VIDEO: Football Hearts Smash Mascoutah

VIDEO: EHS vs Mascoutah 2014 (direct link)

The Effingham Hearts football squad could have complained about making the trip to and from Mascoutah twice within 24 hours, could have fretted over being down 7-0 after Mascoutah's opening drive, and might have gotten discouraged over what the 2014 season might hold.

Instead, the Hearts exploded Saturday afternoon offensively and defensively on their way to a 35-13 victory over the Indians in a game heard on 979XFM.

Mascoutah led the game 7-0 when the contest was halted Friday night with 1:36 left in the first half due to a lightning storm. Once play began Saturday, though, the Hearts dominated the contest.

Effingham scored at the end of a six-play, 45-yard drive that began play Saturday on a one-yard run by Travis Durbin and Michael Carie first of five extra points tied the game at 7-7 with 11:26 left in the second quarter. 

The Hearts came right back and scored with 7:32 remaining before halftime on a pretty 36-yard pass play from Kevin Daugherty to Carter Hayes to take a 14-7 lead. The pass play concluded a six-play, 59-yard drive.

(CARTER HAYES HAD A 36-YARD TOUCHDOWN CATCH AND FOUR TACKLES AS PART OF THE HEARTS' ATTACK)

Mascoutah's last successful drive came with 1:25 remaining in the second quarter as Misikei Thomsen took it in from two yards out to pull the Indians within 14-13, but they missed the extra point try and the Hearts still led the game at halftime.

The second half was all Effingham. The Hearts scored with 11:40 to go in the third quarter on a 49-yard run by Zach Miller and another Carie kick to make it 21-13. 

Effingham extended the lead to 28-13 with a seven-play, 33-yard drive capped by Billy Arndt's four-yard touchdown run with 8:02 left in the third quarter.

The Hearts closed out the scoring with 11:25 left in the game on a nine-play, 78-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock. Zach Miller came back to score from six yards out and one more Carie kick accounted for the final score.

(MICHAEL CARIE WAS 5-FOR-5 ON EXTRA POINT TRIES AS THE HEARTS POSTED THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON)

The numbers tell the tale. Effingham registered 26 first downs to 12 for Mascoutah, ran 61 plays to 46 for Mascoutah, and had a 28:43 to 19:17 Time-of-Possession advantage on the Indians. The Hearts gained 337 yards on the ground, compared to 53 yards for Mascoutah.

Zach Miller had a monster game for the Hearts, gaining 205 yards on 23 carries. Other ground gainers for Effingham: Travis Durbin--10 carries for 47 yards, Billy Arndt--six carries for 41 yards, Kevin Daugherty--nine rushes for 20 yards, and Drew Vasquez--six rushes for 19 yards.

Because of the success of the ground game, Daugherty didn't throw the ball much, but still completed three of six passes for 74 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In addition to Hayes' touchdown catch, Billy Arndt had two grabs for 38 yards.

Tim Parks was the bulk of the Mascoutah attack, as the senior quarterback completed 11 of 19 passes for 146 yards. No one had more than 27 yards rushing for the Indians, who fell to 1-1 on the season with the loss.

Joe Niemann and Drew Vasquez each had an interception for the Hearts, Vasquez with a leaping catch after a pass was tipped by Griffin Paige.

Joe Niemann led the Hearts in tackles with nine, while Travis Durbin had eight and Billy Arndt seven. Drew Vasquez had six tackles, Carter Hayes and Evan Boggs four each, Jordan Coleman three stops, Alex Ramos, Kevin Daugherty, Zach Miller, Michael Carie and Griffin Paige two apiece, and Hunter Diveley, Blake White and Khole Moran one each.

The win gets the Hearts even on the season at 1-1 with their home opener looming next Friday night, playing host to Bethalto Civic Memorial. Game time is 7pm. We hope you'll be there with your radio, but if you can't be, listen to 979XFM or www.979xfm.com.  

Here's a look at other scores from the weekend:

Arcola 52, Cumberland 0

Bethalto Civic Memorial 48, Mattoon 16

Mt. Vernon 28, Charleston 0

Robinson 48, Flora 0

Olney East Richland 34, Red Hill 27

Carlinville 57, Vandalia 22

Highland 55, Salem 7

Shelbyville 56, Rantoul 20

Monticello 45, Macomb 21

Marshall 43, Albion (Edwards County) 0

Lawrenceville 46, Paris 0

Oakland Tri-County 33, Decatur LSA 3

Centralia 28, Wood River-East Alton 0