49-0 win
This contest was against the top two teams in the conference. The Bulldogs had a one-game edge on the Hearts in the conference standings, and a win would all but wrap up the conference championship for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs received the opening kick and didn’t waste any time getting on the board. The Bulldogs were on their own 43-yard line when Luke Dyer connected with Bryson Tiefenthaler on a 5-yard completion. Tiefenthaler then outpaced one defender, and Mason Orton had a superb block downfield that opened the lane for Tiefenthaler to take it to the house for a 57-yard touchdown on the opening drive. With a Jackson Davis extra point, the Bulldogs were up 7-0 in the first 90- seconds of the game.
The Bulldog defense was sensational all game and kept the Hearts from the endzone. In fact, the Hearts never really got close to the endzone.
On the next Bulldog offensive drive, they marched down the field and ended the drive with a 16-yard touchdown reception to Ray Long. Jackson Davis with the extra point, and the Bulldogs were up 14-0 with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter.
The defense then forced a Hearts turnover on downs, and the Bulldog offense remained relentless. Dyer found Gavin Hammerschmidt down field for a 53-yard touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 21-0 after a Davis extra point with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter.
The wind was completely taken out of the Hearts’ sail after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bulldog defense remained sensational, and the offense stayed on rails. Cade Ashby would rush for two touchdowns, and Tiefenthaler added his second touchdown of the game.
The Bulldogs went into halftime with a 42-0 lead.
The impressive and dominating first half by the Bulldogs gave them an opportunity to get just about every guy on the roster minutes in this game. The Bulldogs were able to add one more touchdown in the third quarter on a rushing touchdown by Wade Manuel.
At the end of the night, the Bulldogs won by a score of 49-0 and held their leading rusher to just 20 yards. This is the second consecutive season the Bulldogs have shut out Effingham. A season ago, the Bulldogs won over Effingham 48-0 and held their rusher to 16 yards.
The Bulldogs were in the driver’s seat to win the Apollo Conference when the horn sounded at the end of this contest. Handing the Hearts their second conference loss took them out of contention. The only team standing in the way was Mattoon, whom they will face next week. Mattoon had one conference loss on the season coming into Week 7. As the stands began to empty and players headed back to the locker room, there was buzz going around as word started to spread that Mattoon lost their game against Taylorville. Mattoon’s loss clinched the fourth consecutive conference title for the Bulldogs.
Offense
The offense was a well-oiled machine once again. Accumulating 435 total yards with 331 yards in the air and 104 yards on the ground.
Luke Dyer led the air assault by completing 15 of 24 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns. Dyer has 1,845 yards on the season with 20 touchdowns.
Dyer spread yards mostly between three of his receivers. Bryson Tiefenthaler had five receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Gavin Hammerschmidt had five receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Mason Orton had four receptions for 91 yards. Ray Long had one reception, which was a 16-yard touchdown.
On the ground, Cade Ashby had 32 yards and two touchdowns while only playing the first half. In the second half, Wade Manual and Cody Moen shared the load. Manuel ended with 38 yards and a touchdown. Moen had 25 yards.
Defense
As perfect as the offense was, so was the defense. The Bulldog defense held the Hearts to 100 total offensive yards. The Hearts only had 81 passing yards, but the bigger story was holding the Hearts to 19 rushing yards. Weldon Dunston IV is their main running back and has averaged 230 rushing yards per game this season with 24 touchdowns. The Bulldog defense held Dunston IV to 20 yards in this contest.
The Bulldog defense gets better each and every game.
Beau Back led the Bulldogs in tackles with seven. Henry Wagner had five tackles and a fumble recovery. The trio of AJ Demos, Ethan Esker, and Noah Frank each had four tackles on the night. Talon Decker and Slayton Deck had three tackles apiece. Deck also had a sack.
Great job by the entire defense to shutout the Hearts and to keep them at 100 yards.
Special Teams
Jackson Davis was once again perfect on his seven extra-point attempts. Davis is 37-40 on extra-point attempts this season and extends his record-breaking streak of consecutive conversions to 24.
The Bulldogs will welcome the Green Wave of Mattoon next Friday in the final conference matchup of the season. It will be Senior Night, which is always special but will be extra special as the team will celebrate their Apollo Conference championship.
Go Bulldogs!
This Week in Bulldog Athletics - Overtime 