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Lewis Ward (Canadian football)

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Lewis Ward
No. 10     Ottawa Redblacks
Ward with the Redblacks in 2023
Born: (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 32)
England[1][2]
Career information
StatusActive
CFL statusNational
Position(s)Placekicker
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight175 lb (79 kg)
UniversityOttawa
High schoolBayridge Secondary
CFL draft2017, undrafted
Career history
As player
2018–presentOttawa Redblacks
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2018
CFL East All-Star2018
Career stats

Lewis Ward (born 2 September 1992) is an English-Canadian professional 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.

Early life

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Ward was born in England, and moved with his family to Kingston, Ontario when he was in the middle of grade 8. He was raised in a soccer loving household & grew up playing soccer himself.[3][2]

University career

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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.[4] He finished his university career having converted 89 successful field goals, which is the most in program and conference history.[5] It is also second all-time in U Sports history to Johnny Mark's 91 career field goals.[4][6] He is also the leading scorer in Gee-Gees football history with 412 points and third all-time in U Sports.[4]

Professional career

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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 3 January 2018.[7] 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 28 July 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.[8] On 11 August 2018, he set the all-time CFL rookie record for consecutive field goals made with 22, surpassing Luca Congi's benchmark of 21.[9] He continued that streak to 22 September 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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[11] On 19 October 2018, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ward broke the professional football record of 44 consecutive field goals made by breaking Adam Vinatieri's record from the National Football League with his 45th straight field goal.[12] He finished the 2018 regular season having made 51 field goals out of 52 attempts, shattering Paredes' single-season field goal accuracy record of 94.74% with a completion percentage of 98.08%. His single season consecutive field goal streak finished at 48 made by the end of the regular season. He was named as the Redblacks' nominee for the league's Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.[13] At the 2018 Shaw CFL Awards ceremony, he won both awards, becoming the first ever kicker to win the Most Outstanding Rookie Award.[14]

Ward's consecutive field goal streak continued into the 2019 season, including in a game on 5 July 2019 where he made a career-long field goal of 53 yards.[15] On 17 August 2019, Ward was wide right on a 34-yard field goal attempt, ending his consecutive field goal streak at 69 made.[16] Later in the season, on 19 October 2019, Ward set a new franchise record by successfully connecting on a 56-yard field goal, the longest in Ottawa professional football history.[17] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season and signed a one-year extension with the Redblacks on 14 January 2021.[18] On November 4, 2021, near the end of the 2021 season, the Redblacks announced that they had signed Ward to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2022 season.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Jennifer Elliot (2 September 2015). "2015 CIS Football Player To Watch: Lewis Ward, Ottawa Gee-Gees".
  2. ^ a b Devin Heroux (22 November 2018). "Redblacks' Lewis Ward goes from security guard to kicking in Grey Cup". cbc.ca.
  3. ^ Jennifer Elliot (2 September 2015). "2015 CIS Football Player To Watch: Lewis Ward, Ottawa Gee-Gees".
  4. ^ a b c "Gee-Gees kicker Lewis Ward signs CFL contract with Ottawa REDBLACKS". geegees.ca. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  5. ^ Lewis Ward Gee-Gees bio
  6. ^ U Sports football records
  7. ^ "Ottawa Redblacks transactions, January 3, 2018". ottawaredblacks.com. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  8. ^ Ken Warren (30 July 2018). "Ward tries to put blinders on to early success with Redblacks". ottawasun.com. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Comeback Kids: Redblacks Battle Back to Defeat Alouettes in Ottawa". cfl.ca. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Lewis Ward breaks single-season consecutive field goal mark". cfl.ca. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Ward Sets New CFL Record with 40th Consecutive Field Goal". cfl.ca. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Ward passes Vinatieri; breaks pro football record with 45th straight FG". cfl.ca. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  13. ^ "CFL announces 2018 team award winners". cfl.ca. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Ward double dips with top Rookie, Special Teams honours". cfl.ca. 22 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Streveler, Bombers stay perfect with win over Redblacks". cfl.ca. 5 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Lewis Ward's consecutive field goal streak snapped at 69". 3downnation.com. 17 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Redblacks kicker Lewis Ward sets record for Ottawa CFL clubs with 56-yard field goal". ottawacitizen.com. 19 October 2019.
  18. ^ "All-Star kicker Lewis Ward returns to Redblacks". Ottawa Redblacks. 14 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Ottawa Redblacks Lewis Ward contract extension 2022 season - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
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