Leggett has productive night against Alouettes

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This article was published 22/06/2018 (2133 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — It didn’t take Maurice Leggett very long to reintroduce himself to the CFL.

The 31-year-old defender, sidelined since tearing the Achilles tendon in his right foot on Oct. 14, made his season debut Friday night when he returned Boris Bede’s opening kickoff 21 yards, almost breaking it for a longer runback.

Later in the game, Leggett added another kickoff return for 17 yards (before taking a big hit), one special-teams tackle and one defensive tackle.

“I was upset I didn’t score,” a smiling Leggett said following Winnipeg’s 56-10 thumping of the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night. “I know, historically, since I’ve been in this league it’s been very tough to return one on Montreal and I felt like I was going to be the first one.

“I’m pretty sure I got some text messages about that second one that I got cleaned out on. But it’s all right, the anxiety settled (down) and I just kept playing. It felt good.”

Leggett saw mostly special-teams duty Friday, but filled in for Anthony Gaitor when the defensive back left with an injury late in the game.

The Blue Bombers always planned to bring Leggett along slowly, especially since Achilles injuries are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate.

“The best part about it is I had time in the off-season to do it, all of training camp to get back in form and we’re just doing a great job of keeping it bottled in and keeping it fresh,” he said.

Leggett, who was in the midst of an all-star calibre season when he was injured last season, credited his family for motivating him to put in the work. 

“The biggest thing was my family,” Leggett told reporters. “My household — (fiancée) Christin (Price), (son) Malik, my daughter Maliyah. They drive me each and every day. If I slack off, they’re worse than you guys.

“I mean, they will get on me, and on top of that, people were saying I couldn’t come back in a certain amount of time… I want to be the prove-you-wrong guy. Everything that’s not possible, I think is possible.”

Winnipeg cornerback Kevin Fogg was thrilled to have him back.

“He’s a baller,” Fogg said. “That’s my brother, and I’ve learned so much from him. After the injury that happened last year, it’s great to see him back on the field, because he’s a playmaker and he’s made an impact on this league in the years that he’s been here. It’s just good to have him. He’s a ballhawk, he’s a ball player.”

GROUND ATTACK THRIVING: Winnipeg’s pounded out a league-high 137 yards on the ground in Week 1, and improved that number against the Alouettes, running for 245 of their 588 yards of net offence against Montreal.

The Blue Bombers got 98 yards on 10 carries from starting quarterback Chris Streveler and 31 more on one carry by backup Bryan Bennett.

Starting running back Andrew Harris rushed 15 times for 58 yards before being replaced by Kienan LaFrance, who added 50 yards on 10 carries. 

TAKING A BEATING: Winnipeg’s 56-point output was the franchise’s biggest offensive explosion in almost 17 years.

On Sept. 8, 2001, the Blue Bombers walloped the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 63-31 at Canad Inns Stadium. Current Montreal offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones was the quarterback of that Winnipeg team.

“Tonight was not a good night,” first-year Als head coach Mike Sherman told reporters. “That’s obvious. There can be no repeats of tonight. This was not our best effort. Hopefully, it will be our worst effort of the year.

“We’ll make the necessary corrections and move forward and fix what needs to be fixed.”

Sherman better work quickly. The Alouettes have lost 13 in a row dating back to last season, which puts Montreal in a six-way tie for the fourth longest such streak in league history. 

ON TAP: The 1-1 Blue Bombers are on the road again in Week 3, this time in a Friday night matchup at Tim Hortons Field against the 1-1 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who whipped Edmonton 38-21.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14