By Steve Raymond
ET Sport Report
Moments after Friday night’s game, EHS football coach Brett Hefner was standing in the middle of his team with a big smile on his face.
“We’re going to be playing in Week 10,” he hollered, followed by a raucous cheer from the boys in red and white.
Yes, the Effingham Hearts will be in the playoffs.
They pretty well clinched that with a 17-0 victory over Breese Mater Dei, making Senior Night even more special at Washington Savings Bank Stadium.
“These kids haven’t had that experience,” Hefner noted. “But with the work they’ve put in, they deserve it. To know they’ll get that opportunity is great. I’m very happy for them.”
But it required a win over a good Knights team. The Hearts did enough on offense in the first half and then relied on a strong, stingy defense throughout to notch that coveted fifth win.
In fact, the defense was smothering. Mater Dei came into the game averaging 266 yards per game, but Effingham allowed only 113. That Knights running game that was averaging 178 yards, was limited to only 33. And Drake Rensing, who was rushing for 108 yard per contest, was held to only 23.
The Knights never threatened the entire game. They only crossed the midfield stripe once. Rensing and quarterback Trenton Zeeb were thrown for a loss on 6 of their 21 running plays and Effingham’s Michael Love recorded a QB sack.
“I thought our defense would be in pretty good shape,” Hefner admitted. “They played well all night and made some good plays when they needed to.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sport Report
Talk about similarities.
Both teams are coming off dominating victories last week.
Both teams have a run-dominated offense and have proven stingy at times on defense.
Both teams will enter the game at 4-3, needing one more win to be considered for the playoffs.
And with the opponents waiting for them in the season finale, both teams know their best opportunity to make the playoffs probably hinges on the outcome of Friday night’s contest at Washington Savings Bank Stadium.
That’s when Breese Mater Dei and Effingham will square off in what is easily the biggest game of the season for both squads.
“This is an important one alright,” EHS coach Brett Hefner admitted. “It’s why you play football in our program. Since 2017, we’ve been fortunate that from Week 5 on, they are generally meaningful games.
“When you get to this point in the season, the kids know the projections. They know exactly what’s on the line,” Hefner added. “That’s what keeps the juices flowing.”
The winner will have that coveted fifth win, while the losing team will face a daunting challenge the following week. The Hearts will travel to Highland to face one of the best Class 5A programs in the state, while the Knights will return home to face Mt. Zion, another very talented 5A school that will probably be boasting a 6-2 record.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sport Report
Can the Effingham Hearts bounce back?
That is the question heading into Friday night’s Apollo Conference contest in Lincoln against an improved Railsplitters team.
The Hearts are coming off an outstanding offensive performance. They dominated Mt. Zion in number of plays (84 to 43) and time of possession (36 minutes to just 12).
But the Braves passing attack proved lethal. Quarterback Makobi Adams threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns – the fifth coming in overtime to give Mt. Zion a 39-36 victory and spoiling Homecoming Night.
“That was two coaches and two teams that knew what they had to do to win the game and didn’t waiver from it,” said EHS coach Brett Hefner. “There were a lot of impressive things to take away from that game. It was a helluva game.
“I know it gets redundant, but I always appreciate how hard these kids compete and play and how much they just keep playing no matter what,” Hefner added.
He used the Hearts final drive in regulation as an example. Mt. Zion had just scored to go ahead 33-30 with 1:28 to play. But EHS responded with an impressive drive of its own, culminating with a 35-yard field goal by Armando Estrada as time expired to send the game in OT.
“After that touchdown, our kids could have just given up. But they didn’t,” Hefner noted. “To me, that’s the best thing about our team. They just keep competing and playing the game.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sport Report
So much for fears of a letdown.
Following last week’s heartbreaking 39-36 overtime loss to Mt. Zion, there were concerns as to how the Effingham Hearts would respond.
It’s clear they bounced back just fine.
The Hearts scored early and often. They cracked the 400-yard plateau on offense, while that defense barely allowed 100 yards. They had a 200-yard rusher, a defensive lineman that recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown and a punter that never got to kick the ball one time.
It was another dominating performance Friday night. In fact, the outcome was never in doubt, as Effingham posted a 47-0 shutout at Lincoln.
“I’m really pleased,” EHS coach Brett Hefner said following the contest. “We were coming off a tough loss last week and we were a little banged up. I wasn’t real sure exactly who was going to be able to go tonight until we got up here. I was a little nervous, but these kids responded.”
By Steve Raymond
ET Sport Report
It was one heckuva football game.
There were instant scores and long drives.
There were outstanding plays and some costly mistakes.
And there was all-out effort by both teams.
There was a huge contrast in style.
The game pitted Mt. Zion’s air raid attack against Effingham’s ground and pound.
Even though the Hearts totally dominated in number of plays and time of possession, the Braves quick-strike aerial attack proved to be virtually unstoppable.
And on pass No. 33, Mt. Zion quarterback Makobi Adams threw a 10-yard dart to Grant McAtee for the touchdown that clinched a 39-36 overtime victory Friday night at Washington Savings Bank Stadium.
Sometimes stats tell the story, but sometimes they don’t.
Such was the case Friday night.
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