Published on October 25, 2026 4:20 pm
Last Updated on October 25, 2026 4:33 pm
There were a few early moments Saturday night in Decatur when it felt like Effingham High School might end up on the wrong side of a blowout, but the Hearts buckled down and found a way to remain competitive in a 35-14 loss to MacArthur High School in the opening round of the IHSA Class 4A playoffs.
The Generals (8-2) were threatening to run away with it when senior defensive back Damonte Phillips scored his second defensive touchdown in as many Effingham possessions to make it 21-0 just 86 seconds into the second quarter.
But the Flaming Hearts (2-8) found the end zone once before the half and came awfully close to doing it again just ahead of the halftime horn, which came a split second too soon for EHS to run a play from a couple yards out after converting a late first down just shy of the goal line; MacArthur kept the game at an arm’s length with two quick scores to open the third quarter but overall the two teams played each other 14-14 over the final 34 minutes of game action.
Looking across the state at all 12 matchups of No. 9 seeds against No. 24 seeds in Classes 1A through 6A in IHSA’s new expanded playoff format (7A and 8A structured their brackets differently), only one 24 seed played its opponent closer than EHS; Champaign Centennial lost to Corliss 18-7 in the tightest matchup.
That Effingham TD in the first half belonged to Bryden Kade, who ran it in from 47 yards out. It was the longest run play all season for the Hearts, breaking the sophomore tailback’s own mark of 36 yards from a Week 8 scoring scamper against Mattoon.
Lexton Roberts nearly matched that in the fourth quarter when he found paydirt from 46 yards away.
Both touchdowns were followed by PAT attempts complicated by bad snaps; on the second one, however, place kicker Brady Patnaude managed to scoop up the loose ball and chuck it to the waiting arms of Will Hecht in the front of the end zone.
Jenner Pals had two catches in the game for 48 yards, including a nifty one-hander for 21 yards to convert a fourth-and-8 at the MacArthur 10 yard line midway through the opening quarter. Unfortunately, that big conversion was neutralized a few plays later when Jack Hartman’s pass to the right side was picked off by Phillips with not a soul between him and the end zone 90 yards down the field.
Phillips struck again on the very next possession, this time victimizing Jenner Keyes and taking home the pick six from 82 yards, give or take. He also caught a quick slant from his quarterback, Antonio Young, on the very first play of the second half and put on the afterburners for a 72-yard score.
It was the sort of game Effingham has played all year long; an extremely talented opponent using a handful of explosive, game-changing plays to negate the EHS defense’s relatively solid outcomes most of the night. This was especially impressive for the Hearts Saturday with injuries leading to personnel shuffling during the week of practice.
MacArthur also made it nearly impossible for the Hearts to run the ball effectively; outside of the two big scoring runs from Kade and Roberts, Effingham averaged just 2.6 yards on its other 42 rushing attempts. It was also Effingham’s fifth straight game coming in well short of 100 yards of passing offense.
The Generals advance to take on Mt. Zion next week; the Braves (7-2) earned an opening week bye. Mt. Zion and Mahomet-Seymour are the Apollo Conference teams left in the field; the top-seeded Bulldogs are coming off a bye week in Class 5A and will host Marion this week, while Taylorville was eliminated 34-28 by Waterloo in opening round play.
Twelve seniors graduate from this year’s EHS roster: Chase Starkey, Maxx Kistler, Gabe Raddatz, Will Hecht, Jack Hartman, Mason Bushue, Brady Patnaude, Landon Kiley, Aidan Feldhake, Clinton Metcalf, Xavier Lilly and Sawyer Reed.
At Decatur
Matheson Field, MacArthur High School
Effingham 0 6 0 8 – 14
MacArthur 14 7 14 0 – 35
SCORING SUMMARY
1Q, 9:30, MHS (0-7) – 35-yard run, Cayden Brown – Aidan Bruce kick good (3 plays, 53 yds, 0:42)
1Q, 2:06, MHS (0-14) – 90-yard interception return, Damonte Phillips – Aidan Bruce kick good
2Q, 10:34, MHS (0-21) – 82-yard interception return, Damonte Phillips – Aidan Bruce kick good
2Q, 5:18, EHS (6-21) – 47-yard run, Bryden Kade – PAT unsuccessful (3 plays, 53 yds, 1:30)
3Q, 11:42, MHS (6-28) – 72-yard pass, Antonio Young to Damonte Phillips – Aidan Bruce kick good (1 play, 72 yards, 0:18)
3Q, 8:12, MHS (6-35) – 20-yard run, Cayden Brown – Aidan Bruce kick good (4 plays, 78 yards, 1:43)
4Q, 2:49, EHS (14-35) – 46-yard run, Lexton Roberts – Brady Patnaude pass to Will Hecht (9 plays, 94 yards, 3:58)
EFFINGHAM
Rushing: Bryden Kade, 28 for 140 yds, TD; Lexton Roberts, 10 for 557 yds, TD; Jenner Keyes, 4 for 7 yds; Jack Hartman, 1 for -1 yd.
Passing: Jack Hartman, 3-for-11, 58 yds, INT; Jenner Keyes, 0-for-1, INT.
Receiving: Jenner Pals, 2 for 48 yds, Brayden Baudier, 1 for 10 yds.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 261 yds on 56 plays (44 rushes for 203 yds, 12 passes for 58 yds).
MACARTHUR
Rushing: Cayden Brown, 10 for 73 yds, 2 TD; Damonte Phillips, 4 for 25 yds; Kamryn Stokes, 1 for -6 yds; Jai’Myrius Burch, 3 for -2 yds.
Passing: Antonio Young, 11-for-17, 224 yds, TD.
Receiving: Kyrie Jackson, 3 for 23 yds; Kamryn Stokes, 4 for 110 yds; Damonte Phillips, 4 for 86 yds, TD.
TOTAL OFFENSE: 314 yds on 35 plays (18 rushes for 90 yds; 17 passes for 224 yds).
TURNOVERS: Effingham 2, MacArthur 0.
PENALTIES: Effingham: none. MacArthur: 7 for 60 yds.
FIRST DOWNS: Effingham 12 (8 rushing, 3 passing, 1 by penalty), MacArthur 19 (5 rushing, 4 passing).