Quintet of Blue Bombers named to all-star team

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/12/2016 (3558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Five members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, all coming off their first season with the team, were named CFL all-stars Wednesday.

Running back Andrew Harris, offensive guard Travis Bond, defensive back T.J. Heath, place kicker Justin Medlock and rookie safety Taylor Loffler were all given the nod, making a list of 27 players — 12 on offence, 12 on defence and three on special teams — that was voted on by members of the Football Reporters of Canada and nine CFL head coaches.

“Although this is the ultimate team game, I would very much like to congratulate these men on a great season,” Bombers general manager Kyle Walters said in a statement released by the team.

“It’s a great mix of veteran and newcomers to our league, which I believe shows the direction of our team. I’m very happy for these guys, and I know their teammates are as well.”

Harris, 29, a Winnipeg native and one of a number of key signings by Walters in the off-season, rushed for 974 yards and four touchdowns, while also hauling in 67 catches for 631 yards and a touchdown.

It took until Week 6 for both Bond, 25, and Loffler, 24, to earn their first starts of the season.

At 6-7 and 355 pounds, Bond brought stability to the O-line, a unit that helped Harris find holes on opposing defensive lines and improved the protection of the quarterbacks, with the Bombers surrendering 35 sacks on the year.

Loffler, who was plucked in the third round of May’s CFL draft, surprised many with his hard-hitting style and penchant for turnovers.

The rookie finished the season with 58 defensive tackles, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and a quarterback sack after taking over for Macho Harris.

Heath proved to be the icing on the cake in the Drew Willy trade with the Toronto Argonauts.

It didn’t take long for the 29-year-old to earn a starting role in the secondary, with two of his seven interceptions on the year — tied for a league-high with Winnipeg teammate Maurice Leggett — coming in six games with the Bombers.

Medlock, perhaps the most obvious of the five selections, joined the Bombers as the league’s most accurate kicker.

He managed to improve his efficiency rate to 87.7 per cent by booting a CFL-record 60 field goals on the year, missing just eight attempts. For his efforts, Medlock, 33, was last month named the 2016 CFL most outstanding special teams player.

The Western Division-champion Calgary Stampeders led all teams with nine players named to the league’s all-star squad Wednesday.

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was the lone unanimous selection.

The nine selections were a franchise best for the Stampeders, who set their previous high with eight in 2010.

Calgary posted a 15-2-1 regular-season record, but dropped a 39-33 overtime decision to the Ottawa Redblacks in last month’s championship game in Toronto.

The Redblacks, who finished first in the East with an 8-9-1 mark, led that division with two selections (receiver Ernest Jackson, centre Jon Gott).

Only four of the 27 picks came from the East Division.

Defensive end John Chick was the lone Hamilton Tiger-Cats player to make the list and linebacker Bear Woods was the lone representative from the Montreal Alouettes.

Other Calgary players included running back Jerome Messam, offensive guard Spencer Wilson, offensive tackle Derek Dennis, defensive end Charleston Hughes, defensive tackle Micah Johnson, defensive back Jamar Wall and cornerbacks Tommie Campbell and Ciante Evans.

The B.C. Lions were next with six selections: receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux, offensive tackle Jovan Olafioye, punter Richie Leone, Chris Rainey on special teams and linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill.

The Edmonton Eskimos had three players on the list: defensive tackle Almondo Sewell and receivers Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker.

It was Olafioye’s sixth career CFL all-star team selection. Bighill and Sewell were next with four.

 

— with files from The Canadian Press

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton