Finch at elusive best against Esks
Returner makes his mark, while Stamps lose Law after he suffers fractured leg
Roy Finch knew the plan. It was going to be short and sweet.
“Coach (Mark Kilam) told me going into the game I was going to have one punt return,” the Stampeder related. “He was like, ‘You’re only going to get one,’ so I didn’t know how to respond to that.” A wide grin then broke out. “I guess that’s how I responded.” On his single opportunity to take the ball back during the Stamps’ pre-season encounter in Edmonton on Sunday, the elusive Finch returned it 81 yards for the touchdown. An emphatic cameo.
“I like to play the whole game, I love the game,” said the 25-yearold, in his second season in Calgary. “But he was like, ‘It’s a long season, we know what you can do already.’ But I always want to be fresh in people’s minds. I am the starter, I had a good year last year, but I want to erase that from your mind. I want to be great.”
The 2016 season was a stellar one for Finch, whose 993 punt-return yards set a team record and his 1,060 kickoff return yardage put him right up there with the likes of Montreal’s Stefan Logan and B.C.’s Chris Rainey.
But it’s human nature to crave improvement.
“I’m very competitive,” the fivefoot-seven Finch said. “I don’t just do things to do them. If I’m going to do something, I want to be No. 1 at it. We only get a few years to play this game and it’s gone like that. When I’m done playing this game, I want to be remembered, I want to be legendary.
“Life experiences changed me, making me realize that this game is a privilege. Before I got here, I had two chances and I messed it up. This is what I’m supposed to be doing, when God takes it away from you twice and gives it back to you a third time. When you get it a third time, I’m going to do right with it on the field and be an example to my brothers.”
Injuries will happen in preseason; all a team can hope for is they’re few and not serious.
In the Stampeders’s case Sunday, they were few — but the fates were not kind to defensive end Cordarro Law. Law suffered a fractured lower leg, the severity of which was revealed Monday.
“He’s got a break so we’ll play it out,” head coach Dave Dickenson said. “I hope there’s a chance he’ll return but certainly not anytime in the near future. It’s a tough one because he’s very motivated. The guy works hard, he’s a good leader and he deserved a better fate, but sometimes football is just not fair.”
Probably the most anticipated intra-squad battle to watch during the Edmonton game was the play of the quarterbacks. Once Bo Levi Mitchell gave way to the triumvirate of hopefuls — Ricky Stanzi, Mitchell Gale and Andrew Buckley — all eyes were on their respective performances.
As of Monday, there was no clearcut winner, or at least, Dickenson wasn’t saying.
“I might be (closer to a decision), but it doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you,” the head coach joked. “It’s tough. I know I’m dealing with people’s lives. You don’t keep someone because you like them; you have to make the right decision. A lot of times it’s what your gut tells you and it can be a coin toss and you live with it. I want to make the most informed decision I can.
“Still some good and bad,” he added. “We gave them all different situations. Obviously Mitch had a couple of glaring errors but he also made some real nice throws. We dropped two balls on him. I thought the four guys played well.”