Anthony Calvillo’s next touchdown pass will be one for the CFL record book.
With that, the Montreal Alouette would eclipse Damon Allen’s league record of 394 TD strikes registered over 23 CFL seasons. Calvillo, in his 18th campaign, tied Allen’s mark emphatically Saturday with five touchdown strikes in a 39-25 road win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Calvillo will get the chance to move into a class of his own Friday night when Montreal hosts the Toronto Argonauts.
Calvillo recorded his record-tying 394th touchdown pass in style with 55-yard strike to Tim Maypray. It marked the third time in his 18-year CFL career that Calvillo had thrown five TD passes in a game and with 419 yards passing he surpassed the 400-yard plateau for the 27th occasion.
At one point, Calvillo completed 15 straight passes against the Riders, who Montreal has beaten in the last two Grey Cup games.
This season, Calvillo has completed 51-of-73 passes (69.9 per cent) for a league-leading 731 yards with eight touchdowns (another CFL best) against just one interception. Heady stuff, indeed, for a player who turns 39 this month and coming off a cancer scare this off-season.
But breaking the touchdowns record won’t end Calvillo’s assault this season on Allen’s career marks. Calvillo needs 68 completions to eclipse Allen’s standard of 5,158 and 3,490 yards passing to surpass Allen as pro football’s career leader (72,381 yards).
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PLAYER RESPECT: The issue of head injuries is a hot-button topic these days in sport with numerous leagues, the CFL included, having established programs aimed at not only promoting awareness but also managing and treating concussions.
But players can certainly do their part by respecting each other on the field of play.
On Saturday afternoon, Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie safety Craig Butler delivered an over-the-top finishing hit on Montreal receiver S.J. Green in the third quarter of the Alouettes’ 39-25 win.
After making a catch over the middle, Green was tackled by a Saskatchewan defender who was in the process of bringing him down. The six-foot-two, 196-pound Butler made sure Green stayed down by leading with his helmet and delivering a nasty blow to the back of Green’s head.
Green, who had four catches for 76 yards and a TD, was forced to leave the game and didn’t return.
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Amazingly, no flag was thrown and the hit by Butler, Saskatchewan’s first pick (12th overall) in this year’s CFL draft who was replacing injured starter James Patrick, drew no reaction from the Alouettes.
But on Monday a CFL official said the league is looking further into the hit to determine if disciplinary action is warranted.
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IMPRESSIVE MESSAM: A change of scenery certainly hasn’t hurt Edmonton tailback Jerome Messam.
The six-foot-three, 245-pound native of Brampton, Ont., ran for 104 yards and two TDs in leading the Eskimos to a 28-10 win Saturday night over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The victory moved Edmonton (2-0) atop the West Division standings.
Messam, 26, is the CFL’s second-leading rusher with 141 yards and is averaging a stellar 5.4 yards per carry. That’s making Messam look like a steal for the Eskimos.
Edmonton acquired Messam from B.C. on June 19 for a 2013 fifth-round draft pick after the Lions had suspended him for personal misconduct.
Messam joined the Lions as a free agent in May 2010 after rushing for 1,075 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final season at Graceland University in 2009. He didn’t play in 2008 after suffering a knee injury while attending the New York Giants’ mini-camp.
In 2005, Messam led Canada to the NFL Global junior championship 38-35 over the United States, running for 308 yards and scoring game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.
The emergence of a ground game has certainly been a boon to the Eskimos, who are averaging a league-high 140 yards rushing per game. That’s forced opposing defences to honour the run and not key solely on trying to stop the CFL’s second-ranked passing attack.
Ricky Ray is second among CFL passers with 682 yards and has four TD tosses against no interceptions. Last season, Ray threw more picks (16) than touchdown passes (11) as the Eskimos posted a 7-11-0 record.
Veteran Fred Stamps – one of the CFL’s top receivers – is second overall in receiving yards (10 catches for 212 yards and a TD) but Adarius Bowman (11 catches, 172 yards, one TD) and Jason Barnes (eight catches, 161 yards, two TDs) have also emerged as dependable players early on.
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BRUCE STRUGGLING: The struggles of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ offence are mirroring those of all-star slotback Arland Bruce III.
Hamilton, which has finished second in the East Division the last two years, is last in the standings with an 0-2 record. More concerning, though, has been the lack of consistent production from a Ticats offence ranked last in scoring (13 points per game).
Quarterback Kevin Glenn, the CFL’s second-leading passer last year with 5,102 yards, has thrown for just 406 yards with twice as many interceptions (four) as touchdown (two). Bruce, who was third overall in receiving last year with 86 catches for 1,303 yards and eight TDs, has just five catches for 48 yards and no touchdowns thus far.
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BOMBERS D: The expectation this season was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed a healthy starter in Buck Pierce to be successful.
Pierce, limited to just five starts last year due to injury, has remained upright thus far but has contributed little to the club’s impressive 2-0 start. Pierce has completed just 33-of-60 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown while tossing two interceptions as Winnipeg is ranked last in passing and total yards offensively (248 yards per game).
Rather, it’s been the Bombers’ defence that’s anchored the wins. Alex Suber’s 66-yard interception return for a TD led Winnipeg to its 24-16 season-opening road decision over Hamilton before the unit recorded seven sacks in a 22-16 home-opening victory over Toronto on Friday night.
Winnipeg’s defence is allowing a league-low 18 points and 297 yards per game while also leading the CFL in sacks (nine) and takeaways (10).
NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders announced Monday former president William (Roy) Jennings has died at age 79. The Calgary native was a long-time member of the club’s board of directors and served as president from 1975 to ’76. Jennings was also added to the Stampeders Wall of Fame in the builders’ category in 2001. The funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.
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