week of still getting our work in, but also staying fresh. You want to go into games like this with all your guys. These kids have been going since August. They’ve put their bodies through a lot the last 13 weeks.
“And we still need to stress fundamentals,” Hefner added. “It will still come down to blocking, tackling and not turning the ball over.”
