Boateng sets his sights on sacks crown

The war might be over for the Edmonton Eskimos when it comes to playoffs, but for one green and gold soldier, there is still a significant battle to be waged at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.

Defensive end Kwaku Boateng would like nothing more than to end an otherwise disappointing 2018 campaign with a win in the regular-season finale against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2 p.m., TSN, ESPN+, 630 CHED).

Unless, of course, he can also win the Canadian Football League’s sack race at the same time.

The Eskimos have combined for 44 sacks on the season, one back of the Saskatchewan Roughriders — who don’t play this week — and the B.C. Lions.

“Yeah, and I think that’s the goal,” said Boateng. “Obviously, we can’t fight for playoffs, but we can fight for team awards like that, and that’s one of the things on our top priority list, to finish the season with the most sacks in the league.”

The 23-year-old Wilfrid Laurier product was named Edmonton’s nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian of 2018 in just his second season.

And it isn’t being received as any small consolation, either. In fact, it’s confirmation on a job well done on endeavours that were two years in the making, going back to before he was drafted in 2017, when all but one team wanted to turn him into a linebacker.

“I feel like whenever you’re in the CFL and a Canadian player, and playing in a position that’s usually traditionally American, this means a lot for me,” Boateng said. “And coming from an organization that I have a lot of respect for, it’s going to mean a lot for me.

“From what I was taught back in high school, from my gym coach who was also my football coach, he told me that you could spend a day or two looking at your accolades, but after that, you’ve got to move on.”

After all, there’s still a game to win on Saturday.

“We play in a league where we get evaluated each and every day,” Boateng said. “And I might be the Canadian player of this year, but next year, who cares about what I did last year?” Well, his head coach, for one. “It’s hard to play 18 games and he’s been able to do that, stay healthy,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas. “Obviously, he’s been successful, but I think he’s gotten more physical. He’s learned some different things, I think. He’s played within the defence.

“For a young guy, he’s exceeded expectations and just keeps on getting better.”

Only a handful of players across the league have bettered the nine sacks Boateng has recorded this year, while teammate Alex Bazzie is right behind him with eight, and Eskimos defensive tackles Almondo Sewell and Jake Ceresna have seven apiece.

It’s made for a race within a race this year.

“Yeah, and I love that,” Boateng said. “Being in the locker-room, especially in the D -line lockerroom where everyone is so competitive, everyone’s up there with eight or seven sacks, that just keeps my competitive juices up and flowing.”

Being Canadian comes as a big, ratio-busting bonus alongside Boateng ’s six-foot-two, 257-pound frame that made a career-high 26 tackles to go with all the sacks.

“It just shows how much trust the organization had in me, drafting me and, later on, being able to use me so quickly,” said.