It was a game virtually nobody gave this group a chance to win. But utilizing the same game plan that worked last spring in the conference-clinching win over Mt. Zion proved to be successful again. In that contest, Effingham controlled the ball nearly 75 percent of the game and ran more than twice the number of plays.

Friday night was like déjà vu.

The Hearts ran 63 total plays, compared to just 37 for the Braves and had the ball for nearly 28 of the 48 minutes.

“We knew we had to control the ball,” Hefner noted. “My fear was they’d get a couple big plays early, we’d get down a couple scores and have to play catch-up rather than follow our game plan. But we didn’t have to do that and that was huge.”

In fact, it was the Hearts that broke out to the quick and early lead.

The Braves had difficulty hanging onto the football at the beginning. Three fumbles on their opening two possessions prevented their high-powered offense from getting unleashed and resulted in a pair of punts.

And from the outset, it was obvious what the EHS game plan was going to be – run it, run it, then run it some more.

The first drive started at the Hearts 45. Keegan Baker and John Westendorf started banging ahead on the Mt. Zion defense. There were two key pass completions – a 9-yard strike to Caden Walls and a five-yarder to Armando Estrada – that resulted in first downs. Then on the ninth play – and on fourth down – Westendorf broke loose up the middle for a 14-yard scoring run that put the Hearts on top 7-0.

The next possession started at their own 18. This time it was an impressive 13-play drive that took 5:46 off the clock. Westendorf was the workhorse, carrying the ball eight times for 35 yards. There was also a facemask penalty against Mt. Zion that helped and a key 20-yard completion from quarterback Tanner Pontious to Evan Waymoth – again on fourth down – that kept the drive alive.

Westendorf capped it with an eight-yard TD run that increased the Effingham lead to 14-0 at the 10:19 mark of the second period and had the large crowd a bit stunned.

But on the Braves next three possessions, they showed why they were the heavily favored team and why Coach Hefner was worried.

Taking over at their own 18, and following a procedure penalty, it took the hosts just one play to find the end zone. Quarterback Tyson Evans completed a short screen pass to the dynamic Christian Keyhea. He caught the ball at the line of scrimmage, broke to the outside and raced untouched 87 yards for the score. That drive took 16 seconds.

After holding Effingham to a three-and-out, the Braves went to work again – this time starting at their own 2-yard line. Evans connected with Keyhea for 21 yards and Ethan Hamrick for 58 more. This drive took about 3½ minutes and culminated with a seven-yard scamper around the end by Keyhea to tie the score.

The Hearts did get a first down on their next possession, but a fourth down pass on a fake punt turned the ball over to Mt. Zion at its own 47 with 2:19 left in the first half.

Even after being called for an offensive pass interference, which backed them up 15 yards, it still took the Braves just two plays and 36 seconds to score yet again. The Evans-to-Keyhea combination clicked for 33 yards and running back Adam Lutz then broke a couple tackles and rambled 34 yards for the touchdown that sent the Braves to the locker room with a 21-14 lead.

“We knew coming in they had an explosive offense,” Hefner admitted. “You can’t take away everything and No. 6 (Keyhea) is really good. They do a good job moving him around, so it’s hard to get a handle on him. They are a tough team to stop.”

Probably the Hearts most important possession of the game was the one opening the third quarter. And they responded.

Baker and Westendorf continued to run hard, Pontious connected on three short passes – two to Waymoth and another to Estrada – and the Braves were flagged for another facemask penalty. The Hearts took nearly five minutes off the clock and capped the first of back-to-back 11-play drives with a three-yard burst from Westendorf to tie the game.

The Braves, however, had a response of their own, putting together a seven-play, 80-yard march. A 46-yard scoring strike from Evans to Chiren Petty put the Braves on top, but the extra point was missed, leaving the score at 27-21.

The Hearts took advantage of that. Baker and Westendorf continued to wear down the Mt. Zion defense. Westendorf had runs of 10 and 11 yards on the drive, Pontious had a big three-yard gain on another fourth down call, and another penalty on the Braves – this time for pass interference – put EHS in scoring position.

Westendorf capped the 11-play, 4-½ minute drive with his fourth TD of the game, a nine-yard bolt up the middle. When Estrada booted his fourth extra point of the contest, the Hearts had the slim one-point lead with 11:26 left.

“For us to maintain the ball control, we needed the guys up front to control things – and they did,” Hefner noted. “They’ve been playing better the last few weeks and really responded tonight. They did an excellent job against a big, tough line.”

The Braves responded yet again with what appeared to be another long touchdown pass to Petty. But Max Nelson came from behind to strip the ball and knock it loose and teammate Connor Simmons recovered it at the EHS 12.

“That was another example of never giving up,” Hefner explained. “Max got beat on that play and could have just given up and let the kid score. But he didn’t. He got back into the play, knocked the ball loose and prevented the touchdown. That’s the kind of effort we got from our kids the entire game.”

This time, the Mt. Zion defense prevented Effingham from mounting a drive and forced a short punt. The Braves took over at the Hearts 34 and appeared headed for a game-clinching score. Runs of nine, six and five yards by Evans, plus a short four-yard run by Keyhea, moved the ball to the EHS five, setting up the field goal attempt that resulted in the double doink.

Three runs by Westendorf resulted in a first down and the celebration was on. Mt. Zion was out of timeouts and couldn’t stop the clock.

“This has turned into a good, healthy rivalry,” Hefner noted. “Both teams are always going to play hard. There is a ton of respect for each other, both from the players and the coaches. You could see that when the teams got together and shook hands after the game. It’s just a very good rivalry.”

The Braves ran just 37 offensive plays, but racked up 426 yards – an eye-popping 11.5 yards per play. Evans completed 7-of-10 passes for 296 of those yards. Keyhea had four catches for 144 yards.

The Hearts ran 63 plays and finished with 294 total yards. They ran the ball 49 times for 219 yards. Westendorf carried it 31 times for 139 yards, while Baker racked up another 66 yards on 14 carries.

“John is getting better each week, too,” Hefner noted. “He has a good feel for the game, is patient and has a good tempo. Plus, he’s got a real strong lower half that makes him a tough runner. But he’ll be the first one to tell you the guys up front made the difference tonight. They were awfully good.”

Effingham is now 3-3 overall and 3-2 in the Apollo Conference.

The Hearts will return home next week to face a much-improved Lincoln team on Homecoming Night.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Jack Klosterman Field.