Hearts Football Drops Opener to Breese Central 

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Effingham High School opened the scoring in its football season opener Friday night at Klosterman Field, but the Flaming Hearts never found the end zone again as Breese Central rattled off six straight touchdowns and walked out of Senior Night at Washington Savings Bank Stadium with a 42-7 non-conference triumph in hand.

After the teams traded punts in their opening possessions of the evening, the Hearts got on the board first with the longest play from scrimmage for either club all night. Senior quarterback Jaxon Bridges found sophomore wideout Jenner Pals just shy of midfield with a quick pass from the 30-yard line and Pals jetted past numerous defenders down the left hash mark for a 70-yard score to make it 7-0 after Maicol Sefton’s successful extra point kick at the 3:31 mark in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, that play ended up accounting for more than a third of Effingham’s total offense for the night as the Hearts struggled to control the middle of the field and found little success running the ball to supplement Bridges’ 186 passing yard on 13-for-26 accuracy.

Central – ranked 7th in the initial Associated Press poll for Class 4A after a state quarterfinal appearance a year ago – knotted things up early in the second period, capitalizing on a Bridges fumble inside the Hearts’ 10-yard line as he scrambled out of the pocket and getting one of two Cole Davis touchdown runs.

Then the Cougars took the lead for good on a monster drive to close out the first half, marching 91 yards on 18 plays after a good Sefton punt pinned them inside their 10.

The culmination of that 7 minute, 46 second drive was a five-yard pass to Bryce Wieters from quarterback Owen Kehrer with all of 5.7 second showing on the second quarter clock. Even the final seconds of that drive were filled with ups and downs as Central was whistled for a holding penalty on third and goal only to get most of that yardage back when pass interference was whistled against the Hearts on the very next play to set up the Wieters TD.

Central got the ball first in the second half and began running the ball with a renewed sense of purpose, marching 67 yards on eight plays in two and a half minutes; another Davis touchdown run from six yards out capped the drive and Effingham was officially in chase mode.

Before all was said and done the visitors had added another Wieter TD catch – the senior was also 5-for-5 kicking extra points and recorded three touchbacks on kickoffs – in addition to a short Conlan Harre TD run and a 35-yard interception return TD from Colten Crone when a Bridges pass was tipped in the air off a receiver’s hands.

The Cougars averaged better than seven yards per rushing attempt after halftime while limiting Effingham to a grand total of 15 yards on the ground over 19 carries. Hunter Holland took the bulk of the Hearts’ carries – 15 – but wasn’t afforded much room to maneuver and also lost a fumble on his final tote of the night.

For Effingham, Pals burst onto the varsity scene with a game high five catches for 116 yards. Brayden Tucker also caught three passes for 29 yards while Will Hecht grabbed a couple for 22 yards. By and large, Bridges threw the ball well in the first game of his second varsity season under center, particularly in completing his first five attempts of the night. Things got tougher late as only two of his final eight tosses found the mark.

Fifteen Effingham seniors were honors prior to the game: Wade Bushur, Nolan Fearday, Brayden Tucker, Max Buzzard, Jaxon Bridges, Hayden Wendling, Maicol Sefton, Aidan Carrell, DJ Latham, Hunter Holland, Max Flack, Brian Westendorf, Aiden McCarty, Chase Smith and AJ Lybarger. Every one of them healthy enough to go was a part of Coach Brett Hefner’s announced starting lineup.

Hefner and the Hearts now turn their attention to Mt. Carmel, Effingham’s Week 2 opponent. The Golden Aces didn’t fare any better than EHS in their opener, traveling to DuQuoin for a 48-19 defeat. It’ll be Mt. Carmel’s home opener at the famed Snake Pit, where Effingham won a year ago by a narrow 26-22 margin. In a bit of a scheduling quirk, the Hearts are making this road trip for the second straight season.

SCORING SUMMARY

1Q, 3:31, EHS – 70-yard pass, Bridges to Pals – Sefton kick good (5 plays, 80 yds, 1:38)
2Q, 9:43, BC – Davis 2-yard run – Wieter kick good (3 plays, 6 yds, 0:33)
2Q, :05.7, BC – 5-yard pass, O. Kehrer to Wieter – Wieter kick good (18 plays, 91 yds, 7:46)
3Q, 9:27, BC – Davis 6-yard run – Wieter kick good (8 plays, 67 yds, 2:33)
3Q, 2:08, BC – 8-yard pass, O. Kehrer to Wieter – Wieter kick good (7 plays, 56 yds, 3:08)
4Q, 9:10, BC – Harre 2-yard run – Wieter kick good (5 plays, 60 yds, 1:57)
4Q, 3:41, BC – Crone 35-yard INT return – Litteken kick good

BREESE CENTRAL
Rushing: Davis, 11 for 70 yds, 2 TD; Biggs, 14 for 62 yds; O. Kehrer, 13 for 23 yds; Harre 2 for 5 yds, TD; Smith, 1 for 10 yds; Webber, 2 for 1 yd.
Passing: O. Kehrer, 13-for-20, 192 yds, 2 TD.
Receiving: Wieter, 4 for 30 yds, 2 TD; Behrman, 4 for 62 yds; Harre, 2 for 29 yds; Davis, 1 for 39 yds; Kampwerth, 1 for 10 yds; Biggs, 1 for 2 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 363 yds on 59 plays.

EFFINGHAM
Rushing: Holland, 15 for 21 yds; Buzzard 2 for 5 yds; Kistler, 1 for -9 yds.
Passing: Bridges, 13-for-26, 186 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Pals, 5 for 116 yds, TD; Tucker, 3 for 29 yds; Hecht, 2 for 22 yds; Holland, 1 for 9 yds; Wendling, 1 for 5 yds; Flack, 1 for 5 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 201 yds on 45 plays.

TURNOVERS: Effingham 3, Breese Central 0.

PENALTIES: Effingham 3 (20 yds), Breese Central 6 (55 yds).

FIRST DOWNS: Effingham 10 (3 rushing, 7 passing), Breese Central 25 (14 rushing, 11 passing).