Injuries open the door for Lions rookie
Antolin confident he can hit the ground running in his CFL debut against Ticats
HAMILTON — Keola Antolin is the anti-Allen Iverson. All he does is practise, practise, practise.
For 14 weeks he’s studied tapes of games he did not play in, watched more tape of opponents he did not play against, pretended to be players he’s not and watched games on the couch while his teammates flew off to other Canadian Football League cities.
For his chance to finally come, the 24-year-old running back of the B.C. Lions knew it would have to happen at somebody else’s expense.
The mantra for practice roster players is: One Play Away. It just takes one injury to get them in the game.
In Antolin’s case, it was multiple injuries. Feature tailback Andrew Harris, and complementary backs Stefan Logan and Tim Brown, all went down last Saturday in Calgary. They’ve opened the door for Antolin to make his CFL debut today against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“Each day, in practice, I come out and practise hard, full speed, just in case,” Antolin explained. “I wanted to be ready when my time comes.”
In the Hawaiian language, Keola means “life, health and well-being.”
Slack-key guitar master Keola Beamer popularized the name in the islands, and Antolin took it with him when he moved with his family to the mainland (Las Vegas) at age seven.
At the University of Arizona, he was the Wildcats’ rushing leader for two seasons, alternating in the backfield with Nic Grigsby, now the feature back for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
But both Antolin and Bradley Randle — Antolin’s backup and a Lion for all of three practice sessions — are wild cards in today’s game, since there is no form chart with which to gauge or predict their impact.
“With Harris hurt ( dislocated ankle), I don’t know who they’re lining up there — Logan, possibly Antolin, I’m hearing a little bit,” said Tiger-Cats’ defensive end Justin Hickman. “But we’re a scheme-concept defence. We worry about our gaps and our jobs. Whoever they put back there is the guy we’ve got to stop. We’re not going to change because they have different personnel.”
The aim of Antolin and Randle is make the loss of Harris, the league leader in yards from scrimmage, less devastating than it seems. Yet the seasonending injury to the Canadian tailback already has produced ramifications on the defensive side of the ball.
In order to balance the Canadian- import ratio, defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell, an import, didn’t make the trip. Canadian Jabar Westerman starts in Mitchell’s spot with 2014 draft pick David Menard, from the University of Montreal, also part of the rotation.
“Jabar is a quick, explosive guy, and Khalif is a big man,” explained Carl (Big Daddy) Hairston, the Lions’ defensive line coach. “When you’re playing a run-blocking team like Calgary (with Jon Cornish), you need a guy like Khalif. But Hamilton’s an 85 per cent throwing team. Westy and Menard are two young guys who can run all day long and help out on the screen passes.”
The Tiger- Cats have had great success starting Canadians at the defensive tackle spots. Before Brian Bulcke went out with a torn biceps tendon, he and prized free-agent acquisition Ted Laurent were the interior-line bulwarks for a defence that is No. 1 against the run.
Through 13 weeks, the TigerCats have limited opponents to an average of 83 rushing yards per game.
“Teddy’s (Laurent) our linchpin,” said Hickman, who rejoined the Tiger-Cats three weeks ago from the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. “Without question.”
Hickman was the CFL’s sack leader (13) in 2011 with the Tiger-Cats. At the other defensive end spot, Eric Norwood has seven sacks in his past four games, including a foursack outing Sept. 20 against Edmonton.
Besides Laurent, who had a pair of sacks last Saturday against Winnipeg, the TigerCats also have two more Canadians in the defensive line rotation — Mike Atkinson from Boise State and Linden Gaydosh, the first overall pick in the 2013 CFL draft from the University of Calgary.
Gaydosh spent two injury- plagued seasons after being signed with the Carolina Panthers. He had back surgery last year, tore a ligament in his foot this year and was constantly on injured reserve.
Only 23, he signed a two-year deal with Hamilton after his release by Carolina. The native of Peace River, Alta., has been something of a talisman since joining the Ticats in early September. They’re 3-0 with Gaydosh in the lineup.
“I was out of football for almost two years,” he explained. “I have to play, just to tell myself I can do it again. Am I as good as I used to be? I’m still trying to find my comfort level out there. But this has been the best physical shape I’ve been in the past couple of years, for sure.”
While Gaydosh is embarking on a quest for a possible return to the NFL, Antolin is trying to show he can play in Canada. Starting off against the league’s top run defence is not the ideal scenario for a running back’s pro debut, but picking your spots is not a luxury afforded to a PR player.
“I’ve got fresh legs,” Antolin said. “In this league, with 18 games, that’s a lot of games. People get banged up, worn down and tired. I’m hoping to take advantage of that.”
He knows it may be his only shot.