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.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
What a game!
What a way to start the high school football season!
Even if it did take an extra day to finish it.
The Effingham Hearts didn’t let a double-digit deficit or a lightning delay take the focus away from their task at-hand.
They made the 90-minute bus trip again Saturday and dominated the final 16 minutes, scoring 15 unanswered points to rally for a 32-28 victory at Breese Mater Dei.
“This might have been the weirdest Week 1 I’ve ever had,” EHS coach Brett Hefner admitted. “It was a long 48 hours.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but they’re correctable mistakes,” Hefner added. “And it’s a lot more fun making those corrections after a win. At the end of the day, we’re 1-0 and we’re going to enjoy this until we get back to work Monday and start preparing for Lincoln.”
It was certainly a tale of two different days.
By Steve Raymond
Sports Report
How good will Effingham be?
At least nine high school football coaches are wondering that right now.
And after the last two years, they had better be prepared.
The 2017 Hearts were expected to be good and they delivered. They were led by Terrence Hill, a record-setting tailback, several all-conference performers and a host of talented players that led Effingham to a 9-2 record. They were undefeated Apollo Conference champions and reached the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
But 19 seniors graduated, leaving multiple lineup holes to fill and doubts concerning the 2018 squad. They were given virtually no chance for success. And after dropping their first two games, a winning season seemed daunting at best, much less the thought of any postseason appearance.
Then things fell into the place. The Hearts ran off nine straight victories before falling 42-35 to Kankakee McNamara in a simply fabulous game in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
The Effingham-Breese Mater Dei season-opening football game Friday night was stopped in the third quarter due to heavy rains and lightning.
The start of the contest was delayed almost an hour and then with 4:02 to play in the third period, lightning forced another stoppage. With the forecast showing more rain and lightning to continue, it was decided to halt the contest at 10:30 p.m.
The game will resume today (Saturday) at 1 p.m. with the host Knights on top, 28-17.
Look for the full game story Sunday.
The Hearts took a 7-0 lead after their first offensive series, but big plays by Mater Dei’s running back Zach Napovanice, quarterback Reed Braundmeier, tight end Ben Kassen and wide receiver Mitchell Haake helped the Knights regain the lead and control of the game.
When play resumes, they will have the ball at their own 15, facing a 2nd down and 15 situation.
Effingham got a four-yard touchdown run by Logan Brown at the 6:42 mark of the opening period after the EHS defense stopped Breese on a fourth down play from midfield.
Behind the running of Napovanice, who had 99 yards rushing in the opening half, the Knights closed to within 7-6 on their ensuing possession. A 25-yard field goal by Effingham’s Ivan Angel and a one-yard plunge by Braundmeir, put the hosts on top, 14-10, at intermission
The Knights found themselves in scoring position again early in the third quarter after recovering a Nate Shackelford fumble on the third play of the second half. It took just four plays to cover the 33 yards. A 20-yard reception by Kassen was followed by a 13-yard TD strike from Braundmeier to Haake to make it 20-10.
Effingham struck back quickly, marching 80 yards in four plays. Most of those yards were covered in two plays. Shackelford hooked up with Chase Woomer for a 31-yard play and then found Tristin Duncan behind the Mater Dei secondary for a 45-yard TD pass that trimmed the lead to 20-17.
But the Hearts’ defense simply wasn’t able to contain the Knights. On their next possession, it again took only four plays to cover 59 yards and, again, most of the yards were through the air. A 36-yard pass to Kassen moved the ball to the Effingham 15 and that was followed by a catch and run from Napovanice covering the final 15 yards. The senior back then caught a two-point conversion pass to make it 28-17.
Napovanice amassed 116 rushing yards before the contest was stopped. Kassen has four catches for 105 yards and Haake has hauled in two passes for 44 yards.
Effingham has moved the ball, but not as consistently. Shackelford has passed for 166 yards and Duncan has five receptions for 89 yards.
There is still plenty of time for the Hearts to come back. They will have to find a way to contain Napovanice, Kassen and Haake, however, to do so.
By Steve Raymond
News Report Staff
Ask Matthew Hites II about his flight to and from Australia and he’ll tell you candidly.
“It hated every minute being on a plane,” the recent Effingham High School grad said about his very first flight that was 17½ hours both ways. “I was on six different planes and I was relieved when those wheels touched down. But once I got there, it was all worth it.”
Matthew went to the “land down under” to play football. He was invited to join players from across the United States, plus Australia and New Zealand, to participate in the 31st annual Down Under Bowl, a program sponsored by Down Under Sports.
Matthew was there from June 30 to July 9 and described it as “a great experience.”
“We didn’t have to worry about a thing,” he noted. “They took care of everything – our transportation, team meals and hotel expenses. All we had to pay for was extra food or souvenirs. They treated us very well.”
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