It was that rushing attack that racked up 262 yards on the ground, plus a brand new game plan on defense that made the difference. And for both to be successful, it took a dominating effort by both lines.
“On defense, we played five guys in the box and made them run the ball,” Hefner explained. “We don’t normally leave just five guys to defend the run, but they’re so explosive, we had to do something different.”
Coming into the game, Mt. Zion quarterback Makobi Adams was averaging 251 passing yards a game. Last year, he threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns. Friday night, he threw for only 116. Through seven games, he had completed 64 percent of his passes this season. Friday night, that dipped to 47 percent.
“We were able to get after the quarterback just enough,” Hefner said. “Our goal was to disrupt him long enough to take them out of rhythm. Our goal was to make him hold onto the ball a half second longer than he normally would. It worked.”
Mt. Zion came into the game averaging 386 offensive yards and 32 points a game. The Hearts held them to 214 yards and just 14 points.
“Our defense was outstanding,” Hefner said.
And Effingham’s ground game was simply punishing. Out of 57 total offensive plays, 48 of them were rushing attempts. And Weldon Dunston was the workhorse. The junior running back took a handoff 30 times and rambled for 185 yards and two touchdowns. It also put him over 1,000 yards for the season.
“It’s been the same game plan against Mt. Zion the last few years,” Hefner noted. “Last year, we just didn’t finish it. I told our offensive line this week that the years we’ve beaten them it was because of this group right here. Our offensive line had to do the job and they did. This is the type of game we had to play. I’m just so proud of the kids.”
Effingham never trailed in the game. After a quarterback sack forced a Mt. Zion punt, the Hearts began their second possession at the Braves 42. It took just three plays to reach the endzone. All three were runs by Dunston, the final one covering 34 yards to give the Hearts a 7-0 lead at the 4:46 mark of the first period.
But the Braves responded with their best drive of the night. A short kickoff gave them possession at their own 44. Adams connected on three passes and then capped the seven-play possession by avoiding a pass rush, breaking free at the line of scrimmage and then out-running everybody for a 31-yard TD, knotting the score at 7-7 with 54 seconds still remaining in the opening quarter.
It was still a 7-7 game at halftime. But the game was going exactly like Hefner wanted it to. The Hearts had run 32 plays in the first 24 minutes and limited Mt. Zion to just 17 snaps.
After forcing the guests to punt to open the third quarter, EHS began the first of two long second-half scoring drives. Starting at their own 38, the Hearts put together a nine-play, five-minute drive – all running plays. Dunston had two runs of 20 yards, Brodie Belcher added a 12-yard end-around and quarterback Gaige Gillum capped the possession with an 11-yard run to put the Hearts up 14-7 with 3:41 to play in the period.
Effingham forced another Mt. Zion punt, but turned the ball over on its ensuing possession, giving the Braves the ball at the EHS 29. Five plays later, the game was tied again. A 35-yard completion from Adams to Jacob Harvey got the ball to the one and Adams covered the final yard just eight seconds into the final quarter.
But the Hearts responded in a dominating way. The deciding possession began at their own 26. This time, it was Gillum that came up with the big gains. He nearly broke loose for a long TD run, but was tripped up after a 22-yard gain. He added a 10-yard run and a big fourth down completion to tight end Hunter Reed to keep the drive alive.
On the 11th play, Dunston bolted up the middle and broke several tackles on his way to a 10-yard scoring run that capped a 5½ -minute possession and gave the Hearts a lead they never relinquished with 6:10 remaining.
Mt. Zion did move the ball on its next possession, but Michael Love recorded a quarterback sack on third down and then batted down a fourth down pass attempt, giving EHS the ball with only1:52 to play.
The Hearts were able to run the clock down and Mt. Zion had one final play with just six ticks remaining. That desperation heave was incomplete and both the Hearts and some of the student fans rushed the field.
Effingham ended up running 59 plays, compared to just 40 for Mt. Zion. The Hearts finished with 329 total yards; the Braves 214. Mt. Zion’s outstanding receiver Brayden Trimble was contained. He entered the game averaging seven catches and 100 yards. He was limited to three receptions for 35 yards. It was a total team win and one well deserved.
Mt. Zion dipped to 6-2 for the season and are now 3-2 in the Apollo Conference. The Hearts are now 4-4 overall and also finish 3-2 in league play. They will now have a chance to get that necessary fifth win to become playoff eligible.
“You can’t get the fifth one until you get the fourth one,” Hefner said. “This was a huge win for us. I know we’ve been up and down all season and we let a couple get away from us. But we got this. It was a tough one, but it means a lot.”
The Hearts will travel to Centralia next Friday night for the regular season finale. The Orphans will enter the game with a 2-6 record – and one of those wins was by forfeit.
“That will be a meaningful game next week,” Hefner admitted. “I imagine practice will be interesting this week.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
