On the third snap of the game, junior quarterback Tanner Pontious was sacked for the first of three times. He was also also stripped of the ball and St. Teresa recovered at the three yard line. One play later, running back Christion Harper was in the end zone for the quick 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Hearts fumbled again, this time giving the Bulldogs possession at the 26. Denim Cook, St. Teresa’s 5’10”, 225-pound running back carried the ball five of six plays and covered the final five yards to increase the host’s lead to 14-0 just a little over four minutes into the contest.

The Hearts ran a total of 11 plays on their first three offensive possessions and gained only 18 total yards.

On the fourth and fifth possession, they started incorporating their power running game, utilizing junior running back John Westendorf and Pontious. They mounted a pair of promising drives, getting inside the Bulldogs 30 both times. But costly holding penalties caused both drives to stall.

“You just can’t give away possessions,” Hefner emphasized. “In most varsity football games, the margin of error is very slim. We gave away possessions and we gave away yardage on sacks and penalties. We’re just not at a point right now where we can make up for that.”

St. Teresa, however, was unstoppable early. After the first two scores, the Bulldogs tacked on two more touchdowns before the first quarter horn sounded. They put together a 4-play scoring drive, with Cook rambling 23 yards for the TD; and followed that up with a six-play drive that culminated with a 21-yard scoring strike from sophomore QB Joe Brummer to wide receiver Zakhi Hayes to give the home team a 28-0 cushion just 12 minutes into the game.

STHS tacked on another score in the second period when Brummer found Tre Spence behind the Effingham secondary for a 40-yard scoring strike that gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 35-0 advantage at intermission.

“It’s hard to simulate that kind of speed and talent in practice,” Hefner admitted. “Plus, we were breaking in 10 new people on defense. But we kept playing and kept competing.”

In the second half, the Hearts looked much better on both sides of the ball.

In St. Teresa’s first two possessions of the second half, the EHS defense forced a pair of 3-and-outs.

And once again, the Effingham offense was able to move the ball, reaching the STHS 28 before being stopped. The Hearts next possession didn’t stall.

Westendorf gained five yards and Pontious then raced 11 more for a first down. Pontious found Caden Walls for a nine-yard gain and then on 4th-and-11, the junior QB delivered his best pass of the night, stepping up into the pocket and zipping a strike to Dalton Fox, who had gotten open over the middle. Fox then broke a tackle and raced the remaining 25 yards into the end zone. All total, the play covered 42 yards and put the Hearts on the scoreboard.

Effingham had another great scoring opportunity on its next possession. Starting at midfield, Westendorf carried the ball six times for 23 yards, Pontious added a 14-yard scramble and also connected with Walls for a 10-yard gain to give the Hearts a first down at the eight yard line.

But two running plays gained zero yards, a pass play gained just one and on fourth down what would have been a touchdown pass was dropped in the end zone, turning the ball over to the Bulldogs.

St. Teresa then responded with its only successful possession of the second half. The Bulldogs put together a 14-play, 92-yard drive that accounted for the final score. Back-up quarterback Cayden Wilkins had three big completions, starting with a 45-yard strike to Brycen Hendrix. The drive culminated with a 29-yard pass to Hayes with just 3:08 remaining in the contest.

For the game, the Bulldogs had 335 total offensive yards – 153 yards rushing and another 182 through the air. Cook ran the ball 15 times for 96 yards and the QB combination of Brummer and Wilkins completed 10-of-19 passes.

The Hearts ran more plays – 59 compared to 48 – and finished with 244 offensive yards. They ran for 169, with Westendorf gaining 95 on 20 carries. Pontious completed 5-of-9 passes for 75 yards.

“There are positives from this game,” Hefner noted. “These kids taeg coaching well and there was no laying down tonight. I saw improvement as the game went on.

“The biggest improvement is always from Week 1 to Week 2,” Hefner added. “But things don’t get any easier next week.”

After playing the state’s No. 1 team in Class 2A, the Hearts will face Mahomet-Seymour, the Apollo Conference favorite and a Class 5A school next week.

It will be the home opener at Jack Klosterman Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.