Senior Night for Football Hearts Friday

The Effingham Hearts will play host to the Breese Mater Dei Knights Friday night.

It'll be Senior Night for the Hearts who, like the Knights, head into the action with a 4-3 record. That means whoever wins the contest will become playoff-eligible. That's no guarantee that the winning team will make the playoffs, only that they'll be eligible.

Mater Dei lost their opener to Waterloo 13-2, but bounced back to defeat Breese Central 27-14. The Knights lost to Belleville Althoff 13-7, but then beat Belleville Marquette 51-0. Quincy Notre Dame defeated Mater Dei 35-14, but the Knights then won their next two games, defeating DuQuoin 27-19 and shutting out Granite City 59-0. 

The Hearts lost their first two games to two Top 5 opponents, Decatur St. Teresa 18-0 and Mahomet-Seymour 35-14. Both of those teams remain undefeated on the season and St. Teresa is now rated #1 in the state in Class 2A. Effingham then won three straight games, downing Charleston 31-13, winning at Mattoon 34-0, and defeating Taylorville 48-13. In a classic overtime battle, Mt. Zion edged the Hearts 39-36, but Effingham then traveled to Lincoln last week and blanked the Railers 47-0. 

Senior Drake Rensing is the standout on offense for the Knights, having rushed for 759 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

Weldon Dunston is the Hearts' leading rusher with 505 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Effingham quarterback Tanner Pontious has thrown for 754 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for four other scores. The favorite targets for Pontious have been Andrew Lotz, Caden Walls, Garrett Wolfe and Conner Thompson.

Next week, the Hearts close out the regular season at Highland. 

Here are the Week 8 matchups:

Breese Mater Dei _____ at Effingham _____

Newton _____ at Olney Richland County _____

Cumberland _____ at Argenta-Oreana _____

Mt. Zion _____ at Charleston _____

Taylorville _____ at Lincoln _____

Mahomet-Seymour _____ at Mattoon _____

Shelbyville _____ at Decatur St. Teresa _____

Mascoutah _____ at Highland _____

Sesser-Valier _____ at Flora _____

Litchfield _____ at Vandalia _____