Last Friday, the Athabasca Pacers saved their best for last in more ways than one.
The local high school football team waited until late in their home game against Westlock to score the two touchdowns that earned them the 16-6 victory.
And in doing so, they made their final home game of the year the most entertaining one for their fans, many of whom came out to enjoy the game and cheer their team on to victory.
The Pacers won’t compete again on their home field, unless they earn a playoff home date by finishing first or second in their division.
They could still do just that, and beating Westlock was a big first step in making it happen.
The Pacers were down 6-0 for most of the game, despite being in control of the contest according to head coach Pete Burden.
“We kind of dominated the game, but we turned the ball over too many times and you don’t normally win when you turn the ball over. But our defense was dominant,” explained the coach. Westlock broke away for one touchdown, but then the Pacers shut them down. That set the stage for the late-game heroics, when the local boys scored two touchdowns with the clock winding down on the fourth quarter.
“The crowd was going, and that really got us going in the end there. The boys got pretty pumped up.”
The game’s clear MVP was Jeremy Major, who was a force on both sides of the line. On defense he had 14 tackles and two sacks and even blocked a kick. With the ball he had ten carries for 92 yards.
The Pacers will be in Vermillion on Thursday before closing out the regular season in Vegreville next Saturday.
