Castillo pursues perfection

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This article was published 30/08/2023 (781 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sergio Castillo has been among the Winnipeg Blue Bombers best additions this season.

Signed over the winter, Castillo returned to Winnipeg for a third stint and has been near automatic, connecting on 25 of his 27 field-goal attempts so far this year. He’s brought a level of consistency to the kicking game that was missing last season, when the Bombers opted to give Marc Liegghio a chance to take over all three duties.

Given his stats this season and what he’s been able to do for much of his six years in the CFL — including compiling a career field-goal kicking percentage of 85.5 – it’s fair to say Castillo had an off-night last week. Indeed, it wasn’t a typical game for the 32-year-old Texas native, who, like many of his teammates, struggled at times against the visiting Montreal Alouettes, missing a field goal and one-point convert before the end of the first half.

Something to be concerned about? Not in the slightest. Especially since the Bombers were able to rebound from the mistake-riddled game — which included three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns — to earn a convincing 47-17 victory over the Alouettes.

That doesn’t mean Castillo left the game feeling all that thrilled, even if the Bombers picked up a valuable two points in the standings.

“It was s—t. For me, it was bad,” Castillo said after practice at IG Field Wednesday. “Because I expect to make every kick and to help out the team anyway I can. I was just frustrated with myself.”

Castillo isn’t still down on the performance. Like most pro athletes, he gave it the 24-hour rule and now that game is in the past.

Castillo even managed to take some positives from it, including how he was able to pick himself back up after those two misses. He went a perfect two-for-two on field goals, hitting from 29 and 28 yards, respectively, and made good on all three of his one-point converts in the final two quarters.

His confidence remains high, and Castillo said he welcomes the pressures that come with this week’s Labour Day Classic against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“I want every kick to be a game-winner,” Castillo said. “I’m preparing myself mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally off the field, so I can bring the best version of myself on the field. Just keep being myself and keep the routine the same.”

PRACTICE LIKE YOU PLAY: You know the LDC is right around the corner when you can hear the artificial crowd noise being pumped into IG Field from blocks away.

That was certainly the case during Wednesday’s workout, with the Bombers coaching staff blasting their speakers at full volume with the hope of simulating what will be a raucous atmosphere at Mosaic Stadium this Sunday. Expect that noise to be around all week, as the Bombers prepare to battle their biggest rival.

“I don’t know that you’re fighting it. That would be the wrong thing to do,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “We practise with it so that you have experience with it. And we don’t let it ever enter into our process or our mind that it’s troublesome. You stick to the plan, how we operate in that crowd noise, and just focus on that part of it. The rest of it, it gets tuned out pretty quickly.”

HANSEN RETURNS TO PRACTICE: He won’t be available this week against the Roughriders, but there were plenty of smiles from just seeing the return of defensive lineman Thiadric Hansen to the practice field.

It was the first time Hansen has taken part of a formal workout since the German-born player tore his Achilles tendon in last year’s LDC, making it almost a full year since he’s been healthy enough to join his teammates.

Linebacker Kyrie Wilson knows the feeling well. He returned earlier this season after spending a full year rehabbing the same injury, which he suffered in Week 4 last year.

“It’s special. I was so happy to see him back out here with us,” Wilson said. “He was just smiling. You could tell he’s been waiting. He was out here running around and just happy. It’s a good feeling, man, because I know how long it takes to get there. We did a lot of rehab work together.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton