Over the final three quarters, Johnson only gained 23 more yards on 15 additional attempts.
For the game, the Hearts limited Mattoon to just 137 total yards. Gunnar Franklin and Parker Wolfe hauled in second-half interceptions, Shawn Cochran recovered a fumble and the defensive front harassed quarterback Jackson Spurgeon most the game.
It was clear the Green Wave hoped to use a ball control attack against EHS. But a couple of holding penalties stalled drives that crossed the midfield stripe and two sacks were also key plays, including one that stopped a drive at the EHS 32.
“They really slowed the game down,” Hefner noted. “They wanted to limit the number of possessions in the game. It was a good game plan.”
The Hearts first offensive possession was a 3-and-out. But after seeing what the Green Wave wanted to do on defense, Hefner opened things up a bit when Effingham got the ball back.
“They came at us with five down linemen rather than four,” the veteran coach explained. “Plus, they were committed to doubling up their coverage on Tristin (Duncan). But when you take something away, you usually open up other opportunities.”
So Hefner went to the shot gun formation and put Wolfe in the slot. That produced immediate results.
Quarterback Nate Thompson found Wolfe three times on that possession, covering 24, 20 and 20 yards. The final completion capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive that put the Hearts on top to stay. Beau Hefner’s first of four extra points made it 7-0 at the 11:17 mark of the second period.
“If teams want to double team Tristin, they certainly can,” Hefner said. “But fortunately for us, we’ve got guys like Parker, Holden (Lewis) and others that can make plays for us.”
The Hearts added to their lead before the halftime. Three running plays by Chase Woomer produced one first down and then the Thompson-to-Wolfe connection struck again. Thompson fired a strike to Wolfe over the middle for a 29-yard gain that gave EHS a first down at the Mattoon seven. On the very next play, Woomer barreled into the end zone to increase the lead to 14-0.
After Cochran recovered a fumble midway through the third period, the Effingham offense responded with a strong 13-play scoring drive. This time, Trevor Donsbach was the workhorse. He carried the ball 11 times, moving the ball inside the Green Wave 10. A couple penalties moved the ball back, but Mattoon was called for a personal foul, setting a first and goal once again.
On the 13th play, Thompson lofted a pass toward Lewis in the corner of the end zone. A Mattoon defender deflected it a bit, but not enough to prevent the senior receiver from hauling it in from nine yards out and increasing the Hearts lead to 21-0 with just four seconds to play in the third period.
Effingham’s final score came with 3:47 left in the game. The Hearts had driven the ball from their own 20. Junior Keegan Baker once again showed the team’s depth at running back, carrying it six times for 46 yards. On the eighth play of the drive, Lewis got behind the Mattoon defenders and hauled in a 44-yard pass from Thompson to account for the final points.
“We had been setting up that play up the whole game,” Hefner noted. “We ran one play a few times, and each time, Holden would go out and block. In fact, we had just run it the previous play. So then we ran the pass play, which looked just like the same play before, but this time Holden faked the block and broke free in the secondary.”
The Hearts finished with 323 offensive yards and turned in their most balanced attack yet. They ran for 169 yards and passed for 154 more. Donsbach led the team with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries, while Baker picked up 46 yards and Woomer, before sustaining an injury in the first half, ran for 44.
Thompson continued to show improvement at quarterback. He completed 11-of-19 attempts for 154 yards, with one interception and three touchdowns. Wolfe hauled in four of those passes for a career-high 93 yards and Lewis had three catches for 53.
“We knew it would take a little time with Nate. These are his first three varsity games,” Hefner said. “But he was better last week, had a good week of practice and showed improvement again tonight. He’s playing with much more confidence.”
The Hearts improved to 3-0 on the season. Mt. Zion was 2-0 ahead of its game with Taylorville Saturday night. Effingham will return home next Friday and face the Tornadoes.
