Leggett glad he’s so glib

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/10/2016 (3576 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Maurice Leggett said he had to convince everyone on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers sideline to allow him back into the game in the fourth quarter.

A quarter earlier, Leggett, who already had an interception — his league-leading seventh of the season — was ruled out of the game following a play that rendered him prone for a chunk of time near midfield.

“I even consulted with my teammates,” Leggett said about how he worked down the chain of command to get himself back into the Bombers’ 37-35 win over the B.C. Lions Saturday afternoon at Investors Group Field.

Risking further injury to what was labelled a lower-body ailment by the team, Leggett returned to the field for B.C.’s penultimate drive, and everyone involved was glad he did.

Leggett came up big with a clutch tackle on a third-and-short play on the Bombers’ five-yard line— spinning off a block and cutting down Lions ball carrier Chris Rainey to force a turnover on downs and ultimately seal the win over their West Division rivals.

“They already hit us with a (56-yard touchdown run) on the exact same play (in the second quarter),” Leggett said, admitting he smelled the same play coming in the late stages of Saturday’s game.

“So I just changed my position up, we communicated it and I just went on a block and tripped him up.”

Leggett’s heroics, according to his teammates, were a testament to the type of team the Bombers have become.

“Guys willing to put it on the line for each other,” said Jamaal Westerman following the win.

“At the beginning of the season, a lot of the guys don’t (know) each other. But as we continue to build throughout the season we become closer and guys keep being accountable, keep putting it on the line for one another. That’s what football is about.”

Fellow linebacker Tony Burnett said the only way Leggett was staying off the field was if he had to be stretchered out.

“God, he’s one of the top playmakers in the league — he never ceases to surprise us,” said Burnett.

“No one on our team is going to lie down. Nobody. That was big for him. You always want to have your playmakers out there. He’s relentless.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea was still mystified following the game. Before Leggett’s name was fully pronounced in the form of a question, O’Shea interrupted.

“Wow. Holy jumpin’,” he said, clearly blown away by his linebacker’s resilience.

“He has that pick, comes off coverage and makes that interception early. I think he returned a missed field goal, probably 55 yards if you count the end zone… has a little setback and comes back in the game and makes, basically, the play of the game.”

O’Shea paused for a moment.

“Gosh, that’s an unbelievable football play. I’m so proud of him.”

O’Shea said Leggett told him he could “not only manage (his injury) but play at a high level.”

“That’s a guy you want back in,” O’Shea said.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.