One more 50-plus yard kick for Castillo — for the record

After last Friday’s win over Ottawa, it was brought to Sergio Castillo’s attention that he had just made CFL history.

On Wednesday, however, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker found out that a mistake was made and that he still has some work to do.

Castillo drilled a 56-yard field goal at the end of the half which, at the time, was believed to be his 41st career 50-plus yarder which set a new league record.

Castillo, as one would, spoke about the accomplishment earlier in the week and reflected on his journey to the milestone.

But then, the league discovered an error from last month.

Castillo was credited with a 50-yard kick in Winnipeg’s 52-30 loss against Calgary on July 24, but after revisiting the play, it became clear that it was from 49 yards out.

The league made the correction and now Castillo remains tied with former Bombers great Troy Westwood.

Westwood needed 92 attempts from 50-plus to get to 40, meanwhile Castillo has reached that number on just 61 tries.

“Ah, no big deal,” said Castillo after Wednesday’s closed practice.

“My day goes on. It don’t matter where we’re at.”

Perhaps he’ll make history for real this time Friday night in Edmonton when the Bombers (5-4) take on the first-place Elks (7-3).

“If it happens, it happens, and we’ll still drink some tequila after and celebrate,” said Castillo.

“I always still drink a little tequila after, so it don’t matter. Maybe I’ll eat a couple extra cookies.”

The 35-year-old relishes opportunities to show off his big leg — but that wasn’t always the case.

“I used to dread it. Obviously, you want to kick it, but it was more dread because I didn’t have that much confidence in myself. And then, over the past years, (my confidence) has just kind of grown with the more you do it,” he said.

“I want every kick to be a game winner and a long one.”

The secret? Treat every kick the same.

“This is what I tell kids that I train: your extra points go 45, 50, 60 yards, depending on the age. So, as long as you kick a long one just like an extra point, you’re more likely to be a lot more accurate,” said Castillo.

“For me, it’s about trying to make the same contact every time. You get into trouble when you start changing the way you hit it, so I just try to strike it the same way every single time.”

Touchdown Tommy?

Tommy Nield hasn’t been living up to his nickname lately.

The 27-year-old Canadian receiver has just three catches for 31 yards in the last three games and is still searching for his first major as a Bomber.

After a breakout season in Saskatchewan, Winnipeg signed Nield to a lucrative two-year deal in free agency that’s worth $175,000 in 2026 and $187,500 in 2027.

“I can’t control where the ball goes. I can’t control that sort of thing. All I can do is focus on my job and attacking each day and be process oriented,” said Nield.

“When the ball does come my way, I expect myself to make the play — as does everyone else when the ball is thrown their way. I’m just focused on my process.”

Nield had a few crucial drops in Ottawa on July 19 when the Bombers were fortunate to escape with a 36-34 overtime win. As Nield made his way back to the locker room after the game, head coach Mike O’Shea approached him in the hallway and encouraged him to keep his head up and not sweat the mistakes.

“Every receiver will tell you that they want the ball, but what are you doing on those plays when you’re not getting the ball? There’s other things you can do and the ball will find you when it does,” said Nield.

The passing attack in general hasn’t been great in Bomberland lately.

They rank seventh in passing yards (268.3 per game) and pass efficiency (96.3). They’re also dead last in passing TDs (11) and completions of 30-plus yards (nine).

“We haven’t reached close to what our ceiling is yet. We just want to trend upwards heading into the second half of the season,” said Nield.

No major changes

The Bombers are only making one minor tweak to the roster this week.

With second-year defensive back/special teamer Ethan Ball out for the forseeable future with an Achilles injury, linebacker Lane Novak has been activated.

Novak was chosen in the fifth round of the 2025 CFL Draft out of Saskatchewan and has three special teams tackles in seven career games.

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