EFFINGHAM — Grant Johnson didn’t give Effingham teammate Tyler Pilcher much time to bask in the glow of a big play by himself for too long.

    Pilcher answered a Newton touchdown that pulled the Eagles within two points midway through the third quarter with a 95-yard score on a kickoff return.

    Pilcher’s touchdown came with 6 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Less than three minutes later, Johnson put the game out of reach on a 97-yard touchdown run that ultimately gave the Hearts a 28-13 win on Friday night at Chizevsky Field in Newton.

    “I think the first half we didn’t put all the heart we had in it,” Effingham’s Eric Probst said. “The second half we came out and wanted it.”

    Johnson’s touchdown run was a bit of surprise. Newton’s defense initially seemed to have Johnson wrapped up with minimal gain inside of the 5-yard line. Johnson kept his footing, stayed upright, powered through the would-be Eagles’ tacklers and broke free for a sprint down the right sideline.

    “I just stuck my head down and ran as hard as I could,” Johnson said. “That play is to pretty much get us out of there and make room so we can make some more plays.”

    Effingham coach Mike McDonald said Johnson’s 97-yarder could have just as easily been that 1- or 2-yard gain.

   “Obviously Newton is pressuring us and trying to keep us down there,” McDonald said. “Sometimes you get stuffed, but if you block it right sometimes you can break it.”

   Newton coach Jason Fulton said Pilcher’s kick return touchdown and Johnson’s long touchdown run soon after was the changing point of the game. Before Pilcher’s touchdown return, Newton had pulled within two points on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brian Emmerich to Dylan Davidson.

   “We felt like we were still in the game,” Fulton said. “You can’t let a team like Effingham have that kind of advantage.”

   Johnson finished the game with 214 yards rushing on 12 carries. He was also responsible for all three of Effingham’s offensive touchdowns. He scored on an 11-yard run in the second quarter and added a 27-yard touchdown run 15 seconds before halftime.

    Johnson and Pilcher also made some defensive highlights with fourth quarter interceptions off Emmerich, but it was Sean Dammerman and Tyler Doty that led the Hearts with nine tackles each. Dammerman and Doty were just part of Effingham’s pressure defense, that, until the first quarter was complete struggled to stop the Eagles’ offense.

    Newton moved the ball well in the first quarter and used the Hearts’ pressure against them. Newton might not have scored its first touchdown of the game until early in the second quarter, but it came on a drive that started in the first quarter — when the Eagles relied on Emmerich’s arm to move the chains.

    “They were bringing a lot of pressure in their 3-5-3 defense,” Fulton said. “They were bringing a lot of blitzes. We saw some things in our passing game in the flats.”

    Emmerich connected with fullback Taylor Kerner for several dump and screen passes in response to Effingham’s blitzes. With several Hearts’ invading Newton’s backfield, Kerner had room to run once he caught the short passes.

    Newton took its only lead of the game on one of those short passes when Emmerich hit Kerner for a 6-yard touchdown 13 seconds into the second quarter.

    After that, the Hearts’ defense tightened up and let Johnson and the rest of Effingham’s offense go to work. Even with the win, McDonald said there’s still room for improvement.  Addressing penalty issues on the offensive line might be one area of concern.

    “We’re happy with the win and happy to be 3-0 in the conference, but we’re unhappy with where we’re at,” McDonald said. “At this point in the season you have to get better every week. You can’t have setbacks with 12 penalties.”

    Effingham (3-1, 3-0 Apollo Conference) is set to return to action next Friday at home against Olney. Newton (2-2, 1-2) is scheduled for a road game at Charleston.



Effingham 28, Newton 13



Effingham 0 15 13 0 -28



Newton 0 7 6 0 -13



Scoring Summary



Second quarter



Newton — Brian Emmerich 6 pass to Taylor Kerner (A.J. Hyatt kick good), 11:47



Effingham — Grant Johnson 11 run (Johnson kick good), 4:24



Effingham — Johnson 27 run (Brent Roepke run good), 0:15



Third quarter



Newton — Emmerich 3 pass to Dylan Davidson (Emmerich pass no good), 6:30



Effingham — Tyler pilcher 95 yard kick return (Johnson kick good), 6:15



Effingham — Johnson 97 run (Brady Walker kick no good), 3:27







Individual Statistics



Rushing



Effingham — Dereck Reedy 8-58; Grant Johnson 12-213; John Jones 8-8; Nate McDonald 8-21; Tyler Bushue 6-32; Brent Roepke 1-3; Sean Dammerman 1-(-2)



Newton —A.J. Hyatt 15-58; Connor Walters 6-10; Brian Emmerich 5-11







Passing



Effingham — Jones 4-10-43, INT



Newton — Emmerich 14-27-120, 2 TD, 2 INT







Receiving



Effingham — McDonald 1-1; Reedy 1-4; Brady Walker 1-26; Michael Koester 1-12



Newton — James Blievernicht 3-39; Taylor Kerner 5-47, TD; Dylan Davidson 4-23, TD; Jordan Kocher 1-1; Hyatt.1-10