Lewis Ward (Canadian football)

Lewis Ward
No. 10     Ottawa Redblacks
Born: (1992-09-02) September 2, 1992
Career information
Status Active
CFL status National
Position(s) Placekicker
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg)
University Ottawa
High school Bayridge Secondary
CFL draft 2017 / Undrafted
Career history
As player
2018–present Ottawa Redblacks
Career stats

Lewis Ward (born September 2, 1992) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football at the University of Ottawa for the Gee-Gees.

College career

Ward played for the Ottawa Gee-Gees from 2013 to 2017 as he became one of the best kickers in Gee-Gees and U Sports history.[1] He finished his university career having converted 89 successful field goals, which is the most in program and conference history.[2] It is also second all-time in U Sports history to Johnny Mark's 91 career field goals.[1][3] He is also the leading scorer in Gee-Gees football history with 412 points and third all-time in U Sports.[1]

Professional career

Ward went undrafted in the 2017 CFL Draft and instead returned to school for his fifth year of eligibility. Following a successful 2017 season, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on January 3, 2018.[4] Following the departure of 2017 kicker, Brett Maher, the Redblacks had an open competition for their kicking position between Ward, Richie Leone, Sergio Castillo, and Mathieu Hebert. He went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in the pre-season and won the starting placekicking job with Leone handling punts and kickoffs.

On July 28, 2018, Ward tied an Ottawa Football Club record by making seven field goals in a single game, tying him with Terry Baker in 1984 and Dean Dorsey in 1989.[5] On August 11, 2018, he set the all-time CFL rookie record for consecutive field goals made with 22, surpassing Luca Congi's benchmark of 21.[6] He continued that streak to September 22, 2018 in a game against the Edmonton Eskimos, where he broke Rene Paredes' single-season consecutive field goal record of 32 made in 2016 with his 33rd straight in the second quarter of that game.[7] In that same game, he again made all seven of his field goal attempts, tying his own club record and extending his streak to 37 consecutive field goals made.[7] In the following game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he broke the all-time consecutive field goal record of 39 made, also by Paredes, over the 2012-2013 seasons, by connecting on all three of his field goal attempts to bring his streak to 40.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gee-Gees kicker Lewis Ward signs CFL contract with Ottawa REDBLACKS". geegees.ca. January 4, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ Lewis Ward Gee-Gees bio
  3. ↑ U Sports football records
  4. ↑ "Ottawa Redblacks transactions, January 3, 2018". ottawaredblacks.com. January 3, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ Ken Warren (July 30, 2018). "Ward tries to put blinders on to early success with Redblacks". ottawasun.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Comeback Kids: Redblacks Battle Back to Defeat Alouettes in Ottawa". cfl.ca. August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Lewis Ward breaks single-season consecutive field goal mark". cfl.ca. September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ward Sets New CFL Record with 40th Consecutive Field Goal". cfl.ca. October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
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