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John Woods \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers returner Trey Vaval (23) celebrates his 129-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown Friday night at Princess Auto Stadium. <\/p>\n
That ability to block out any potential distractions was helpful as Vaval broke through for his first touchdown of the season, a 129-yard scamper that set a franchise record and played a pivotal role in extending the lead in the fourth quarter as the Bombers improved to 3-2 for the CFL season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the field, you\u2019re not thinking. You\u2019re just playing ball and having fun. It\u2019s just tunnel vision. The crowd goes away and you hit your cues,\u201d said Vaval, as he expanded on his original answer. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to explain it, my mind just kind of goes numb. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve seen the movie Biker Boys but there\u2019s this scene and he\u2019s racing and he just looks straight ahead and everything around him just goes away. There\u2019s no noise, just him and what he needs to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat happens to me on every return, just focus on the ball, get the ball and everything goes dark. I don\u2019t really see much or hear nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the beauty of being involved in the return game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re on the field, you\u2019re not thinking. You\u2019re just playing ball and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are multiple players on the field who can\u2019t even see how the play is developing behind them, yet are still responsible for creating the lanes that make scoring plays possible.<\/p>\n
This return by Vaval is a prime example of the type of teamwork that is required to make a house call. It wasn\u2019t a singular block where an opponent was stymied, it was a sequence of players winning their one-on-one battles that allowed Vaval to get down the field untouched.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t see it as much as you hear it, especially in our building, where you hear the crowd,\u201d said Bombers linebacker Tanner Cadwallader, who is in his sixth season with the CFL team. \u201cResponsibility-wise, you just have to run through the guy in front of you and try to block him with the right leverage and keep clean. In that instance, it was a guy bigger than me, so you\u2019re trying to make sure you can make the block.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an idea of what\u2019s happening. I don\u2019t even know if the kick is made or missed. The whistle comes if it\u2019s a make, but if it\u2019s a miss, you just keep the block and if you start to hear the crowd start going, you can assume that Trey is starting to make people miss and he\u2019s getting upfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombers linebacker Jaylen Smith was running upfield when he felt Vaval\u2019s presence alongside him, at least momentarily.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as he sees a hole, he takes off. He has the patience, he has the vision and all of that stuff, but his ability to find top-end speed is insane. I\u2019ve never really seen someone that quick and that fast at the same time,\u201d said Smith. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s just pure excitement. I\u2019m blocking my man and I was near mid field. I just felt Trey zoom past me, so then I immediately took off. I didn\u2019t see anybody in front of me, but I turned around and there was a guy flying beside me so I just decided to block the closest man. Just block anyone you can see.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I felt Trey go past me, I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s a touchdown.\u2019 I love seeing Trey in the end zone because you know you\u2019re part of that. It\u2019s a team effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has the patience, he has the vision and all of that stuff, but his ability to find top-end speed is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea has a deep appreciation for special teams play, though he is quick to point out he was the guy throwing blocks rather than running kicks back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never talked to Trey about this, but I bet you for him, it\u2019s kind of like slow motion,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cEverybody else is moving fast and he\u2019s just in the matrix, in the zone, whatever it is and things are happening slow enough that he can make these moves and cuts. On that one, he didn\u2019t really have to make a lot of turns, the blocking was such that he just let it take hold and sort of cruised by.\u201d<\/p>\n
The roar that accompanied the play \u2014 complete with a crescendo \u2014 made the moment even more memorable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was amazing,\u201d said Bombers defensive back Major Williams, who is Vaval\u2019s roommate. \u201cWith the crowd, that was the loudest I\u2019ve ever heard the stadium. They were loud for the whole 10 or 11 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith how critical the moment was, how big it was and how much we needed that. We preach all three phases and there you go right there. You have Trey Vaval taking it to the house, 129 yards. Something I\u2019ve never seen in my life in person. That will stick around for a long time. It was great to see a play that would be (blown) dead down south turns into a scoring play off a return. That just brings the uniqueness to the game. \u201d<\/p>\n
Vaval\u2019s vision and explosiveness have been apparent since arrival on the scene with the Bombers last season, where he earned CFL honours as the Most Outstanding Special Teams player and the Most Outstanding Rookie.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always a threat. He\u2019s just such a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Vaval is off to another outstanding start in all phases of the return game, which is even more impressive when you consider that he\u2019s not catching other teams by surprise this season. He\u2019s a player all teams prepare a game plan for and are determined not to get beaten by.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s always a threat. He\u2019s just such a weapon,\u201d said Cadwallader. \u201cOn special teams, we\u2019re always just trying to keep up our end of the bargain. Our one third and if we can make plays happen, then it helps the whole team. You hear about three-phase football all of the time and we\u2019re just trying to manage our phase. If we can get a spark like that\u2026 we\u2019re thrilled to be a part of it. Having a guy like Trey makes it more exciting because it can happen more frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n Vaval made sure to show his appreciation to those who helped make his first touchdown of the season possible.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody was doing their job on that play and it paid off. I could have gone everywhere,\u201d said Vaval. \u201cThose dudes were blocking their asses off \u2014 excuse my language. They wanted me to get in the end zone and I thank them for that.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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