VIDEO: Hearts Lose at Mt. Zion; No Playoff Appearance This Season; Other Friday Scores

The Effingham Hearts' hopes of a postseason berth were dashed Friday night by the Mt. Zion Braves, who defeated the Hearts 42-20 in action at Mt. Zion.

The game, which ended the conference season for the Hearts, was heard on 979XFM.

The loss leaves the Hearts at 3-5 on the season with one game remaining next Friday night at Mahomet-Seymour. At least five wins are necessary for a football team to even be eligible for make the playoffs.

The early part of the game indicated that the Hearts might come up with a win. 

After Mt. Zion scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass less than two minutes into the game, the Hearts scored twice to take a 13-7 lead.

The first score came with 5:33 remaining in the first quarter as the Hearts staged a 13 play, 83 yard drive that culminated in quarterback Hudson Graham's one-yard touchdown plunge and was followed with 2:12 remaining in the first period by a five play, 50 yard drive that finished with Terrence Hill's 36-yard touchdown run.

Mt. Zion responded, though, scoring twice in the final 2:10 of the first half to regain the lead and they were never headed.

Mt. Zion scored two more touchdowns in the third quarter and found themselves leading the Hearts 36-13 at the end of the period.

Effingham scored one more time, with 11:24 left in the game on a one-yard run by Drew Vasquez to conclude a seven play, 58 yard drive that pulled the Hearts to within 36-20, but the Braves scored less than two minutes later to account for the final score.

Mt. Zion rolled up 475 yards in total offense, to 256 total yards for Effingham. The Braves picked up 24 first downs to 16 for Effingham.

Of that 256 yards of offense for Effingham, 207 yards were gained on the ground, 49 yards through the air.

Effingham's running back tandem of Terrence Hill and Drew Vasquez rushed for more than 200 yards, Hill 113 yards on 20 carries and Vasquez 90 yards on 19 carries. Graham gained three net yards on eight carries, and Zane Thiker carried once.

Graham attempted 11 passes, completing four for 39 yards. Wyatt Keith caught a 28-yard pass, Cory Osborn had two grabs for 19 yards, and Vasquez caught one for -5 yards.

Other Hearts stats: Logan Smith punted five times for 158 yards, Logan Smith kicked off three times for 141 yards and Sean Zerrusen once for 37 yards, Osborn had a kickoff return for 20 yards, and Zane Thilker had two returns for 11 yards.

Mt. Zion quarterback Brandon Price rushed 24 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Price also completed 12 of 24 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

Here's a look at the Friday night matchups:

APOLLO CONFERENCE

Mt. Zion 42, Effingham 20 Final 

Taylorville 45, Mattoon 17 Final 

Salem 52, Charleston 14 Final 

In an oddity, there were no ties for a spot in the Apollo Conference standings this season. The breakdown is as follows: Taylorville 5-0, Mattoon 4-1, Mt. Zion 3-2, Effingham 2-3, Salem 1-4, and Charleston 0-5.

ELSEWHERE

Decatur St. Teresa 36, Shelbyville 21 Final

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 34, Central A&M 6 Final

Bloomington Central Catholic 42, Mahomet-Seymour 21 Final

Flora 42, Edwards County 12 Final 

Marshall 52, Casey-Westfield 6 Final

Newton 54, Olney East Richland 14 Final 

Robinson 40, Paris 6 Final

Cumberland 62, Martinsville 8 Final

Troy Triad 35, Bethalto Civic Memorial 13 Final

Waterloo 42, Mascoutah 12 Final

Pana 21, Vandalia 13 Final

Centralia 48, Mt. Vernon 24 Final 

Macomb at Breese Mater Dei (SAT)