It all starts with a loud thud, the sound of an opposing kicker placing boot to ball.
Over the next 20-40 seconds, pads collide as blocks are made, holes are formed and the crowd noise begins to steadily crescendo to the roaring apex of a starting jet engine.
A Mario Alford kick return touchdown.
In his 12 games with the Saskatchewan Roughriders this season, Alford has ran rampant against opposing kicking and punting teams, scampering his way to the endzone four times.
Alford’s 2022 return includes a pair of kickoff return touchdowns of 92 and 98, yards respectively, a 112-yard missed field goal return and a 104-yard punt return, which completed the trifecta in the team’s week 20 tilt against the Calgary Stampeders last week.
Those touchdowns have etched his name in the CFL record books, becoming just the fifth player in league history to record a return trifecta (scoring on a punt return, kickoff return and missed field goal return) in a single season.
He’s the first player in the CFL to accomplish the feat since Marcus Thigpen did it with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back in 2010.
“That’s pretty awesome, man,” Alford smirked. “I worked hard and grinded for my time to come and like I said if I can stay healthy the whole season I can be a pretty dangerous guy.”
“The thing about Mario is, he’s got a nose for the endzone,” head coach Craig Dickenson assessed. “I’ve coached a lot of guys over the years that can break tackles. They might go and they get tackled, but Mario, when he gets that sniff of the endzone it seems like he finds that extra gear and he gets it there.”
Alford’s uncanny ability to avoid tacklers while displaying his returning prowess can at times seem like a superhuman power, although he is quick to deflect praise to those providing the blocks ahead of him.
“I can’t thank those guys enough, it wouldn’t be possible (without them), he said. “It takes all the 11 other guys to help me do what I do.”
Early this week the 30-year-old out of West Virginia was nominated by his team as their Most Outstanding Special Teams Player of the year, an award his coach believes in within his grasp.
“I think he’s got a shot, I really do,” Dickenson said. “He’s got four (returns) on the year and he really brought a lot of energy and a lot of excitement to that return group.”
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