And EHS quarterback Gaige Gillum was on-target from the beginning, connecting on 11-of-13 passes for 220 yards. The Hearts had 11 offensive possessions in the game and scored on nine of them.

“Offensively, we were good,” Hefner said. “Our line blocked well, we threw and caught the ball well and Weldon ran hard. I wasn’t happy with all the penalties, but overall, we played very well.”

Centralia used its potent aerial attack to always stay within striking distance. That passing game was led by quarterback Daryle Jones. The junior QB threw for 361 yards, completing 14-of-22 attempts. That’s a 25-yard-per-catch average. His favorite target – Xavier Koch – hauled in eight receptions for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“This was just about the type of game I thought it would be,” Hefner admitted. “They have some great athletes that can keep plays alive. They’ve played some good teams and they’ve got some guys that can really play. They’re hard to defend.”

And that became evident on the very first play of the game when Jones connected with Jaylin Hoskins for 45 yards down the sideline. Four plays later, Jones eluded the Effingham rush and ran untouched for a nine-yard scoring run that put the Orphans on top 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.

But that was just the beginning of the offensive fireworks.

It took the Hearts just 62 seconds to tie the game. After Jacob Weaver returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards, giving Effingham the ball at the Orphan 47, it took just three plays to reach the endzone. Gillum hooked up with Brodie Belcher for a 25-yard gain, and two plays later, Dunston ran up the middle for a 16-yard TD, knotting the score at 7-7 at the 9:04 mark.

Before the first quarter ended, Effingham had extended its lead to 21-7. After Kayden Mietzner recovered a Centralia fumble, the Hearts second possession lasted four plays and 72 seconds. A 31-yard pass to Hunter Reed got things moving and a 28-yard scoring strike to Andrew Lotz put the Hearts on top to stay.

After stopping Centralia, EHS mounted another successful drive. This one was seven plays and took nearly two minutes. A third-down completion to Colton Webb kept the drive moving and a 37-yard catch and run by Belcher made it 21-7 with 2:49 still left in the opening period.

The Hearts made it 28-7 midway through the second quarter. That’s when the “ground and pound” attack started to kick in. There was a 34-yard pass from Gillum to Lotz, but the rest of the plays were on the ground. Dunston capped the eight-play drive with a two-yard run.

“I thought we could run the ball against them,” Hefner said. “I thought we’d control the clock more. I didn’t think we’d score that much. We put up a lot of points tonight.”

One play later, it was 28-14. Jones found Koch behind the EHS secondary for a 77-yard strike.

“In the game films we saw, they threw mostly short passes. We didn’t see them try to push the ball downfield much,” Hefner noted. “They didn’t throw many short passes tonight.

“It’s hard to defend a mobile quarterback like that,” the veteran coach added. “He’s an accurate passer, plus you saw what he can do if he gets loose and starts running. It’s hard to prepare because you can’t replicate that in practice.”

But the Orphans simply could not stop the Effingham offense.

The Hearts responded with a five-play drive – all runs by Dunston. He ran for 88 yards on the possession, including a 31-yard burst for the score.

But neither offense was finished.

A 39-yard Jones-to-Koch TD strike made it 34-20, but Effingham had plenty of time to answer. Taking the ball at its own 31, the Hearts combined both the pass and the run to get in the endzone again. Completions of 15 yards to Reed and 13 yards to Belcher moved the ball downfield. On the seventh play, Dunston broke loose again, this time for 33 yards to give EHS a 41-20 halftime lead.

At intermission, the Hearts had scored on all six possessions and amassed 426 yards. And Dunston was already over 200 yards.

The Hearts kept the ball on the ground for much of the second half. They were forced to punt on their first possession, but then got rolling again. This time, it was a more typical Effingham drive, running 11 plays and taking nearly five minutes off the clock. There was a 25-yard completion to Reed, but the other 10 plays were on the ground – nine of them by Dunston, who covered the final two yards to make it 48-20 with 3:14 to play in the third period.

Centralia did score twice in the final quarter. Jones had a one-yard run and a 32-yard scoring pass to Cam Tomlianovich.

But the Hearts also put up a pair of scores in the final 12 minutes. Dunston crossed the goal line for the sixth time in the game, a four-yard run, and reserve running back Hunter Holland broke off a 17-yard run for the game’s final score with 3:06 to play.

Centralia finished its season with a 2-7 record. The Hearts are 5-4 and will now wait to see who their playoff opponent will be.

“This is a great feeling,” Hefner admitted. “The last two weeks, our kids did some things really well. They’re starting to play like the team I thought we could be.”