The Athabasca Pacers kept rolling with a 35-6 win over the R.F. Staples Thunderbirds in Westlock last Friday.
The local football team improved to a 3-1 record with the win, played at night under the lights and in front of a raucous crowd of supporters who made the trip to Westlock to support their local team.
“We had a huge crowd from Athabasca that came down. We can’t thank our fans enough,” said head coach Pete Burden.
“It was a really neat atmosphere.”
The Pacers made sure to send their fans home happy, getting out to an early lead over the Thunderbirds and never looking back.
They scored one of their touchdowns on their opening drive, and the offense kept rolling after that while the defense kept Westlock in check.
Jeremy Major had a huge game for the Pacers with three touchdowns, 136 yards on 17 carries and eight tackles.
Mitchell Snow also came up big for the Pacers, with a touchdown, 135 yards on 12 carries, three receptions for 106 yards and three tackles.
Quarterback Michael Pieroway scored the team’s other touchdown, but he also excelled with the passing game, making 19 attempts for 14 completions and 228 yards.
All told, the Pacers racked up over 500 yards in the game.
“We had a phenomenal day on offense,” said the coach.
He also credited the defense and coach Terry Smith for stopping the Thunderbirds in their tracks and holding them to six points.
“(Smith) had a great plan and the boys bought into it and played very well. We were able to stop them on pretty much every drive.”
Randall Weber had the most tackles with 13.
Josh Ryckman had two interceptions while Jase Cermak had one.
Thanks to their big win in Westlock, the Pacers can clinch first place in their division this Thursday with a win over Vermillion at home. The game will start at 4 p.m.
Vermillion dealt the Pacers their only loss of the season, and have yet to lose a game themselves. If the Pacers can beat them by seven points, they’ll clinch first place and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but the coach knows it won’t be easy.
“We’ve just got to work on our pass defense a little bit. That’s where they beat us last time. We have to be really physical and aggressive off the ball,” he said. “It’ll be an interesting game.”
Burden hopes to see another big crowd out at Edwin Parr Composite as the Pacers make their bid for first place.
“We’d love to see a big crowd. It really sparks the boys.”
