REDBLACKS’ KICKER SETS MARK FOR CONSECUTIVE FIELD GOALS

Lewis Ward’s name is in the Canadian Football League record books.

With 43 seconds left in the third quarter on Friday night, the rookie Ottawa Redblacks kicker nailed a 40-yard field goal — his 40th straight — to break the record held by Calgary Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes, who booted 39 straight over two seasons (2012-13).

Ward had tied the record during Friday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at TD Place when he booted a 42-yard field goal with 3:19 left in the third quarter. Ward had climbed to within one kick of the record 2:16 into the second quarter when he nailed a 27-yarder. An undrafted free agent, Ward impressed the Redblacks in training camp and won the kicking job over Sergio Castillo, with Richie Leone becoming the team’s punter.

The success Ward enjoyed in five years with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees has carried over to the CFL. “I’ve always had the confidence that I can strike the ball well, that I’ll make the field goals,” said Ward, who compared getting into a groove on the gridiron to getting hot on the golf course.

“I played golf a bit over the summer. You get into a rhythm and you start hitting the ball well. It’s kind of the same thing in football. You stay focused on what you have to do correctly and things work out.” Coming into Friday night’s game with 37 field goals in a row (40 for 41), Ward hasn’t missed since the season opener. The unusual thing about Paredes’ record was that the Calgary kicker actually had one attempt blocked by Montreal’s John Bowman.

By the rules of the day, however, no field goal attempt was charged to Calgary since the ball didn’t cross the line of scrimmage. The CFL changed the rule to start the 2014 season. Now any field goal attempt that’s blocked is counted as a miss.

The CFL says the rule will be revisited in the off-season by its rules committee — with only the team being charged with an attempt and not the kicker himself.