Football Hearts Play First Road Game Friday at Lincoln; Other Area Matchups

The Effingham Hearts will play their first road game of the season Friday night. Effingham travels to Lincoln to take on the Railsplitters in Apollo Conference action. Kickoff will be at 7pm. Hear the action on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. 

The Hearts picked up their first victory of the season last Friday, defeating Mt. Zion 41-14. The win follows losses to Breese Mater Dei and Taylorville. The Hearts are 1-1 in conference play.

Lincoln won its season opener, defeating Macomb 20-13, then lost to Mt. Zion 13-3 and to Mattoon 47-13, so the Railsplitters also stand at 1-2 on the season but 0-2 in the Apollo.

Effingham finally got its offense untracked last week, with Logan Brown rushing for more than 150 yards, seven different receivers catching a pass, and Landon Wolfe throwing for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Lincoln is a still-young team, with only one senior among their skill players on offense, but their quarterback Dreyden Pozsgai is back for a second varsity season as the starter. Their running backs, Tyler Vance and Brandon Sweitzer, are juniors. Their leading receivers, Noah Funk and Jayden Pollice, are juniors.

Next week, the Hearts will continue a three-game road trip at Macomb.

Here are the Friday matchups in high school football: (APOLLO TEAMS IN CAPS)

EFFINGHAM _____ at LINCOLN _____

CHARLESTON _____ vs MATTOON _____ (AT EIU)

TAYLORVILLE _____ at MAHOMET-SEYMOUR _____

Macomb _____ at MT. ZION _____

Flora _____ at Casey-Westfield _____

Newton _____ at Lawrenceville _____

Mt. Carmel _____ at Olney Richland County _____

Cumberland _____ at Oakland Tri-County _____

Pana _____ at Carlinville _____

Vandalia _____ at Litchfield _____

Freeburg _____ at Breese Mater Dei _____

Carterville _____ at DuQuoin _____