Nik Lewis could soon be making his own version of the Canadian Football League’s Sweet 16. The venerable Calgary Stampeders receiver is just 92 yards away from joining the CFL’s 10,000-yard receiving club.
While only 15 greats currently hold membership to that club, they could very well be adding another on Friday.
“I mean it would be nice to,” said Lewis after a windy, icy practice in Calgary.
| Is Lewis MOP-worthy? |
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CFL.ca’s Mark Stephen believes that Nik Lewis’ year-to-date has him among the early-season favourites to win the league’s Most Outstanding Player award. |
“I went for 100 last week, we’ll see, I’m pretty sure they’ll change some things up. I’m not focused on that, we have to get a W.”
Regardless of the date of the accomplishment, it seems to be a very safe bet he will crack the 10,000-yard barrier sooner rather than later.
“It’s there, it’s going to be there until I get it done,” noted Lewis. “I haven’t done it yet either and once it happens, we can talk about it.”
Once he does reach the big milestone, he will become just the second player to achieve the feat in Calgary Stampeder colours.
Allen Pitts retired in 2000 as the league’s career yardage leader, but was later surpassed by Milt Stegall and Geroy Simon. Pitts racked up 14,891 yards during his illustrious career.
But chasing that trio of greats isn’t at the top of Lewis’ priorities right now
“I don’t see myself playing to the same age as Geroy,” noted Lewis. “There will be a day when I will walk away. And, if we’re standing here and I do have the all-time receiving yards, then—wow! It’s unbelievable.”
One reason for Lewis’ productivity is his ability to stay healthy. In his nine seasons with the Stampeders, he has rarely missed a game due to injury. He has also caught passes in 148 consecutive appearances. Those two factors alone ensure some big figures on the stat sheet.
However, injuries are an unavoidable fact of life for players and their teams. The Stampeders have been hit with yet another one, as veteran special teamer Marc Calixte, the only Stampeder with more tenure than Lewis, is expected to miss the rest of the season with a serious knee injury.
The injury happened late in the first half of the Labour Day game vs. the Eskimos.
The Stampeders will head north to Edmonton with some wind under their sails. Thanks to their win over the Esks, the team captured back to back games for the first time this season. The Stampeders have also won the last five rematches on Friday nights in Edmonton, dating back to 2007.
Yet, coach John Hufnagel knows what a strain the two games are on the players.
“They’ve got to find a way to get their body and minds ready for the second game,”noted Hufnagel, “in the next 60 hours that’s going to be the key.”
While the Stampeders were clearly buoyed by the win on Monday, by Tuesday they realized just how narrow the margin of victory was. If would Larry Taylor doesn’t escape from deep in the end zone on the final play, Edmonton would record a single point, then who knows what would have transpired in a potential overtime period.
