CFL/Patrick Doyle
If your Week 19 Fantasy roster lacked a receiver that didn’t score in double figures, then you really weren’t trying.
Fourteen pass catchers hit the double-digit mark this past week, with three scoring more than 20 points. Yet it was BC running back/return specialist Chris Rainey who led all players with a 35.9 Fantasy point performance in the Lions’ win over the Blue Bombers as his all-purpose effort was more productive than the record-setting night that REDBLACKS receiver/return specialist Diontae Spencer had on Friday.
Rainey rushed for 106 yards along with 89 receiving yards that included two touchdowns and added 109 yards on five kickoff returns, giving him 304 combined yards.
Spencer finished with 27.9 points while putting up 496 all-purpose yards, topping a 17-year-old record set by former Bombers return specialist Albert Johnson. Spencer had nine catches for 133 yards, six kickoff returns for 165 yards, seven punt returns for 169 yards and a missed field goal return of 29 yards.
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Diontae Spencer set a new record for all-purpose yards in a game vs. the Ticats in Week 19 (The Canadian Press)
As explosive and historic as Spencer’s output was, his Fantasy total was topped by Tiger-Cats receiver Brandon Banks, who finished with a position-best 32.8 FP on the strength of a 13-reception, 193-yard effort against the REDBLACKS that included a pair of touchdown catches. He also returned one punt for three yards and one kickoff for 20 yards, giving him his sixth straight week of double-digit numbers for Fantasy owners. He and Spencer were also joined on the 20 FP mountain by Lions receiver Bryan Burnham, who had 10 catches for 152 yards and a major in the win over the Blue Bombers, giving him 21.2 Fantasy points.
Also joining that receiving trio were Hamilton’s Luke Tasker, who just missed the 20-point club with 19.9 Fantasy points; Saskatchewan’s Chad Owens (19.6), Edmonton’s Adarius Bowman (16.9) and Brandon Zylstra (16.1), Jalen Saunders of the Ticats (15.6), Caleb Holley of the Roughriders (14.3), Calgary’s DaVaris Daniels (13.7) and Kamar Jorden (12.7), Ottawa’s Greg Ellingson (12.5) and the BC duo of Nick Moore (11.3) and Emmanuel Arceneaux (10.1).
Fantasy production from the pivot proved fruitful, especially for those who invested in Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli. The Tiger-Cats field general had a career-high 438 yards to go along with his four touchdown passes, and he added seven rushing yards to give him a season-best 34.2 Fantasy points, a total that edged out BC’s Jonathon Jennings’ 32 FP. Jennings threw for a season-high 408 yards while also throwing four majors, and he ran for 17 yards to finish with his best Fantasy numbers of the year.
Always in the thick of things, Edmonton’s Mike Reilly scored 28.2 Fantasy points while helping the Eskimos top the Stampeders in a game that saw Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell score over 20 FP for the first time since Week 10, as he finished with 20.3 FP.
Jeremiah Masoli was the top Fantasy quarterback in Week 20 after throwing for 438 yards (The Canadian Press)
With the festival of receivers racking up impressive Fantasy totals, the running backs were left behind as Ottawa’s William Powell and Saskatchewan’s Trent Richardson were the only backs besides Rainey to eclipse double-digits.
Powell closed out the regular season in impressive fashion, putting up 26.2 Fantasy points as he rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns and caught a four-yard pass to go along with a kickoff return for 12 yards. His powerful late-season surge not only helped the REDBLACKS reach the post-season, it also propelled Powell to his first 1,000-yard rushing season as he finished with 1,026 yards in just 12 games.
Filling in for Cameron Marshall, Richardson had his best game to date. Getting the start for the Roughriders, Richardson ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Alouettes, giving him 24.7 Fantasy points.
