“The Mt. Zion game is a great example,” said Hefner, who is beginning his seventh year at the helm of the EHS program. “We need to keep the ball away from them. The biggest question right now is whether we can do that or not. I guess we’re going to find out.
“We’ve got 10 new starters on defense,” Hefner added. “With that many new guys, tackling and adjusting to the speed of a varsity game will be keys. We’ve tried to simulate game speed in practice, but it’s just not the same.
“And St. Teresa has some quality players. We don’t want St. Teresa to have the ball any more than necessary. Ball control will be another key.”
The Bulldogs figure to be explosive on offense. Senior running back Denim Cook is terrific. He’s 5’10”, weighs 225 pounds and has breakaway speed. Christion Harper is another good running back. Hefner expects junior Joe Brummer to be the quarterback and noted that Brycen Hendrix is their best receiver.
“They’re athletic; athletic and fast,” Hefner noted. “They are very good at running back and the skilled positions. They have a lot of explosive plays, especially out of the backfield. Their running backs generate a lot of their offense, but they can also push the ball downfield with the pass.
“They’re going to be very talented and very well coached,” the EHS coach added. “They’re similar to us in that people have a pretty good idea of what they’re going to try to do. It comes down to will we be able to stop them?”
Hefner has some familiarity with St. Teresa coach Mark Ramsey. Hefner’s first coaching position came at Central A&M where Ramsey was the head coach for 20 years. Hefner was an assistant coach there for three years (1995-1997 seasons).
Ramsey is now in his 34th season and sports a 300-112 overall record. With one more victory, he will become the sixth all-time winningest coach in Illinois high school football.
“I enjoyed working with him,” Hefner said. “Mark is very detailed, very organized, very disciplined and very calm. He can be stern when he needs to, but he’s an even-keel kind of guy.
“I remember when he used to run the old Wing T offense,” Hefner added. “But now he’s transformed into a spread guy. So, he’s not afraid to change.”
Effingham will have a total of 16 new starters this year,
“If you’re having success every year like we have, you probably have a lot of upperclassmen, which means you’re going to lose a high number of players,” Hefner said. “But the kids we have this year are pretty good and now they get their turn to play.
“You can’t practice forever,” Hefner added. “It’s time to kick it off, play a game and see where you’re at.”
