Published on September 3, 2026 12:27 pm
Last Updated on September 3, 2026 12:30 pm
Effingham High School heads back to Breese Friday still searching for its first varsity football victory of the season, renewing its long-standing non-conference rivalry with the Mater Dei Knights on what looks to be a steamy night in Clinton County.
The week’s extremely high temperatures and IHSA rules surrounding those conditions have pushed Mater Dei to announce an 8 p.m. kickoff, an hour later than originally scheduled. That means you can expect a 7:45 pregame show here on your home for Hearts Football, 979 XFM and 979xfm.com.
Hearts players and coaches have already had to make plenty of weather-related adjustments throughout the week, postponing the start times of daily practice sessions later into the evening and occasionally away from Klosterman Field to help accommodate other EHS sports and activities also working around temperatures in the 90s and even higher heat indices.
One thing Effingham won’t find unfamiliar is the drive to Breese … it was just two weeks ago the Hearts took the bus to Central High School to take on Mater Dei’s crosstown rival* in a season-opening loss.
(*for the time being, this rivalry is no longer contested on the field … the final installment of their annual “Milk Bowl” went to Central last year in a 46-0 decision)
You’d have to go back more than two decades to find a time Mater Dei wasn’t on Effingham’s schedule. It was 2004 when the Knights began a stretch of 16 years as the Hearts’ Week 1 opponent; after the abbreviated COVID season of 2020-21 – which included only Apollo Conference play – the Knights began to occupy other slots in the EHS slate but have always remained.
Mater Dei (1-1) opened its campaign playing host to Columbia and falling 36-28 before heading to Casey-Westfield last week and edging out the defending Class 1A quarterfinalists by a 20-15 margin.
The Knights have just a handful of seniors on their roster, but at some spots that doesn’t mean they’re inexperienced. Junior quarterback Hunter Hochbaum, for instance, is a returning starter along with his classmate and favorite target, Bentley Nicklin. Lead running back Bodie Brockmeier, another junior, is also back. He and Hochbaum accounted for 786 of the team’s 904 rushing yards during last year’s second straight 3-6 finish.
New head coach Conner McLaughlin takes over after 17 years of Jim Stiebel at the Mater Dei helm. The Knights have missed the playoffs as many times in the last four seasons (3) than they had in the previous 19 when they were yearly fixtures in the Class 4A postseason.
Speaking of postseason play, Effingham’s hopes of returning to the playoffs after a two-year absence would certainly be a lot brighter if it can walk out of Breese having avoided an 0-3 start.
The Hearts (0-2) are sure to get plenty of playoff points from their first couple opponents of the year after 41-20 and 35-28 losses to Central and Mt. Carmel, respectively, but it goes without saying that they need a few victories under their belt for those points to matter.
Effingham’s passing results have been good so far; the new quarterback tandem of senior Jack Hartman and sophomore Jenner Keyes has avoided turnovers and gotten great results from a mostly veteran receiver group led by Maxx Kistler and Jenner Pals.
What the Hearts will hope to see as the season progresses is a more robust push up front to open better run game opportunities offensively. Flipped to the other side of the field, the oppositions’ rushing attack has been quite successful to the tune of nearly 500 yards over the first two contests.
Elsewhere in the Apollo, other conference schools will also wrap up the early non-conference portion of their schedules:
- Charleston (0-2) heads to Carterville (2-0) for a tough matchup having already allowed 98 points in two games.
- State-ranked Mahomet-Seymour (2-0) has racked up 96 points in two weeks and looks to keep that steamroller going with a trip to Champaign Central (0-2).
- Mattoon (1-1) got new coach Chad Augspurger his first win at Rantoul last week and travels again to Salem (1-1) this week.
- Mt. Zion (2-0) hosts Cahokia (1-1).
- Taylorville (2-0) heads to Carbondale (1-1).
Also in the area:
- Cumberland (0-2) is on the road at Argenta-Oreana (0-2) as both teams search for their first Lincoln Prairie Conference victory.
- Newton (1-1) begins Little Illini Conference play at home against Casey-Westfield (1-1) after pasting Trenton Wesclin 55-7 at Chizevsky Field a week ago.
Other Effingham opponents for 2026 in action this week include:
- Breese Central (2-0) playing host to Bethalto Civic Memorial (1-1) after beating Columbia 41-20 in Week 2.
- State-ranked Centralia (2-0) welcoming Jerseyville (1-1) a week after crushing Bethalto 49-7.