It was roughly two-and-a-half hours after his walk-off heroics in Montreal, around the time the Lions’ team charter was taking off for the long journey home, when the chants of ‘White Rock, White Rock!’ picked up again.
Always on the ball, Sean Whyte had to correct his boisterous teammates: “It’s Clayton Heights now!”
Yes, even though Whyte, his wife Ranna, and their young daughter Mya have made the move to accommodate their need for bigger space, the kicker won’t soon shed his White Rock roots.
On the field, “walk-off Whyte’s” 17th CFL season is shaping up to be a good one. Along with perfecting nine field goal attempts through five games, Whyte recently moved past Terry Baker into tenth spot on the CFL’s all-time scoring list. He sits at 2,150 points for his career, 87 shy of Dave Cutler for ninth spot. Calgary’s Rene Peredes currently sits at eighth and continues to climb.
Saturday’s winning field goal was the eighth walk-off of his great career. But his main focus always remains on the next one.
“Claire Hanna (TSN sideline reporter at the end of the game: she’s like, ‘How many is that?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t look at that,’” said Whyte on Monday as the Lions were getting back to work ahead of a Sunday clash in Edmonton.
“I don’t even remember what happened last week. So no, it’s just fun to be to get an opportunity, because those opportunities don’t come often. So it was really cool to contribute to the team and be a part of a celebration.”
Always a team guy through and through. Despite his longevity, the soon-to-be 41-year-old still gets quite the rush over being trotted out for a walk-off to win it. Saturday’s environment would be nerve-racking for the best of them: hot, humid and a bunch of screaming Alouettes fans right on top of the action.
“I told (long snapper) Kyle Nelson with about five minutes to go to be ready,” said Whyte on his pending winning kick.
The wily veteran later admitted that Montreal’s timeout call to try to ‘ice’ him was actually for the better, as it allowed him to breathe for a few more seconds. Once the ball sailed through the uprights, he afforded himself the luxury of calming down and enjoying the frenzy.
“I thought, thank God, I can wipe my face off and cool down a little bit.”
Sean Whyte on Alouettes’ final timeout.
“At 43 yards, I had the wind. I just told myself, ‘Don’t overswing. Be very smooth, head down and follow through,” he said.
“Earlier in the warm-up that day, I wasn’t following through. So I was saying, ‘Eyes down, follow through nice and high.’ Especially with (Shawn) Oakman right there. I had to get that thing up because he stood in front of me before the snap. The guy’s a monster and he was looking at me. I was kind of scared, but I just knew with follow through, I get the height and I get the power, and I hit a really good ball. So, I knew right away when I hit it, I heard the thud, and it was going dead straight. So I could start the celebration early.”
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A Montreal Walk-Off Always Tastes Sweeter
There will never be any bad blood, but Whyte admits it always feels a little extra special to win a game in a place he once called home.
After it became clear he wasn’t going to unseat Paul McCallum for a few more years, the former South Surrey Rams phenom joined the Alouettes from 2012-15. It turned out to be brilliant for his career.
Whyte was allowed to continue build a path to becoming the CFL’s most accurate kicker in its illustrious history.
He was cut from the squad early in his fourth season, another blessing in disguise, as Whyte would win a Grey Cup in Edmonton later that same year. Sometimes, things happen for a reason.
“No disrespect to Montreal. I love the city, the people and the fans. The fans are still awesome with me and they’re talking to me throughout the whole game, but in good fun,” the kicker adds.
“And I don’t hold any regrets or anything negative towards the organization at all. My time there was the time of my life. But yeah, obviously to hit a game winner, because you guys cut me, felt great (laughter).”
Whyte is in the fourth season of his second stint with his hometown squad and has no intentions of slowing down. He’s put off his career at the White Rock Fire Department in order to keep playing. It was his first coach, Wally Buono, who encouraged him to follow his heart and play football as long as I can. After all, legends Lui Passaglia and McCallum- the top two scorers, respectively, in CFL history- kicked well into their 40s.
“It’s a dream of mine. To do it for BC in my hometown, my home province is even better,” Whyte added.
“Every time after a game, I look at my jersey and put it down. I put it down nicely because I respect the heck out of that jersey.”
Whether it’s White Rock, Clayton Heights, Edmonton or Montreal, Whyte will always be ready when a walk-off situation arises.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com