Hearts prepare for trip to Quincy ND

Dustin White

Effingham High School is back in the second round of the football playoffs, and its search for a 10th win takes it to Quincy for Saturday's 2 p.m. Class 4A matchup with the undefeated Notre Dame Raiders.

The Flaming Hearts (9-1) collected their first opening-round victory since 2006 with Friday's mud-soaked 10-7 squeaker over Belleville Althoff, while Quincy Notre Dame (10-0) had no trouble dispatching visiting Harrisburg 42-0 in Saturday action.

EHS coach Mike McDonald has led the Flaming Hearts to seven consecutive postseasons, and he knows his club will be put to the test. The Raiders have given up a mere 32 points this season, nearly half coming in their season opener with Macomb.

"They're good," said McDonald. "They're not a real flashy team. They run some spread, but the mostly run the ball and play good defense.

"Their defense kind of reminds me of ours; it's not one or two standouts, these guys do it as a unit. It's hard to look at film and find their weaknesses. Offensively, it's the same way. They've shown they can run the ball well, but they've also shown they can throw."

Of course, the action on the field is but one challenge faced by the Hearts.

As the No. 5 seed in Class 4A's loaded upper bracket, EHS has the not-so-pleasant task of traveling to take on Notre Dame's No. 4 squad.

"It's a nice little trip," said McDonald.

Effingham's 18th-year coach made his way to the western edge of the state to watch the Raiders' playoff opener.

"I wanted to go just to get a feel for the trip so I know what it's going to be like," said McDonald. "That way you can kind of refer back to the kids and give them an idea. I think it's important to have an idea what to expect. That way it isn't a shock when they get there."

The Apollo Conference, of which Effingham is the sole remaining survivor, makes for some long road trips, but from year to year there is at least some familiarity with the routes and facilities within the league.

Meanwhile, there's no good way to get to Quincy, and the Hearts are preparing for a four-hour bus trip to take on the Mid-State 6 champions.

"That's always a concern," said McDonald. "You just have to draw on what experiences you do have. We practice during the day. We had to get up early during double-day practices.

"Obviously, there's no way to simulate the trip. We like to get dressed in our own locker room and go through some things there so we can get off the bus and be almost ready to go when we get there. This is just too long of a trip to do that. We're going to try and break up the trip a little and get them as mentally prepared as we can."

Effingham's bus will stop at one point within the trip so the Hearts can stretch their legs, hit the bathrooms and grab a bite to eat.

These are certainly challenges, but McDonald has said more than once that his club is a mentally tough collection.

"Our senior leadership has really come through as the year has progressed," said McDonald. "We've set some goals, and those goals are ingrained in them. Each step is another rung in the ladder that we're expecting to be able to climb.

"Our job this week is to go to Quincy and play the best game we can to advance to the next level. That has been our goal all along — one play at a time, one game at a time. Keep striving toward the ultimate goal."

While the study of Notre Dame's game films will naturally give McDonald and his coaching staff more than enough with which to concern themselves, Effingham's coach says his team doesn't appear to be allowing any doubt to creep in.

"They're already confident we can get the job done, no matter the odds," said McDonald. "Last week, a lot of people didn't think we had a chance against Althoff. There are people talking now that Quincy is 10-0 and that this is going to be another tough game we can't win.

"Those are things we put behind us. We practice hard and expect to win."

Klosterman Field was a muddy disaster by the time Friday's game with Althoff was finished; the conditions certainly didn't allow the Hearts' offense to do a lot of the things that has made it so successful this year.

"It was a slugfest in the middle of the field," recalled McDonald. "The one thing I was happy about was our ability to pretty much take care of the football. We fumbled one back after an interception, and the other wasn't so much of a mishandled snap as it was a communication problem."

McDonald commended junior quarterback Alex Steppe for handling the football effectively, something Althoff failed to do in key situations — including its final possession.

A poor snap in punt formation led to excellent field position for the Hearts, and senior Graham Glaspy was able to nail a 20-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game to give EHS a win.

That kick was a big special teams play for the Hearts, and special teams were another aspect of Effingham's playoff opener that drew the praise of their head coach.

"They'll have to continue to play well," said McDonald. "That could be a big facet in Saturday's game.

"It was definitely a team victory, though. Everybody had to contribute in one way or another. We didn't have a whole lot of eye-popping stats, but none of that matters as much as coming away with the win.

"Our kids understand that. They're not worried about who gets the headlines or who makes the big plays. They just go out there and play. Somebody has always stepped up and gotten the job done when we needed him to."

Notre Dame coach Bill Connell downplayed his team's enormous average margin of victory, saying he felt Effingham's schedule is more challenging than the one his club has faced.

Both teams have posted a number of dominating wins; Notre Dame has shut out six opponents, while Effingham blanked its first five. Each squad equaled a school record for shutout victories; Effingham's 1929 team held six opponents scoreless, but two of those contests ended in scoreless ties.

"Once your schedule is set, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do besides play it out," said McDonald. "One thing you can say about Quincy is they've definitely done that. They've beaten the teams they're supposed to beat, and they've dominated them.

"Winning games gives you a confidence level, too. When you go out and dominate teams, you expect to do it again. That's the way Quincy is. They expect to win their games and expect to dominate. Their confidence is up and they're playing at home. That's definitely a huge advantage, because anybody who is playing at Quincy is looking at a long road trip."

Ethan Fulk, Effingham's senior fullback, watched most of Friday's game on crutches after spraining an ankle. Sophomore Grant Johnson and senior Sean Dammerman stepped up with a couple huge runs out of the fullback spot during the Hearts' first-half scoring drive to tie things up before halftime.

"Ethan is progressing slowly but surely," said McDonald. "We kept him out of some stuff earlier in the week. It was tough to replace Ethan; he does so many different things for us. We actually had to replace him with three different people in various formations.

"This week we've had the chance to get those guys a few more reps in case something else occurs or he isn't ready to go. This way, we're comfortable with the changes."

Unfortunately, junior Tyler Doty's active play on the defensive side of the ball will most likely be missing from Saturday's action.

"Tyler is going to be missed," said McDonald. "He's a really tough-minded young man and has some quickness on the defensive line. He has really taken over that spot."

Sophomores Ryan Wei and Nate Boggs will be called upon to step up in Doty's absence.

"We'll just have to play it by ear and figure out which combination is working best for us," said McDonald. "Tyler is getting treatment on his shoulder, and hopefully we'll have a game next week for him to get ready to play."

Dustin White can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or dustin.white@effinghamdailynews.com.

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