Oct
Als won’t rush to any snap decisons
Courtesy Montreal Gazette:
The long-snapper on any professional football team performs a thankless job, usually handled by someone most fans would be unable to identify.
Until the player screws up.
In Sunday’s loss to Winnipeg, Cory Huclack screwed up. And his identity is no longer a mystery.
Five minutes into the second quarter, Anthony Calvillo connected with Jamel Richardson for a 23-yard touchdown, giving the Alouettes a 9-8 lead. The convert, which should have been automatic, was unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, starting with a bad snap from Huclack.
“The ball just slipped out of my hand,” he said yesterday. “It was pretty terrible, but that’s football. You have to look past it and not dwell on it; turn the page.”
The snap was low and bounced off holder Ben Cahoon. It was grabbed by kicker Damon Duval, who deked a defender and attempted a pass to Cahoon. The play resulted in a 12-yard loss.
Given the Als’ high-powered offence, it seemed like an innocuous squandered point at the time. But Montreal’s attack floundered much of the day, and the home team lost 24-23.
“The game could have been played differently had we scored that point. And for that, I’m responsible,” Huclack said. “But it does come down to more than one play. Certainly, some decisions might have been different.”
Duval also was loath to suggest the play was the game’s turning point. It’s easy to look back and second-guess, he said.
“From the outside, you can say it was a bad snap that we didn’t convert. But one play isn’t why a team wins or loses. A game consists of 100 plays that can make a difference. That wasn’t the reason we lost the game.”
Although Huclack handled long-snapping duties while playing at the University of Manitoba, the job in Montreal has been occupied by Chris Vrantsis the last four seasons. Huclack replaced Vrantsis three games ago.
Vrantsis is suffering from a back injury that carried over from last season. He played through the injury this year, which might have affected his performance.
Head coach Marc Trestman said he expects Huclack to continue manning the role during Friday’s regular-season finale at Edmonton.
“Obviously, Cory’s very disappointed,” Trestman said. “He’s a diligent player. No one play makes a difference. There were a number of them in that game. Certainly, it wasn’t our best game, but it wasn’t a matter of effort or energy.”
Calvillo, named the Als’ nominee for the CFL’s outstanding player award yesterday, had his worst game this season, passing for only 191 yards and one touchdown. His ill-advised pass late in the game from Montreal’s 27 on second-and-one was intercepted by Stanford Samuels and resulted in the winning points off an Alexis Serna field goal.
Calvillo, a right-handed passer, was running to his left, throwing across his body. The wobbler, intended for fullback Kerry Carter, floated and was intercepted easily.
“I was trying to make something happen. It definitely wasn’t a smart throw. I’ve done it many times and got away with it. But it’s something you teach young quarterbacks not to do. It hurt our team,” Calvillo said.
