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There is a buzz surrounding the Effingham football program, and it isn't just because of the brand-new turf field or scoreboard.

Head coach Brett Hefner has an experienced bunch back after a 4-5 season one year ago, with the hopes of turning some of those losses into victories.

Having a team that was able to go through the rigors of a full off-season workout schedule should help toward that.

"For us, it starts in January," Hefner said. "We're in before school; we come in and get our work in before school. That's a huge commitment with a lot of discipline and work, so we're in before school three days a week, starting in January, and it doesn't stop until school gets out. They get a couple of weeks off once school gets out, and then we ramp it up in the summer, and we get four weeks in June, a couple weeks in July, and they get two weeks before we start, which I think is important.

"We've been blessed with great kids that work hard, and the ones that started that program back when I first got here set that standard."

Ultimately, what that standard led to was a winning culture.

From 2017-2019, Effingham won 29 games, highlighted by an 11-win season in 2019.

The Flaming Hearts, though, would take a step back in 2021, finishing one game below .500 but two games above that mark within the Apollo Conference.

During the 2021 season, Effingham went from scoring 14 points through the first two weeks to scoring 42 against Charleston, which started a winning streak for the Flaming Hearts that saw them defeat state-ranked Mt. Zion on the road, Lincoln at home, and Taylorville on the road.

Effingham then finished the campaign with back-to-back losses to Breese Mater Dei and Highland.

One thing that each returning player did throughout the up-and-down 2021 season, though, was show signs of improvement, starting at the quarterback position.

Tanner Pontious finished his first season under-center, completing 58-of-115 passes for 872 yards and 11 touchdowns to eight interceptions.

Hefner said he is looking forward to Pontious' progression heading into the fall.

"You can forget that even as a junior, you're still playing against a lot of seniors, and we had a ton of juniors. So, just the amount of reps, practice time, and game time that he got and the carry-over that it has into this year; you're not always starting over, you're starting from where you left off," Hefner said. "They may not have fully remembered everything, but it doesn't sound like a foreign language to them."

Starting the year off against state-ranked Decatur St. Teresa last season surely didn't help aid that "foreign language" either.

Effingham lost that Week 1 game to the Bulldogs, 42-7. Pontious completed 5-of-8 passes for 82 yards and one touchdown.

"It was hard for all of them, but him especially, against an opponent like that where you're playing somebody good, and there's not much margin for error," Hefner said.

This year, though, is different.

Unlike last season, Pontious had some competition to go up against during the offseason.

Gaige Gillum returns this season as the backup quarterback after spending his sophomore year on the sidelines nursing an injury.

Hefner said that both quarterbacks feed off each other well.

"Gage has been in it almost as long as Tanner, and I think for those guys, to have each other to talk to and work through things, I think is important," Hefner said.

What will also help the duo, though, is an understanding of who will be on the receiving end of throws.

Effingham returns all three 100-or-more-yard receivers from one year ago.

Armando Estrada led the team with 24 catches for 453 yards and three scores last year. Caden Walls had 15 catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns, and Evan Waymoth had 11 catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

Overall, having that reliability is an important aspect for any quarterback.

But what Hefner is looking forward to watching, aside from those three constants, is another trio of receivers he believes will help.

"I think Andrew Lotz will get quite a bit of time, and he gives us that bigger body. But the other thing, out of that senior class, is that we get Garrett Wolfe back, and then we have a move-in with Jack Harper, who's a pretty good athlete, so that class added two kids of that caliber is helpful, too," Hefner said.

Effingham does lose its leading tackler — Dalton Fox — from last year. What they gain, though, are parts that Hefner believes will be key to how they fare this season.

"Our defensive line is back; Connor Simmons is back, so I think we have a lot of key parts," Hefner said. "The kids that are just going to be first-year varsity players are seniors, so they're physically developed. So even though it's their first year of playing varsity football, they're doing it as a senior instead of as an underclassman."

Logan Heil and Charlie Ring are two that return on the defensive side of the ball that fans should hear a lot of over time.

Heil finished last year with 55 tackles, while Ring had 34 tackles.

Effingham opens the season, once again, against Decatur St. Teresa, who the Associated Press ranked second in Class 2A.

The Flaming Hearts then travel to state-ranked Mahomet-Seymour in Week 2 before playing Charleston at home in Week 3.

Effingham then travels to Mattoon in Week 4, hosts Taylorville and Mt. Zion in Weeks 5 and 6, travel to Lincoln in Week 7, hosts Mater Dei in Week 8, and closes the season at Highland in Week 9.

"It's the same boat we were in last year. There are no off-weeks," Hefner said. "Our schedule is challenging at the beginning and end, but I feel good going into it."

Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.

Alex Wallner is the Sports Editor at the Effingham Daily News

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