Hearts Wrap Up Conference Play at Mt. Zion

The Effingham Hearts will close out the Apollo Conference portion of their schedule Friday night, traveling to Mt. Zion to take on the Braves. The game can be heard on 979XFM and www.979xfm.com 

The Hearts are 4-3 on the season and are on a two-game losing streak, falling at Taylorville 42-41 in overtime and getting shutout by Mahomet-Seymour last Friday night 49-0. Effingham opened their season with wins over Robinson 54-30 and at Mt. Carmel 26-22, before losing at Breese Mater Dei 35-20.

Effingham then won two straight, 52-29 over Mattoon and 30-20 over Charleston.

The Hearts need a win to become playoff eligible.

Mt. Zion is in the same boat, as the Braves also sit at 4-3. 

Mt. Zion beat Limestone 37-7 to start the season, then lost to Troy Triad 17-10. The Braves beat Salem 34-14 and got by Taylorville 14-12. Mattoon then upended Mt. Zion 35-20 and Mahomet-Seymour beat the Braves 38-14. Mt. Zion beat Charleston last week 42-10.

Keller Stocks, the Mt. Zion quarterback, has thrown for 18 touchdowns. Other offensive weapons for the Braves are receivers Jacob Harvey and Brayden Trimble, tight end J.C. Anderson, and running backs Joey Jordan and Kaden Becker.

Effingham's offense is fueled by senior running back Weldon Dunston, who has racked up 24 touchdowns but was shut out last week. Maxx Kistler is the Hearts' leading receiver, while quarterback Jaxon Bridges has a 93.2% quarterback rating. Defensively, Michael Love is averaging eight tackles per game.

The Hearts wrap up their regular season next Friday night, playing host to Centralia.

Here are the Week 8 matchups:

EFFINGHAM ____________ at MT. ZION ___________________

TAYLORVILLE __________ at CHARLESTON ______________

MATTOON _____________ at MAHOMET-SEYMOUR ________________

Lawrenceville ___________ at Newton _____________

Nokomis _____________ at Cumberland __________________

Robinson ___________ at Paris ________________

Marshall ____________ at Mt. Carmel _____________

Breese Mater Dei _____________ at Decatur St. Teresa _____________

Centralia ________________ at Mt. Vernon _____________

Casey-Westfield ______________ at Olney Richland County _______________

TDW Academy ____________ at Flora ____________

Gillespie ______________ at Vandalia _________________