Flaming Hearts Looking for Big Season

The Effingham Flaming Hearts have high hopes for the 2017 football season, and there's reason for optimism.

Start with Terrence Hill. The senior is coming off a season where he rushed for more than 1,600 yards.

Then, consider the defense. Nine starters are returning from last season.

Consider quarterback Landon Wolfe. The junior is coming off a varsity season where he learned a lot and has earned the starting spot. That has allowed Lucas Vasquez, who split time with Wolfe last season, to shift to the fullback position. Wolfe isn't alone at QB, though. Sophomore Nathan Shackelford had a good freshman campaign and can be expected to get time in certain situations during the game.

Look at the squad's special teams. Logan Smith had a gangbuster season last year as a punter, consistently pinning opponents deep in their own territory to start drives. Danny Hortenstine continued to mature as a kicker and was regularly hitting from 30 to 40 yards out during the Buck Bowl last week.

Add to that Coach Brett Hefner's belief that in his third season as Hearts coach, his program and philosophy has taken hold. Also, retired varsity coach Mike McDonald has agreed to serve as freshman coach, a situation that, Hefner says, has allowed him to turn that program over and it's one thing off his plate.

The Hearts travel to Breese Friday night to take on the Mater Dei Knights. Kickoff is at 7pm. Hear the action on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. Greg Sapp and Dustin White will be on the air at 6:45pm with the pre-game show. Zak Dietzen will once again be videotaping each game and making copies of the games available soon after each contest.

There are many changes in the Hearts schedule. Following Breese, conference trips are scheduled to Taylorville and Mt. Zion. Not exactly the easiest part of the schedule, but the Hearts finish the regular season playing five of six contests at home, hosting new opponents Lincoln and Macomb. The Railsplitters have joined the Apollo while Macomb is a non-conference opponent. Mahomet-Seymour, also now an Apollo member will travel to Effingham next.

The Hearts will play their final regular season road contest on October 6 at Charleston, then will return home for their final conference game against Mattoon and will finish the regular season with Salem, now a non-conference opponent after their departure to the Red Bud Conference.

To break that down, the Apollo now includes Effingham, Taylorville, Mt. Zion, Lincoln, Mahomet-Seymour, Charleston and Mattoon. Macomb and Salem are the non-conference opponents this season.

Coaches often take a dim view of polls, particularly pre-season polls, but Effingham is rated #9 in Class 4A in the AP Poll. Taylorville is right behind at #10, and Breese Mater Dei and Mt. Zion got votes in the 4A poll. Mahomet-Seymour received votes in the 5A poll, so it's another challenging schedule for the Hearts.