By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Pakenham Silverbacks gridiron side might still be in its infancy, but it’s hard to imagine the boys in green and black recording a better win than the 7-6 one they stole from the jaws of defeat on Sunday.
Tasks in Division 2 get no tougher than travelling to Morwell to take on the ladder-leading Gippsland Gladiators – let alone doing so without several key players.
So shortly after Pakenham quarterback Steve Mclean threw a touchdown pass in the dying seconds to Jimmy Kane – who had two defenders circling him – it’s little wonder he was gobsmacked.
“We’d been making plays all day but we just hadn’t been able to finish them” he said, stunned, from the sidelines.
“The whole game, right up to the last 25 seconds, we weren’t finishing them but with that last play – the boys just have so much belief in each other.
“That catch in the end zone by Jimmy was just so special.
“This is the best feeling I’ve had in sport – I don’t think I’ve ever felt better than what I do right now!”
Sunday’s game was shaping up as a dour, scoreless struggle before the Gladiators scored a late touchdown following just one of a series of controversial refereeing calls.
But they failed to make the one point conversion – leaving the door just slightly ajar for the Silverbacks and that’s all the chance they needed.
“That pressure… no pressure at all!” said Silverbacks kicker Toby Currie, albeit with tongue firmly planted in cheek. After Kane’s miraculous catch in the endzone, Currie had the chance to ice the game off his own boot with a conversion as time expired.
“I’ve played soccer my whole life so I was pretty keen to take the kick but I missed the last few I had so it was a bit of a tense moment.
“I didn’t have time to be nervous, really, but my heart was racing and the pressure was on!”
Currie fell to the ground as his kick sailed through the uprights and team mate, and one of the Silverbacks’ founders, Richie Howlett soon joined him in celebration.
“We had no idea where we’d come out when we started this but to come out and beat Gippsland at their home when we don’t even have our own… bloody beautiful!” he said.
Sunday’s result has kept the Silverbacks’ finals hopes alive. They’ll look to capitalise on their huge win this Sunday from 10.30am at Sydney Pargeter Reserve in Endeavour Hills against the second-placed Ballarat Falcons.
