Effingham rushed for 225 yards and took advantage of several turnovers to roll past Mattoon, 34-0, in football action at Gaines Field on Friday night.

MHS drops to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the Apollo Conference. Effingham is now 2-2, 2-1.

After MHS failed to score despite moving inside Effingham’s 25-yard-line on its first possession, Effingham went on a 14-play, 86-yard drive to go ahead 6-0 after a missed PAT.

The Hearts then grinded out another drive, using 12 plays to go 52 yards for a score that made it 13-0 in the second quarter.

Effingham drove 35 and 47 yards to go ahead 27-0 through three quarters.

Another short drive, 35 yards on six plays in the fourth quarter, made it 34-0.

Effingham’s Chris Hemwall (42) trips up Mattoon’s Slater Trier during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Effingham’s Kaden Koeberlein (25) and Charlie Ring tackle Mattoon’s Taerick Grace during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.

Mattoon struggled to stop Effingham’s grinding rushing game, which averaged a little more than 4 yards per attempt and chewed up a lot of time on the clock. The Heart possessed the ball nearly twice as long, 31:20-16:40.

The Green Wave, meanwhile, struggled on the ground, averaging fewer than 2 yards a carry on 23 attempts.

Two interceptions halted drives.

“We have to play better,” MHS senior linebacker T.J. Owens said. “We have to play 48 minutes. When we’re driving, we need to keep the foot on the gas.”

The Green Wave travel to face Collinsville next week.

Mattoon’s Taerick Grace (9) collides with Effingham’s London Rinkel with Spencer Fox on his back during the Hearts 34-0 victory at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Effingham’s Jack Harper deflects a pass intended for Mattoon’s Owen Hawkins during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.

Effingham 34, Mattoon 0

1234F
Effingham67147 –34
Mattoon0000 –0

TEAM STATISTICS

MATTOONSTATEFF
176Total Yds297
137Passing Yds72
39Rushing Yds225
52Off Plays65
3.4Avg. Yds per play4.6
4-133rd downs7-11
81st downs 19
7-67Penalties 3-15
2Turnovers0
1-54th downs1-2

MHS INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

Slater Trier 11-29 137, 2 INTs

Rushing (Att/Yds)

Taeriek Grace 14-29, Cale Kimbro 1-5, Logan Blackburn 1-0.

Receiving (Rec/Yds)

Logan Blackburn 6-65, Owen Hawkins 3-32, Jake Butler 1-32, Slater Trier 7-5, Trick Grace 1-8.

Mattoon’s Logan Blackburn tries to reach the ball that was deflected by Effingham’s Kaden Koeberlein during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Mattoon’s Riley Spencer tries to sack Effingham’s Tanner Pontious during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening. Pontious threw the ball away before being pushed out of bounds on the play.
Mattoon’s TJ Owens tries to tackle Effingham’s Andrew Lotz during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Effingham’s Evan Waymoth tries to escape from Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn and Riley Spencer during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Mattoon’s Aidan Blackburn tackles Effingham’s Evan Waymoth during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Effingham’s Tanner Pontious scrambles away from Mattoon’s Chase Woodard during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Mattoon’s Cale Kimbro (12) tackles Effingham’s Evan Waymoth during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Mattoon’s Sean Fuentes (7), Cole Kaufman (70), and Kaden Junge tackle Effingham’s Tanner Pontious during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.
Mattoon’s Cale Kimbro tackles Effingham’s Evan Waymoth during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening. Kimbro was flagged for a facemask penalty on the play.
Mattoon’s Riley Spencer (73) sacks Effingham’s Tanner Pontious during the Hearts’ 34-0 victory over the Green Wave at Gaines Field Friday evening.