Whyte gets his kicks, but Paredes gets the title
CALGARY Sean Whyte came into Sunday’s West Division final with the top field goal accuracy rate in the CFL this year, but it was Calgary’s Rene Paredes who earned the title of league’s most accurate field goal kicker.
With just one miss to his name all year, Whyte converted 93.8 per cent of his chances, including a career-long 55 yarder, while Parades owned a 91.4 per cent success rate.
But with only 16 attempts over six games in a season that was interrupted by an injury to his kicking leg, Whyte ended up nine attempts shy of qualifying for the league’s leaderboard, leaving Paredes alone on top after going 53 for 58 with a 48-yarder as his longest.
BERTRAND’S BACK
There was a familiar face at McMahon Stadium this weekend.
A fullback with the Eskimos over his entire nine-year CFL career, Mathieu Bertrand was back in Alberta for the first time since retiring following the 2012 season.
Now the running backs and special teams coach at Universite Laval Rouge et Or program, where he played quarterback during his college days, the 39-year-old Bertrand is now on to next week’s Vanier Cup after a 35-23 win over the University of Calgary Dinos.
“This is my first time back in Alberta in five years,” said Bertrand, who received the Eskimos’ most outstanding nominations as rookie in 2004 and special teams in ’07.
While it was always rival territory, Bertrand has special memories of McMahon Stadium.
“In Calgary here in 2005, the year we won the Grey Cup, that was probably the best game I played in my nine years,” said Bertrand, who scored a one-yard touchdown and had three catches for 26 yards to go along with a special teams tackle and fumble recovery on the way to a 33-26 win over Calgary in the West Division semifinal that championship season. “So I always have great memories here.”
TRASH BAGGED
For as much as the Battle of Alberta is an all-out slugfest on the field, there was no sign of trash talk heading up to the biggest game of the year between the two rivals.
“I think there’s still a respect that goes on. I respect great players and great teams around our league,” Reilly said.
“That doesn’t mean that I like them, but it means I respect what they do, because I know that it’s incredibly hard to be successful in professional sports, in general, and certainly in the CFL with the turnover that happens.”