Elks kicker Castillo will always cherish Grey Cup with Big Blue

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This article was published 07/10/2022 (1118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers likely wouldn’t have won the 2021 Grey Cup without kicker Sergio Castillo.

He was brilliant in the championship game, with his five field goals helping lift the Bombers over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 33-25 overtime classic at Tim Hortons Field.

Castillo was hoping his heroics would lead to him getting another shot down south, but a poor showing at a free agent combine for kickers, punters, and snappers in Arizona in March run by former NFL special teams co-ordinator Gary Zauner threw a wrench into his plan. Fortunately for Castillo, his plan B was there waiting for him.

“I didn’t do so hot and you know, at those combines, you have to be perfect,” Castillo told the Free Press on Friday shortly after the Edmonton Elks arrived in town.

“(Mike) O’Shea was at the camp so I spoke with him right then and he’s like ‘So, are you coming back?’ And I’m like ‘Yeah.’ We had spoken, him and I, and we were set on it. But obviously, Osh doesn’t deal with the business part.”

The business part would fall on the plate of Bombers general manager Kyle Walters. When the Elks offered Castillo a two-year contract worth big money, Walters and Co. opted to go in a different, and cheaper, direction in young Canadian Marc Liegghio.

“The next thing you know, I’m in Edmonton. Geroy Simon (Edmonton’s assistant general manager) came in strong with Edmonton and you know, Geroy revived my career. I tore my ACL in 2017 (with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and then he brought me into B.C.,” said Castillo, a CFL All-Star with the Lions in 2019.

“We’ve had that relationship and having that relationship is key. And then, with the salary cap, it was just tough.”

Although he was only in blue and gold for five games, including playoffs, the Amarillo, Texas, native was thankful for the opportunity in Winnipeg. He was the fourth and final kicker for the team last season as the Bombers acquired him near the trade deadline in a deal with the Lions after Tyler Crapigna, Liegghio, and Ali Mourtada all had turns at the position but failed to be the answer.

It had the potential to be an awkward situation as Castillo and Mourtada have been good friends since meeting at Zauner’s combine in 2014.

“We had been helping each other out and I had actually called (special teams coach Paul) Boudreau, Kyle, and Osh about Ali. So, it was kind of tough when he was struggling and they’re like ‘Hey Serg, do you wanna come here?’ But at the end of the day, it’s a business, right? I had to do what’s best for me as a professional and for my family,” Castillo said.

“As for Legs, he took it like a champ. He was like ‘Hey, teach me everything you know.’ Ali took it like a pro as well. So, that was an easy transition for me because it easily could’ve been very tense.”

Castillo, who’s 33-for-40 on field goals this season, isn’t the only big name that the Bombers lost to Edmonton. Star receiver Kenny Lawler also took his talents to the Elks as they made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. The money may be good, but it hasn’t been all fun and games in Edmonton with the team heading into Saturday night’s tilt with the Bombers in last place in the West Division at 4-11.

Lawler underwent season-ending shoulder surgery this week.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations. We’re human beings, right? We’ve gotta let our emotions out at some point. But it’s like, we both chose to come over here. We’re here now and it’s cliche, but the main thing is being in the present,” said Castillo.

“Obviously, we rolled the dice, but we don’t determine how it falls sometimes… So, definitely having those conversations with Kenny have helped me out individually. Especially not making it to the NFL because he had those aspirations as well. So, I can relate to him and he can relate to me. So it’s like I could let out how I felt, you know, with wishing this or that could’ve happened, but he’d always bring me back and say ‘Hey, we’re here now.’”

Castillo, now 31 and in his ninth professional season, is taking on the role of a veteran and helping the younger guys in the Elks locker room. The Elks are clearly miles and miles behind the Bombers, but Castillo likes the direction they’re headed in. No matter how things finish out with his new club, Castillo said he’ll always have a place in his heart for the Bombers.

“That season is something that I’ll cherish forever.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31