In their home opener at Edwin Parr Composite last Friday, the Athabasca Pacers were in tough against a strong Vermilion team.
The local boys hit the field ready to put on a show for those in the crowd who braved the wind and rain. But despite a strong effort, the Pacers found themselves on the wrong side of a 25-9 final.
But the game was closer than the score would indicate, according to head coach Pete Burden.
“The effort was there, the boys played hard right to the end. But our execution is still a little rough,” said the coach.
“It was back and forth. There was a lot of offense in the game. Our defense worked well, we just didn’t tackle well enough. They broke a lot of tackles on us. And we took a lot of penalties that hurt our offensive production.”
The Pacers also had some trouble with the passing game.
The running game, however, was fairly strong, as the team posted over 250 running yards against Vermilion. Pacers who ran for big yards included Mitchell Snow (107), Jeremy Major (100) and Scott Taylor (38).
The team got a little bit of a scare early in the second half when quarterback Gaetano Minto left the game with an ankle injury, but he was ably replaced by Michael Pieroway.
Luckily, Minto wasn’t seriously hurt and he should be ready for action this week, according to Burden.
The team will practice three times this week (in addition to a video session) in preparation for another home game on Friday. This time they will play host to Vegreville at 5 p.m.
Both Athabasca and Vegreville have lost their first two games of the season, making Friday’s game a must-win affair in the coach’s estimation.
“We pretty much have to win this game if we want to be in playoff contention. We should be okay if we cut down on our mistakes,” he said.
Another thing the coach hopes to see more of this Friday is fan support. The home opener crowd was a little on the small side, though that can probably be attributed to the miserable weather. If this Friday is a better day for football, Burden hopes that more EPC students and community members will come out to enjoy the game and cheer on the local athletes.
“We’d like to see the place rocking,” he said, noting the Pacers do their part to get the energy amped up with cheerleaders on the sidelines and a play-by-play man in the booth calling the action.
Of course, the real attraction is the hard-hitting football, and the Pacers are sure to bring an honest effort every time they hit the field.
