Football Preview: Effingham Hearts vs. Taylorville Tornadoes
The Effingham Hearts will square off against the Taylorville Tornadoes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Effingham will be strutting in after a victory while Taylorville will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Friday, Effingham beat Charleston 30-20. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Hearts.
Effingham was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 294 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 204 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
Effingham wouldn't let Charleston keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Effingham can thank Logan Jones and Michael Love for forcing both of them. Love is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made eight or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Taylorville was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They lost 28-6 to Mahomet-Seymour. The game marked the Tornadoes' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Taylorville's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Owen Mateer, who gained 105 total yards and a touchdown, and Baron Odam, who threw for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Effingham's win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-1. As for Taylorville, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Everything came up roses for Effingham against Taylorville in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 55-12 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Effingham since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
