‘Worst moment of my football life,’ says Bomber kicker

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2015 (3748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

wfpvideo:4536881153001:wfpvideo

Lirim Hajrullahu called it the worst game in his career — by a long shot.

And it was those longs shots — four failed field goal attempts from 43, 48, 44, and 40 yards, respectably, along with a 32-yard missed convert to be exact — that had the Bombers kicker tossing and turning in bed following a 24-23 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos Saturday that dropped the Bombers record to 4-10.

“Absolutely the worst moment of my football life,” said Hajrullahu, swarmed by a group of reporters following practice at Investors Group Field Tuesday, his first availability with the media since he was deemed unavailable following Saturday’s loss.

“I was making adjustments — not major adjustments — just little things; my thoughts that go through my head during a kick and before a kick and how I approach everything and, you know what? It just wasn’t my day.

“I personally think it was just one of those games where nothing went right. Every great athlete has these moments and (defensive end) Greg Peach taught me this: Every bad game that you have, you have 24 hours to dwell on it, whether it was good or bad, look at the mistakes and that’s what I did. After those 24 hours I’d like to put it past me and move on to this week.”

At first glance, Hajrullahu looks to have bounced back already, hitting a number of field goals in practice Tuesday including a few from beyond the 50-yard line. But he wasn’t alone. Sergio Castillo, the team’s No. 2 kicker behind Hajrullahu who was added to the practice roster Aug. 28 after a stint in Hamilton, was also at practice and split time kicking field goals during special teams drills.

“It’s difficult to say because you want it to be positive because you’re competing every day,” Hajrullahu said when asked if healthy competition could be seen as a good thing.

“At the end of the day, if someone is breathing down your neck every day… but it’s part of the business so I don’t mind it at all. He’s a good guy and I try to talk to him and he’s trying to follow his dreams as well.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea liked what he saw from both his kickers at practice, and was impressed with how Hajrullahu performed in his first day back on the field.

“He had a tough day and he’s probably going to think about it nonstop and for him to come out and kick well is a good thing — not only for him but for the team, too,” he said.

That’s not to suggest there won’t be some changes heading in to this weekend as the Bombers get ready to travel west to take on the B.C. Lions Saturday. It’s still too early in the week for any real moves to take place on the roster, but O’Shea didn’t rule out the idea of going to a two-man system, with Hajrullahu handing the punts and Castillo in charge of the field-goal duties.

“There is a bunch of different thoughts that go into it, including the roster and how it’s going to effect the entire roster, but yeah, that would be, if Sergio was on, that would be his role.”

And if called upon, Castillo, who spent four years at West Texas A&M University and made good on 78 per cent of his kicks there, is ready and willing to get his shot.

“I’m just here to prove what I can do and hopefully the opportunity comes,” said Castillo, who said he felt for his fellow kicker Saturday, though he’s never experienced a game like that himself. “I’m just here to help the team out in any way I can.”

Safe to say at this point in the season, any help is wanted.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton