Hearts Overcome Turnovers, Flags to Outlast Mater Dei, 24-14 

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Despite five turnovers and an officiating crew that saw fit to assess nearly 30 penalties between the two teams Friday night, Effingham High School was able to ride a 19-point second quarter to a 24-14 non-conference victory over Breese Mater Dei on Military Appreciation Night at Klosterman Field.

The Hearts (2-1) trailed 7-0 early when Mater Dei defensive back Reed Pingsterhaus picked off a Jaxon Bridges pass and took it 65 yards to paydirt, but got on the board late in the first quarter when Max Flack sacked Knights quarterback Hunter Hochbaum in his own end zone. The ensuing Mater Dei free kick went out of bounds and set up a short field for EHS.

Effingham capped that quick drive in the opening minute of the second quarter when tailback Hunter Holland punched in his first touchdown of the season from two yards out to make it 8-7. The Hearts never trailed again and Holland ended up with his most successful night of the season running the ball, netting 60 yards on 16 carries.

Maxx Kistler contributed his own defensive touchdown less than two minutes later on a 64-yard interception return to make it 14-7, then Jenner Pals caught his fourth TD pass of the campaign on a quick six-yard strike from Bridges to grow the lead to 21-7 after Maicol Sefton’s extra point with 3:07 left before halftime.

Mater Dei (0-3) kept it interesting with a lightning-quick drive on its ensuing possession, getting into the end zone in just 1:45 and then immediately forcing an EHS fumble and recovering at midfield. Its ensuing drive stalled out – thanks in no small part to the plethora of flags hitting the turf all evening long – but by intermission the Knights had picked off Bridges three times in addition to the fumble. Thankfully for Effingham, the Knights lost three fumbles of their own by the end of the evening.

EHS got the ball first in the second half and proceeded to run 16 plays and 8:15 off the clock, culminating in a Sefton field goal that ended up being the final score of the evening. Mater Dei was held to goose eggs after halftime, even squandering a key chance deep in Effingham territory after forcing another fumble at the Hearts’ 15.

Pals had another prolific receiving game for the Hearts, catching 10 passes for 89 yards. Bridges was 24-for-36 for 240 yards and found Carter Kalber a half-dozen times as well for 68 yards. The duo of sophomore wideouts has caught 35 of Effingham’s 65 completed passes on the season for 526 of the team’s 814 receiving yards.

A.J. Lybarger and DJ Latham shared the team lead with seven tackles each, while Flack and Wade Bushur had six apiece. Flack had a huge part in shutting down Mater Dei’s final offensive stand, bullying his way into the backfield on pretty much every snap.

Up next for Effingham is its Apollo Conference opener at Charleston; the Trojans remain winless after hosting Carterville for Week 3 and sustaining a 49-13 beating. Charleston hasn’t surrendered fewer than 41 points in three contests and has been outscored 138-33. Mater Dei stays on the road next week; the Knights, now in serious danger of missing the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time since 1990 and 1991, travel to Harrisburg for Week 4.

EFFINGHAM
Rushing: Holland, 16 for 60 yds, TD; Latham, 4 for 2 yds; Bridges, 3 for -6 yds.
Passing: Bridges, 24-for-36, 240 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT.
Receiving: Pals, 10 for 89 yds, TD; Kalber, 6 for 68 yds; Kistler, 3 for 45 yds; Starkey, 3 for 25 yds; Holland, 1 for 9 yds; Flack, 1 for 3 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 296 yds on 47 plays (23 rushes for 56 yds; 36 passes for 240 yds).

MATER DEI
Rushing: Brockmeier, 8 for 32 yds; Hilmes, 3 for 8 yds; Hochbaum, 8 for -5 yds.
Passing: Hochbaum, 19-for-30, 238 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Nicklin, 7 for 100 yds, TD; Pingsterhaus, 5 for 62 yds; Hilmes, 4 for 31 yds; Brockmeier, 2 for 7 yds; Wade, 1 for 38 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 273 yds on 49 plays (19 rushes for 35 yds; 30 passes for 238 yds).

TURNOVERS: Effingham 5, Mater Dei 4.

PENALTIES: A zillion, evenly distributed.

FIRST DOWNS: Effingham 14 (3 rushing, 9 passing, 2 by penalty), Mater Dei 9 (2 rushing, 7 passing).