Hearts Advance to Second Round w/Win Over Manteno

The Effingham Hearts have advanced to the second round of the Class 4A football playoffs with a 48-21 win over the Manteno Panthers at a cold and blustery Klosterman Field Saturday afternoon.

The game was heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. Zak Dietzen will have videos of the game available early in the week.

Don't be fooled by the final score; the game was a close contest for much of the afternoon. In fact, Manteno led 21-14 with 5:44 remaining in the second quarter and the contest was a 21-21 tie at halftime.

It was all Effingham in the second half, though, as the Hearts scored four times after intermission and scored the final 34 points of the game.

Effingham will play at Highland in the second round of the playoffs. Game time has been finalized as 3pm Saturday, and we will be broadcasting.

Manteno scored on their first possession, going 71 yards in 10 plays finished by a one-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Shane Warren with 7:25 left in the first quarter.

The Hearts tied the game with 51 seconds left in the period on a 31-yard touchdown reception by running back Terrence Hill capping a three-play drive that actually started at the Manteno 25. Danny Hortenstine converted on his first of six successful extra point attempts to make it 7-7.

The Hearts went ahead with 10:39 remaining in the second period at the end of three-play, 31-yard drive on a 19-yard gallop by Hill and the point after to make it 14-7.

Manteno, though, scored on its next two conversions to move back ahead 21-14, but the Hearts tied the contest with 1:33 left before halftime at the end of a three-play, 39-yard drive. Hill scored from three yards out and Hortenstine's kick was good to tie it at 21-21.

The Hearts began the second half scoring with 3:46 left in the third quarter at the end of a seven-play, 85-yard drive on a quarterback keeper by Landon Wolfe from 17 yards out. The extra point try was blocked, but the Hearts led 27-21 and were never headed.

Effingham scored three times in the final period, the first on a 65-yard interception return for touchdown by Kendall Ballman, who also had two fumble recoveries in the contest. The extra point made it 34-21 with 10:44 left in the game. The next score came at the end of a four-play, 51-yard drive highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown burst by Hill and the extra point to make it 41-21 with 6:39 remaining, and the final score came with 2:59 remaining at the end of a four-play, 45-yard drive capped by a 37-yard run by Hill and the extra point.

Hill finished with four touchdowns and 244 yards rushing. He has made three more marks in the EHS record book, having passed Nick Jones for most career points and for career touchdowns. He also broke Zach Miller's record, set in 2014, for most yards rushing in a season. Those new records go with career rushing yardage, most touchdowns in a season, and most points in a season.

Meanwhile, the team added to its record of most points in a season, and Danny Hortenstine added to his record of most points after touchdowns in a season.

The Hearts totaled 18 first downs; 14 on the ground and four via passing. Effingham rushed the ball 45 times, gaining 271 yards and scoring five touchdowns. The Hearts were five of 14 passing for 113 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Hearts netted 384 total yards.

Manteno picked up 15 first downs; three on the ground and 12 through the air. They rushed the ball 23 times for 27 yards including a touchdown. They passed the ball 48 times and completed 30 for 249 yards including two touchdowns and one interception.

Manteno ran 71 plays to 59 for the Hearts and they netted 276 total yards. Manteno also won the time of possession battle; 25:38 to 22:22. 

In addition to Hill's rushing stats, Landon Wolfe carried three times for 23 yards including a touchdown, Jordan McCabe rushed once for a two-yard loss, and Nathan Shackelford carried five times for six yards.

Wolfe was 5-for-12 passing for 113 yards and one touchdown. Shackelford was 0-for-1 passing and Hill's pass attempt on an option play was intercepted.

As far as catching the football, Hill's 31-yard touchdown reception was joined by Jacob Miller's two catches for 58 yards, McCabe's 17-yard grab, and a seven-yard catch by Paul Smith.

Manteno through the first 3-1/2 quarters passed the ball almost exclusively. Quarterback Shane Warren put it up 48 times and completed 30 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Caleb Boudreau had a 26-yard touchdown reception, one of 10 passes he caught for 87 yards. Ryan Cooper caught an eight-yard touchdown pass, one of four catches he had for 37 yards. Anthony Lopez caught seven passes for 14 yards, Brandon Steele caught four balls for 60 yards, and Stevie Silva had five catches for 51 yards.

Warren rushed the ball 15 times for -18 yards and one touchdown, and Silva had eight rushes for 45 yards.

Here's the tackle sheet: Jordan McCabe 3, plus a sack for a 29-yard loss; Alec Morrissey 5, Logan Brown 1, Parker Seachrist 4, Kendall Ballman 6, Kody Line 7, Braden Hasty 6, Frank Schneiderjon 3, including a sack awarded on an intentional grounding call for a nine-yard loss, Jarrett Jones 7, including a sack, Terrence Hill 2, Kaleb Kihne 1, Luke Spencer 1, and Noah Spencer 2. 

As far as other stats, the Hearts' Logan Smith punted three times for 101 yards, Dylan Bushur had a four-yard punt return and Terrence Hill returned a punt seven yards, and Hortenstine had seven kickoffs for 320 yards. Hill returned two kickoffs for 30 yards, while Ballman returned two for 28 yards.

The Hearts move on to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season.

The day was concluded on a poignant note; after the game had ended and as Manteno was heading home, a ceremony was held including a balloon release to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Juan Vasquez, father of current Hearts player Lucas Vasquez and of former Heart and current North Central College player Drew Vasquez.