Published on October 18, 2025 12:10 am
Last Updated on October 20, 2025 10:10 am
Effingham High School’s playoff hopes have survived to the final week of the football season.
Facing a must-win situation Friday at Mattoon, the Flaming Hearts outscored the Green Wave 21-6 after halftime and closed out the Apollo Conference portion of the season with a 36-16 victory at Gaines Field.
Quarterback Jaxon Bridges threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns while kicker Maicol Sefton set the EHS career record for successful extra points to help Effingham (4-4, 2-3 Apollo) snap a three-game skid and set up a “win and you’re in” non-conference game next week at Centralia.
Mattoon (1-7, 0-5) struck first on its opening drive and didn’t trail until the back half of the second quarter, but mustered just 86 yards of second-half offense in dropping its sixth straight game to close out a winless Apollo campaign and also fall to Effingham for the fourth straight year.
Effingham took the lead for the first time (and for good) late in the first half, orchestrating its best drive of the game over the course of more than six minutes in the second quarter. A 14-play, 76-yard march culminated with the first of three Bridges TD passes on the night, this one from 10 yards out to Maxx Kistler. After a successful two-point pass to Max Flack, the Hearts were up 15-10. Touchdown passes to Brayden Tucker late in the third quarter and Ian Kinkelaar early in the fourth quarter ballooned the advantage to 29-10 before the teams traded scores over the game’s final 10:30.
EHS sophomore Lexton Roberts, who rushed for 74 yards on the night, scored that final touchdown on a 10-yard run. Bridges ran for the Hearts’ first TD, punching one in from a yard out to even the game at 7-7 after the first of four Sefton extra points.
Sefton, also a record-setting scorer for Effingham’s record-setting soccer team, is now 82-for-94 on extra points during his three-season varsity career; the previous career best was 80-for-101 by Ben Cisna in 2004 through 2006. He already held the record for career field goals coming into this season and has added two more to currently sit at 11, while his 43-yard field goal during his sophomore season is also tied with Stig Anderson (1977) for longest in school history.
Jenner Pals returned to the Effingham lineup after missing the last couple games; he and Bridges picked up where they left off as the sophomore receiver caught four passes for a team-high 104 yards, while Kistler’s seven receptions were a game high for 64 yards and a score. Tucker also caught a half-dozen passes while Kinkelaar’s touchdown – thrown under extreme duress by Bridges – was the first of his varsity career.
| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | TOTAL | |
| Effingham | 7 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 36 |
| Mattoon | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
SCORING SUMMARY
1Q, 10:09, MHS (0-7) – 3-yard run, Hackett – Ballinger kick good (4 plays, 84 yds, 1:51)
1Q, 4:24, EHS (7-7) – 1-yard run, Bridges – Sefton kick good (6 plays, 35 yds, 1:55)
2Q, 11:02, MHS (7-10) – 22-yard FG, Ballinger
2Q, 4:54, EHS (15-10) – 10-yard pass, Bridges to Kistler – 2-point attempt good, Bridges to Flack (14 plays, 76 yds, 6:08)
3Q, 3:11, EHS (22-10) – 7-yard pass, Bridges to Tucker – Sefton kick good (9 plays, 68 yds, 4:11)
4Q, 10:30, EHS (29-10) – 20-yard pass, Bridges to Kinkelaar – Sefton kick good (8 plays, 60 yds, 2:46)
4Q, 5:57, MHS (29-16) – 4-yard run, Dailey – 2-point attempt no good (12 plays, 80 yds, 4:33)
4Q, 3:11, EHS (36-16) – 10 yard run, Roberts – Sefton kick good (7 plays, 52 yds, 2:46)
EFFINGHAM
Rushing: Bridges, 7 for 3 yds; Roberts, 15 for 74 yds, TD; Kistler, 1 for 2 yds; Buzzard, 1 for 2 yds; Kade, 4 for 18 yds; Hecht, 1 for -4 yds.
Passing: Bridges, 25-for-38, 298 yds, 3 TD.
Receiving: Kistler, 7 for 64 yds, TD; Pals, 4 for 104 yds; Tucker, 6 for 53 yds, TD; Robers, 2 for 20 yds; Flack, 3 for 31 yds; Kinkelaar, 2 for 26 yds
TOTAL OFFENSE: 395 yds on 68 plays (30 rushes for 97 yds; 38 passes for 298 yds).
MATTOON
Rushing: Dailey, 13 for 44 yds, TD; Hackett, 7 for 17 yds, tD; Porter, 1 for -1 yds.
Passing: Hackett, 15-for-34, 253 yds, INT.
Receiving: Spencer, 5 for 43 yds; Neff, 5 for 85 yds; Reincke, 5 for 125 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 313 yds on 55 plays (21 rushes for 60 yds; 34 passes for 253 yds).
TURNOVERS: Mattoon 2, Effingham 1.
PENALTIES: Effingham, 10 for 103 yds. Mattoon, 10 for 61 yds.
FIRST DOWNS: Effingham 16 (3 rushing, 12 passing, 1 by penalty), Mattoon 17 (6 rushing, 8 passing, 3 by penalty).