Hearts to Host Manteno Saturday in First Round of Playoffs; Cumberland on Road in 1A, Newton at Home in 3A

The Effingham Hearts now know who will be their first round opponent in the Class 4A football playoffs next weekend.

Effingham will play host to Manteno. Effingham Activities Director David Woltman said the game will played on Saturday. Game time is 2pm. The game will be aired on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

The Hearts finished the season with an 8-1 record. The Manteno Panthers are members of the Interstate Eight Conference. They ended the regular season with a 6-3 mark.

As far as other area teams, Newton will host Alton Marquette in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Eagles finished the season with an 8-1 record, as did Alton Marquette. Game time at Chizevsky Field in Newton is 7pm Friday.

The Cumberland Pirates will hit the road in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs, traveling to Decatur Lutheran, or LSA as they're also known. Cumberland finished 7-2 on the regular season. They will play in Decatur on Friday at 7pm.

As far as other schools in the region, Shelbyville will host Villa Grove Heritage in a 2A game, Vandalia heads to Fairfield in the 3A playoffs, and Marshall goes to St. Teresa in 3A.

Two other Apollo Conference schools made the playoffs. Taylorville, whose only loss was to the Hearts, will host Coal City in 4A action. Mahomet-Seymour, who lost to the Hearts in a running clock game, still finished 6-3 and will play at Chatham Glenwood in a Class 5A matchup.