Published: October 16, 2008 11:46 am         

EHS needs win in AC finale at Salem

The playoff picture looms big for the Effingham High School football team and it may well come down to Friday evening's Apollo Conference finale at Salem.

The Hearts are in a must-get-it-done situation, just as they were last week. To be one of the 256 playoff teams, most squads must have at least five wins to be considered and then it comes down to playoff points. The Hearts are looking for that fifth victory Friday evening, standing with a 4-3 record.

Meanwhile, Salem is having the same thoughts, only the Wildcats come into this game absolutely having to win as they stand at 3-4 with two games remaining.

"Every week, conference-wise, you're falling into the same situation," said EHS Coach Mike McDonald. "It will be a tough game and a close one just like they've all been. You have to play every play as if it will be the play that wins the game."

And nobody knows that better than these two teams. Take last week's conference games for example. Charleston came calling at Klosterman Field on a three-game winning streak. The Trojans put together a 41-27 lead in the fourth quarter and things weren't looking so good for the Hearts. But in the last eight minutes of the contest, EHS scored three touchdowns to pull out a 48-41 victory.

Things didn't come out quite so well for Salem. The Wildcats held a 28-14 third quarter lead over Newton, but the Eagles came back with 14 fourth quarter points to tie the score and send the game into overtime. In the overtime period, Newton's Ty May ran in from 15 yards out and the Eagles pulled out a 34-28 victory.

That loss for the Wildcats came on the heels of a 27-26 defeat at the hands of Charleston. Salem is on a three-game losing streak after dropping a 24-13 decision to Olney. Salem opened the season with wins over Centralia (42-7) and Robinson (28-20) before suffering a tough 6-0 loss to league-leading Mount Zion. Salem then downed Paris 40-20.

"They are more of an option-type, double wing team offensively," said McDonald. "They run some power football out of that. They're good at what they do. They have a good coaching staff that's been there a long time."

The Wildcats started the season with two quarterbacks splitting duties, but lately have gone with Logan Bolton, a 6-foot-0, 189-pound senior. Bolton played defense last season, but the Wildcats graduated Nathan Jones and Bolton had to step in, along with Bryce Harris.

Bolton has connected on 26 of 43 passes for 517 yards and three touchdowns. He's also been intercepted three times. Harris has hit three of three passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

The two main receivers have been Matt Brummel, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior, and Kody Moore, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior. Brummel has 173 yards in catches, while Moore has 182 yards and three touchdowns.

Although the two quarterbacks can pass, the Wildcats are known for simply pounding the ball at the opposition's defense. The worst ground gain for the Wildcats came against Mount Zion where they had 127. For four games, they've had 300 or 400 yards on the ground.

They gained a total of 489 yards against Paris, 441 against Centralia and 433 against Robinson. The 300-plus games came against Charleston (396) and Newton (369). They Wildcats average 357.4 a game.

Leading the way in rushing yardage has been Bolton with 512 yards and three touchdowns. Also running the ball are Moore with 486 yards and eight touchdowns. Brummel with 409 yards and five touchdowns, Cory Kloppedal, a 6-foot-1, 197-pound junior, with 249 yards and three touchdowns and Dylan HIggins, a 5-foot-8, 190-pound junior, with 132 yards and a touchdown.

But the running doesn't always stop there. Six other players on the team have picked up rushing yardage.

"This game will be kind of a repeat of the last few weeks," said McDonald. "Everybody in the conference is pretty competitive. Salem has won some close games and lost some close games.

"there are some things we have to be prepared for. Offensively, we've done a good job of securing the football and not turning it over. Defensively, I'd like to see us make the opposing team have more turnovers."

The Hearts have had a good ground game, but haven't done so well with the aerial contest until last week. Nick Jones connected on nine of 13 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. His prime receivers have been Brandon Apke with six catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns and Ethan Fulk with 12 catches for 104 yards. Four other players have pulled in passes.

Leading in rushing is Jones with 136 carries for 955 yards and 16 touchdowns. Jaron Allred has 94 carries for 534 yards and four touchdowns. Cole Mintert has 31 for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

"This week we're hoping to get Bo Nosbisch back," said McDonald. "He's been out for three or four weeks with an ankle injury. He's vying for a spot back on defense. It couldn't come at a better time. His athletic ability will help us out with their optin attack.

"I think injury-wise we won't have anybody out. Bo is the only one coming back. Even to this point though, we have two defensive positions we're looking at. Four guys are vying for those two spots. Even if two gain the starting positions, the others are looking at playing time.

"Defensively we need to be sound. We have to be prepared for counter and discipline, read our keys and stay where we're supposed to stay. Going to Salem will be tough, it's always tough. They're on the hot seat as far as they have to win. We have to play with a little bit of desperation.

"The big thing with us is our kids being enthusiastic. We play better when everybody is enthusiastic coming out of games, on and off the field. Hopefully the fourth quarter we played against Charleston will carry over. This is a huge game for us, getting us a step closer. Last week was like our first round in the playoffs and this week is the second round. It's a do or die situation. That's the way we need to approach it."

Game time Friday evening is 7 p.m. at Jim Finks Field.

In other Apollo Conference action, Newton will travel down the road to Robinson. The Eagles went through a rough spell in the middle of the schedule losing four straight after starting off the season with two straight wins. Newton edged Salem in overtime 34-28 last week to improve to 2-4 in the conference, 3-4 overall.

Robinson comes into the meeting after suffering a 35-21 loss to Paris last week. The Maroons lone victory came over Effingham as they stand at 1-5 in the conference, 1-6 overall.

The league-leading Braves, who have already clinched a playoff spot as the conference representative, will play host to a much-improved Paris squad. The Braves are 6-0 in the conference, 7-0 overall and just need a victory to finish undefeated in the conference like the Hearts did last year.

Paris is also in a tough situation, needing this victory to give them five wins on the campaign. The Tigers suffered two opening season losses before picking up a win then falling to Salem. Paris has won three straight for a 4-2 conference mark and a 4-3 overall record.

Olney will play host to Charleston. The Tigers are out of the playoff picture with a 2-4 conference mark and a 2-5 overall record. Charleston comes into the meeting needing a victory to keep its hopes alive at 3-3 in the conference, 3-4 overall.

In the Little Illini Conference, Cumberland will be celebrating homecoming this Friday when it plays host to non-conference opponent Martinsville. The Pirates would like nothing better than to celebrate a homecoming win and keep their playoff hopes alive. Cumberland is 3-4 in the conference and overall.

Casey-Westfield will most likely be the conference representative as the Warriors are 6-0. The Warriors picked up their fourth straight shutout and are 7-0 overall. They are still leading in the Class 2A Associated Press rankings. They will play host to Edwards County (Albion) who comes in with a 3-3 conference mark and a 3-4 overall standard.

Oblong, a team that picked up points for a 13th place in the Class 1A poll, travels to Red Hill (Bridgeport). Oblong is 1-5 in the conference, 2-5 overall. Red Hill stands at 4-2 and 5-2.

Flora plays host to Palestine-Hutsonville. The Wolves are third in the conference standings with a 4-2 mark and are 5-2 overall. Palestine/Hutsonvile is at the bottom with an 0-7 conference and overall record.

Marshall hits the road to Lawrenceville. Marshall is 4-2 in the conference and in fourth place and 4-3 overall. Lawrenceville is 3-3 and 3-4.

Millie Lange can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or millie.lange@effinghamdailynews.com.