Football

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

And now the fun begins.

It’s championship time.

The Effingham Flaming Hearts accomplished a lot with Friday night’s 42-0 romp over Mattoon on Homecoming Night.

The win clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season and kept the Hearts undefeated season intact.

And it made the next two games ultra-important. The Hearts will travel to Taylorville next Friday and then journey to Mt. Zion the following week with the Apollo Conference title squarely on the line.

“We hoped to get to this point,” EHS coach Brett Hefner said. “We knew Breese Mater Dei would be tough. But once we got that win, we felt we had a good chance to get to where we are now.

“This is why you do all the hard work,” Hefner added. “Winning these six games has given us a chance. You want to play in big games. And with everybody healthy, I’m proud to take our chances with this group of kids.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

In football, the combination of six turnovers, two dropped touchdown passes and eight penalties always results in a loss.

Well, almost always.

Effingham proved there can be an exception to that Friday night, overcoming a game full of mistakes to still emerge as a winner, finishing with a 35-14 victory at Charleston to remain undefeated and become playoff eligible.

But it was an ugly win.

Two plays into the game, EHS quarterback Nate Shackelford overthrew his receiver. Charleston’s Sam Schuette picked it off and returned it 29 yards to put the Trojans ahead 7-0 just 48 seconds into the game.

Throughout the first half, it was a struggle offensively for the Hearts. Two fumbles stopped drives, and untimely penalties stalled two other possessions.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

What started out as a shootout ended up a defensive struggle.

Effingham and Jerseyville combined to score four touchdowns in the opening quarter. But with the game on the line, the Hearts “D” stepped up.

Logan Brown and Jakob Logan both intercepted passes in the fourth quarter to help EHS secure a 34-28 road victory over the Panthers and stay unbeaten on the young season.

Jerseyville runs the triple option – the same type offense that Army and Navy uses. Very few teams utilize that style of attack, which makes it difficult for defenses to prepare for.

But after giving up 244 yards and four touchdowns in six possessions, the Hearts defense gave up virtually nothing – 25 yards and one first down -- over the final four possessions and 16 minutes of the contest.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Almost every time Effingham got the football Friday night, the goal line was in sight.

Six times, the Hearts started a possession inside midfield – and four of those were inside the 40.

Talk about a short field.

And like all good teams do, the Hearts took advantage.

They scored on all four drives of less than 40 yards, built a quick, early lead and rolled to a 49-7 victory over Mahomet-Seymour at Jack Klosterman Field.

There were a couple head-scratching decisions by the Bulldogs, beginning on their very first series. Facing a 4th and 21 from their own 10, they tried a fake punt, which didn’t come close to working and gave EHS the ball at the 19 yard line.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

With a senior-dominant team coming to Effingham Friday night, Coach Brett Hefner was a bit concerned.

He didn’t have to be.

The Lincoln Railers listed 19 seniors on their roster, but they were no match for the Hearts.

Effingham racked up nearly 500 yards of offense, scored on its first four possessions and rolled to a 46-7 victory on a perfect night for football at Jack Klosterman Field.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” Hefner admitted. “But we had some penalties that were a little bothersome and we gave up two possessions with turnovers. We’ll take a look at the film and see what needs to be cleaned up.”

There may be some things the Hearts need to tweak before next week’s game, but Friday’s contest was never in doubt.

Logan Brown rambled 22 yards on the game’s opening play – the first of six plays in the game that went for more than 20 yards. Nine plays later, EHS was in the end zone with Brown covering the final six yards.