Hearts Host Mahomet-Seymour Friday

The Mahomet-Seymour Bulldogs travel to Klosterman Field at Washington Savings Bank Stadium Friday night to take on the Effingham Hearts in Apollo Conference football action. The game can be heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com. Kickoff is set for 7pm. Pre-game coverage will begin at 6:45pm.

The Hearts were thrwarted in their effort to pick up a fifth win last week when they lost in overtime at Taylorville, 42-41. The Hearts stand at 4-2 and need a fifth win to become playoff-eligible.

Mahomet-Seymour is also 4-2 after a convincing 38-14 win last Friday at Mt. Zion. The Bulldogs opened their season with a 69-37 win over Morton, then lost two games in a row, 42-41 in double overtime at Highland and 21-13 to Highland. The Bulldogs beat Charleston 56-3 then won at Taylorville 28-6 before the win last week over the Braves.

Effingham beat Robinson 54-30 to open the season, then won 26-22 at Mt. Carmel. The Hearts lost 35-20 at Breese Mater Dei, then beat Mattoon and Charleston 59-29 and 30-20 before last week's loss to the Tornadoes.

Jon Adkins' Mahomet-Seymour team has some weapons. Senior quarterback Lucas Dyer has thrown for 1,514 yards and 16 touchdowns with just interceptions. His chief target is 6'6" senior wide receiver Trey Peters. Gavin Hammerschmidt is another receiving threat. The Bulldogs' leading ground-gainer is 5'9" 195-pound junior Cade Ashby.

Effingham's chief threat is senior running back Weldon Dunston IV. Dunston had picked up 24 touchdowns and rushed for just under 1,400 yards. The Hearts...principally Dunston...has rushed for at least 200 yards in six consecutive games.

The Effingham vs. Mahomet-Seymour matchup stands at 5-5 in 10 battles since 2014. 

Friday is "Real Men Wear Pink Night" to support the battle against cancer.

Here are the Week 7 matchups in our region:

MAHOMET-SEYMOUR ___________ at EFFINGHAM ____________

MT. ZION _______________at CHARLESTON ______________

TAYLORVILLE ____________ at MATTOON _______________

Oakland Tri-County ____________ at Cumberland _________________

Newton _____________ at Robinson ______________

Olney Richland County _____________ at Paris _______________

McLeansboro ___________ at Flora ______________

Mt. Carmel ____________ at Casey-Westfield _____________

Belleville Althoff ______________ at Breese Mater Dei ____________

Cahokia _____________ at Centralia _______________

Vandalia __________ at Hillsboro ____________

Shelbyville _____________ at Clinton _____________

Salem ______________ at Columbia ____________