Thousand-yard man Reggie Begelton a bright spot for Calgary Stampeders

Article content

Why throw to the back of the endzone on a last-chance play to win the football game Saturday?

The why is easy when it’s Reggie Begelton on the receiving end.

That’s newly minted three-time 1,000-yard receiver Reggie Begelton of the Calgary Stampeders, after reaching the milestone early in the 23-18 loss to the Edmonton Elks at McMahon Stadium.

“It’s to the guy that I think is our best player,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson, when asked post-game about the play-call to win it all in the dying seconds of The Battle of Alberta.

Article content

“And … yeah … it was a play that we designed for zero (safeties in coverage),” continued Dickenson. “They overplayed the out (routes). We wheeled it up and just weren’t able to make it.”

That meant an eighth-straight game without a win for the Stampeders.

But the biggest bright spot — again — was Begelton.

With his early-game touchdown of 54 yards, the polished veteran rolled over the thousand-yard mark for the third time in his illustrious CFL career.

Begelton eclipsed the milestone back in 2019 with a whopping 1,444 yards.

And last year, he racked up 1,119 in 15 games.

After hauling in five balls for 79 yards — both team-highs Saturday — the 31-year-old Texan now has 1,073 yards on 85 receptions in 16 tilts this year en route to what he is sure looks like a third league all-star nod after earning the honour in his previous two 1,000-yard campaigns.

Article content

Article content

It’s another massive measure in helping him meet his career objective of becoming a Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee.

“That’s one of the things I’ve been chasing,” said Begelton, of a hopeful hall call after his CFL tenure comes to an end. “It’s one of my ‘whys’ — why I come up here and work every day.

“You want to win as a team — you always do want to win as a team,” continued Begelton. “But you also have to, as an individual, use your whys, because things get mundane. I mean … when your body is hurting and you don’t want to get up in the mornings, why are you getting up? You remind yourself constantly why you’re getting up, and that (wanting to be a hall-of-famer) is one of them.”

Of course, Begelton isn’t just a ‘me’ guy, either.

One of his other main whys is to do his best for the Stamps. It’s why he’s feeling the heartache as much as anybody on the team’s struggling season that’s seen the Red and White head into Friday’s Week 20 meeting with the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-10) at Tim Hortons Field (5 p.m., TSN, QR Calgary) with an ugly 4-11-1 record and without playoffs to look forward for the first time in 20 years around here.

Article content

But that Stamps shortcoming is not on Begelton.

“He’s probably one of our hardest workers and takes care of his body as good as anybody,” Dickenson said. “Very competitive, prideful, a leader …

“It’d be nice to have a bunch of Reggies. They don’t make ’em like that. He’s durable — he’s got speed and great hands and will block. So … yeah … he’s always doing a lot of good things.”

Thousand-yard things, really.

“I’m going to play every play my hardest, so I can be that guy to help win for this team,” declared Begelton. “That’s what matters the most.

“Individual accolades, they’re good — they’re a benchmark to your testament of how you are as a professional and what you what you bring every day to consistency. But at the end of the day, I want to win.”

They came close Saturday — down to the final play.

And it was there from the five-yard line, set up by a pass interference call flagged on Elks defensive back Kai Gray on the previous attempt — hoping for a 29-yard TD strike — by QB Matt Shiltz to Stamps teammate Marken Michel.

“You know … we probably got a little fortunate to get the call to get to the five-yard line,” admitted Dickenson. “I felt like there was more contact on that last play (from Shiltz to Begelton looking for the winning points) than there was the previous play.

Article content

“So it would have been nice to see (a pass interference penalty on the last play) if we could have got it at the one-yard line, and maybe Tommy (Stevens) could have sent the fans home happy (with a QB sneak for a TD),” added Dickenson. “But it didn’t happen.

“And … yeah … Matt tried to put it where only Reggie could catch it (on the final play). And at that point, sometimes you’ve just got to make sure you can at least get a hand on it.”

Short yardage

Dickenson hinted Tuesday after practice that Shiltz will be the starting QB against the Ticats … WR Cam Echols (head) was back practising for the Stamps after sitting out last week with concussion-like symptoms … On Wednesday, the Stamps will announce the winner of the prestigious Presidents’ Ring honour, presented annually since 1967 to the player who best demonstrates excellence on and off the field, as voted by the players.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

X: @ToddSaelhofPM

Article content