Published on October 8, 2026 10:48 pm
Last Updated on October 8, 2026 10:50 pm
IHSA’s new playoff format just might allow Effingham High School into the 4A postseason with as few as two victories, but the Flaming Hearts are still in search of that second win as they prepare to host Mattoon in their Week 8 Apollo Conference finale Friday night.
Mattoon (2-5, 1-3 Apollo) is still in play for one of the lower berths in the 48-team field of Class 4A itself; a win this week or in its regular season finale against Marion would seemingly cement that spot for the Green Wave.
Nobody in the state has more playoff points than Effingham (1-6, 1-4 Apollo); both the Hearts and Herrin currently sit at 44 in Class 4A while Yorkville also has 44 in 7A.
That strength of schedule obviously factors into the squad’s lack of victories – four EHS opponents currently stand at 7-0 – but sooner or later those points must be paired with another win if Effingham wants a playoff game.
Yes, the Hearts would have another chance at home next week against Centralia … but you don’t want everything to ride on a game against a currently undefeated Orphans squad that is unquestionably one of the very best in the 4A field.
So the Mattoon game is a big one.
The Green Wave have victories over Rantoul and Charleston this year, a pair of opponents who are a combined 0-14. Effingham’s only triumph was also against Charleston by a slightly more convincing 44-27 margin as opposed to Mattoon’s last-minute 23-22 squeaker.
Effingham hasn’t lost to Mattoon since 2021, a year in which the Green Wave went 3-6 for their most successful campaign since winning 7 games in 2018 and enjoying the program’s most recent playoff berth.
Last week Mattoon made the trip to Mahomet and were the Bulldogs’ latest blowout victim by a 51-7 tally. Effingham was at Mt. Zion and kept the score competitive for a half before eventually going down 51-13. It was the fifth scoreless second half for EHS, who trailed just 24-13 at the break.
As always, kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Klosterman Field inside of Washington Savings Bank Stadium. Pregame show begins at 6:45 on Your Home For Hearts Football, 979 XFM.
Elsewhere in the Apollo, Mahomet (7-0, 4-0) aims to put the finishing touches on a perfect conference record with Charleston (0-7, 0-4) in town. Taylorville and Mt. Zion sport identical 5-2, 3-1 marks and will battle in Macon County to see which one finishes second in the league.
Cumberland (4-3) has clawed its way back into the top half of the Lincoln Prairie Conference but faces a huge road test at Sullivan (6-1). In the Little Illini, Newton (4-3, 3-2 LIC) occupies a three-way tie with Olney and Paris for second place behind unbeaten Mt. Carmel; the Eagles host Lawrenceville (0-7, 0-5) while Olney and Paris are on-paper favorites in the respective matchups with Casey-Westfield and Robinson. Mt. Carmel (7-0, 5-0) welcomes Marshall in a bid to maintain its stranglehold on the league standings.
Something has to give in Breese as the Central Cougars (7-0, 6-0) host Centralia (7-0, 6-0) in a clash of Cahokia (Mississippi) Conference titans. These two squads bookend the Effingham schedule and join Mt. Carmel and Mahomet as currently undefeated clubs on the EHS schedule.