Hearts See Playoff Hopes Dashed by Mt. Zion

The Effingham Hearts will have to wait another season to have a shot at the playoffs.

Effingham lost to the Mt. Zion Braves, 21-0, in action at Klosterman Field Friday night. The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com.

The loss leaves the Hearts at 3-5 on the season, with the season-ender next Friday night against Mahomet-Seymour. It took five wins to become playoff-eligible.

Mt. Zion, meanwhile, improved to 7-1 on the campaign, having run the table in the Apollo Conference with a 5-0 mark. Effingham finished 2-3 in the Apollo.

Mt. Zion scored with 5:07 left in the first quarter. After a one-yard loss on a running play, the Braves hit pay dirt when quarterback Brandon Price ran the ball 86 yards down the sideline for the score. Charles Kuhle's extra point made it 7-0.

There was no further scoring until there were 29.7 seconds left before halftime. Mt. Zion completed a seven-play, 49-yard drive that concluded with an 18-yard pass play from Price to Kuhle. Kuhle's kick made it 14-0.

The Braves tacked on one more score with 1:22 left in the game when Price connected with Kuhle on a 40-yard completion followed by Kuhle's kick to account for the final score, completing a six-play, 59-yard drive that took 2:48 to conclude.

The Hearts were held to 11 first downs on the night, seven on the ground, four through the air. Mt. Zion garnered 14 first downs, six rushing, seven passing, and one via penalty.

Effingham netted just 207 yards in offense, compared to 338 yards for Mt. Zion. The Hearts gained 93 rushing yards on 37 attempts, and picked up 114 yards through the air on 11 of 28 passing with one interception. Mt. Zion rushed 31 times for 181 yards, and completed 12 of 21 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

A team was finally able to keep the Hearts' junior running back Terrence Hill in check, holding him to 79 yards rushing on 31 attempts. The effort leaves Hill more than 300 yards away from Effingham's single-season rushing record of 1,864 yards set by Zach Miller in 2014.

Other rushers for the Hearts: Jordan McCabe 2 for 24 yards, Lucas Vasquez 2 for -1, and Landon Wolfe 2 for -9. 

As far as the passing game, Vasquez was four of 13 for 32 yards and an interception, while Wolfe was six of 14 for 71 yards. Alec Morrissey also completed a pass on an option play, good for 11 yards. Gabe Herron finished as the top receiver with 83 yards on seven catches, while Harrison Smith caught a seven-yard pass, and Hill caught three passes for 23 yards.

Brandon Price ended up rushing for 153 yards for Mt. Zion on 16 carries, with one touchdown. Price also completed 12 of 20 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Kuhle caught five passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Other Hearts stats: Logan Smith punted four times for 168 yards, 42 yards per punt; Kendall Ballman and Jacob Miller each made an interception for the Hearts; Danny Hortenstine had one 47-yard kickoff; Jakob Conrad, Zane Thilker and Jordan McCabe each had a kickoff return; and Alec Morrissey had a fumble recovery.

Next week will be Senior Night, as the Hearts recognize graduating football players and cheerleaders, as well as senior marching band members.