By Steve Raymond
The News Report
Wow!
What a high school football game!
Even though the home team didn’t come away with the victory, it took nothing away from the effort and excitement that filled Washington Savings Bank Stadium Friday night.
As it turned out, it was a 10-yard scoring strike from Blayne Sisson to his favorite target, Andrew Gillihan, in the second possession of overtime that proved to be the margin of victory, as the Mt. Carmel Golden Aces came away with a 36-30 win.
But Effingham had its chance. A fourth down pass from the 3-yard line was just off the fingertips of the tight end, preventing the Hearts from a tying score and an opportunity to kick a winning extra point.
While EHS coach Bret Heffner praised his team for their “fight and effort” moments after the tough loss, he also stressed the importance of eliminating crucial mistakes that probably meant the difference between a win and a loss Friday night.
He noted two face mask penalties that resulted in first downs and kept Mt. Carmel’s game-tying touchdown drive alive late in the fourth period. One of those penalties negated what could have been a game-clinching interception by Wade Bushur.
“There was also a snap that sailed over the punter’s head earlier the game,” Hefner added. “There were numerous times when players were running on the field late for a special team’s play and some breakdowns in the secondary.
“Too many mistakes,” Hefner stressed numerous times. “It’s ridiculous to have those face mask penalties. We had silly penalties last week, too. These mistakes will be corrected this week in practice. I guarantee it. Until we eliminate that stuff, we’re not going to beat good teams.”
By Steve Raymond
The News Report
Virtually every coach in every sport says their team improves the most between Week 1 and Week 2.
Effingham football coach Brett Hefner is one of those.
And he’s hoping that is certainly the case with his team this week.
Yes, the Hearts are coming off a convincing 31-7 season-opening win at Robinson last Friday.
But the competition level will take a significant step forward this week when Effingham will play its home opener and welcome Mt. Carmel to Washington Savings Stadium.
“They are very, very good,” Hefner noted. “This will be like playing a team the caliber of St. Teresa.”
So even though the Hearts dominated every phase of the game against Robinson, they will need to play even better Friday night.
“Last week’s game reinforced what I thought about our defensive front being hard to handle,” Hefner said, referring his front four that recorded 11 tackles for loss, including five quarterback sacks. “I also thought there were some good things with our secondary, although they will be tested a lot more this week.
“But there are still things we need to work on,” Hefner explained. “We had some alignment issues in our defensive line that we shouldn’t have had. And in our secondary, we need to work on things like maintaining proper angles and making sure our eyes are in the right places. We’re very inexperienced in the secondary and playing at the varsity level is all new to them. And these are mistakes that can be fixed.”
By Steve Raymond
The News Report
Things change quickly in high school sports.
A year ago, Effingham Coach Brett Hefner welcomed back 32 lettermen. That experience helped overcome a brutal schedule, finish 5-4 in the regular season and earn a berth in the Class 4A playoffs.
Now fast forward a year.
There are 23 seniors gone from that squad. There are just three returning starters on both offense and defense, meaning there will be a lot of kids experiencing varsity action for the first time.
“Yes, we’re inexperienced in a number of spots and maybe we don’t have as much depth this year as we’ve been used to,” Hefner admitted “But if we stay healthy, this won’t be a fun team to play against.
“We’ll have to grow up quickly,” the veteran coach added. “With the quality of schedule we have, we’ll have to be ready to go Week 1. But I think there’s a chance we’ll have a pretty successful season.”
It won’t take long to find out. The Hearts kick off their 2023 season Friday night (August 25) at Robinson. The Maroons will be the first of five teams on the schedule that reached the playoffs a year ago.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Hefner said. “The non-conference teams are good and our conference is better from top to bottom this year. We’ve definitely got a quality schedule again.”
Hefner is entering his ninth season at the helm of the EHS football program. His teams have posted a 50-28 record during that span and reached the playoffs five times in the previous eight years.
The goals for the 2023 squad?
The same as every year.
“We want to compete for an Apollo Conference championship, get in the playoffs and see if we can make a run,” Hefner explained. “Those goals don’t change for us.”
By Steve Raymond
The News Report
In most football games – whether it’s high school, college or the pros – the team that controls the line of scrimmage is generally the team that comes away with the win.
That was certainly the case Friday night.
The Effingham Hearts dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The defense created two turnovers and recorded tackles for loss on 11 plays. Meanwhile, the offense amassed nearly 350 yards and found the endzone four times.
The result was a one-sided 31-7 season-opening victory at Robinson.
“There are things we need to improve on, but wins are hard to come by,” said EHS coach Brett Hefner moments after the game. “You’re always happy with a win.”
Especially after a week that was anything but normal.
“We’ve been dealt some injuries for guys that would have played quite a bit tonight,” Hefner added. “So, had some guys playing in their first varsity game and some of them playing different spots than they normally would. Plus, we had to deal with all the heat issues. It’s just been a goofy week.”
Because of the heat, game time was pushed back to 8 p.m. Friday.
During an interview about the upcoming season about a week before the game, Hefner said he would probably have to rely on his defense during the early part of the year. After losing 23 seniors to graduation, there were a lot of kids playing varsity for the first time Friday night. The most returning experience was in that defensive line.
And they did not disappoint.
The Effingham Lady Hearts and Teutopolis Lady Shoes will both be participating in the Charleston Holiday Tournament.
The tournament is scheduled for Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 26-28.
There are six teams entered in this year’s round robin event – Effingham, Teutopolis, Tri-County, Danville, Jacksonville and Charleston.
Each team will play five games and all games will be played at Charleston High School.
The full schedule is listed below:
Monday, Dec. 26:
Noon – Charleston vs. Teutopolis
1:30 p.m. – Danville vs. Jacksonville
3 p.m. – Effingham vs. Tri-County
4:30 p.m. – Danville vs. Teutopolis
6 p.m. – Effingham vs. Jacksonville
Tuesday, Dec. 27:
Noon – Tri-County vs. Danville
1:30 p.m. – Charleston vs. Effingham
3 p.m. – Tri-County vs. Jacksonville
4:30 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Effingham
6 p.m. – Charleston vs. Jacksonville
Wednesday, Dec. 28:
Noon – Charleston vs. Danville
1:30 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Jacksonville
3 p.m. – Charleston vs. Tri-County
4:30 p.m. – Effingham vs. Danville
6 p.m. – Teutopolis vs. Tri-County
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