Taylorville failed to complete a fourth down pass on its ensuing possession and the Hearts took over at the guest’s 48-yard line. After one incomplete pass – the only pass attempt of the second half – the Hearts returned to their punishing ground attack.

This time it was all Dunston. The junior back carried on six straight plays, gaining 10, 9, 11, 6 and 10 yards, to move the ball close to the goal line. He covered the final two yards on the next play and EHS started breaking the game open, building a 35-12 lead at the 4:03 mark of the third quarter.

Three minutes later, after forcing another incomplete pass on fourth down, Effingham had the ball back at its own 44. Brodie Belcher gained nine yards on an end-around and Dunston then took care of the rest. He bolted up the middle, then broke to the outside and raced down the sideline for a 47-yard scoring run. It capped a 20-0 third-quarter scoring surge and gave the Hearts a commanding 41-12 edge heading into the final 12 minutes.

“Weldon was able to break a couple long ones,” Hefner noted. “He runs hard and has a will to win. I thought he was more patient tonight. He followed his linemen and let the holes open.

“I thought our defensive guys got going better in the second half, too,” Hefner added. “I challenged our defensive front at halftime. I thought they could do better and they did. They didn’t give up much on the ground and the guys got after the quarterback much better.”

That defense also accounted for the next score. In fact, on the next play. Taylorville QB Baron Odam, under a lot of pressure by the EHS pass rush, tried to just throw the ball away. But it landed in the arms of linebacker Logan Jones, who raced 24 yards to the endzone for the TD just 10 seconds into the final period.

The Hearts did have a turnover in the second half, as a result of a fumbled punt, but the defense stiffened. The Tornadoes had a holding penalty, plus the EHS defense recorded a QB sack, forcing a Taylorville punt.

The Hearts assumed possession at their own 37, and it took just one play to score again. Reserve running back D.J. Latham, on his first and only carry of the game, broke free at the line of scrimmage and outraced the Tornado defense for a 67-yard touchdown. That not only accounted for the final score of the game, it resulted in a continuously running clock for the final 6:03.

“That’s what happens when you come ready to play,” Hefner said. “D.J. and Logan prepare the right way and do things the right way. When you do that, and you get your opportunity, good things generally happen.”

The Hearts defense limited Taylorville to just 93 yards in the second half. Meanwhile, the EHS offense was unstoppable on the ground. Those 18 running plays resulted in 237 yards – all in the final 24 minutes.

The first half, however, was much like a majority of the season thus far – some good plays, but still too many mistakes. There were two turnovers – one an interception return for a TD – numerous missed coverage assignments in the secondary, missed blocking assignments in the line and wrong routes ran by receivers.

“It was frustrating,” Hefner admitted. “One route was supposed to be six yards. We ran 10 yards, and it gets intercepted for a Pick 6. We also had coverage mistakes, largely due to not communicating properly. We had some successful plays, but we were still hampered by too many mistakes. We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Hearts started the game just like they played in the second half. Their first two scoring drives found the endzone.

After forcing the Tornadoes into a 3-and-out on their first possession, EHS started at its own 35. It was a different attack in the first half, however. Out of 30 total plays, only 16 were on the ground.

Gillum connected on 4-of-5 passes in that initial drive. Belcher had another run of nine yards and Dunston covered the final 18 to give Effingham a lead it never relinquished at the 8:09 mark.

Taylorville’s next drive got into scoring territory. Two holding penalties set them back and the drive ultimately ended with a missed field goal attempt.

Starting at their own 20, it took the Hearts just four plays and 90 seconds to increase their lead. Again, the passing attack helped. Gillum connected with Hunter Reed for a 12-yard gain, then hooked up with Belcher for 12 more. On the fourth play, the senior QB found Andrew Lotz behind the Tornadoes secondary for a 51-yard scoring strike to make it 14-0 with less than a minute left in the opening period.

But Taylorville quickly got back in the game. The Tornadoes responded with an 8-play, 56-yard scoring drive. A 35-yard pass and run from Odam to Clark Rahar got the ball close to the EHS goal line. Thomas Gettings then covered the final three yards to make it a 14-6 game.

On Effingham’s first play of its ensuing possession, Odam stepped in front of a Gillum pass and returned it 41 yards for the score. In a matter of 16 seconds, THS was within 14-12.

The Hearts responded to make it a two-score game at halftime. They drove 50 yards in eight plays – seven on the ground. But the one pass play, a 31-yard strike to Lotz, was the key play. On a fourth down call, Gillum powered his way into the endzone from one yard out to make it 21-12.

For the game Taylorville finished with 251 total yards – 63 on the ground and 188 through the air. Odam completed 16-of-35 passes for 188 yards.

The Hearts amassed 441 total yards – 312 on the ground and 129 through the air. Dunston carried the ball 24 times for 179 yards – the fifth time this season he cracked the 100-yard plateau. Latham had the one carry for 63 yards and Gillum added 52 more. Gillum was also 9-for-15 for 129 yards. He had one touchdown and two interceptions. Lotz finished with five receptions for 95 yards.

After winning their first three non-conference games, the Tornadoes have lost three straight in Apollo Conference play and are now 3-3 overall.

The Hearts are also 3-3 for the season and 2-1 in league play.

“Anytime you get a win on Homecoming, it’s a good one,” Hefner said. “We’re going to enjoy this one.”

Effingham will travel to Mahomet-Seymour next week to face the Bulldogs. They are 5-1 overall and will be coming off a 26-7 win at Mt. Zion to keep them unbeaten in the Apollo at 3-0.

Kickoff in Mahomet is set for 7 p.m.