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October 16, 2016

McDaniel’s milestone

Receiver Marquay McDaniel during a game against Montreal on Oct. 15, 2016 (Photo by David Moll)

In the early stages of Calgary’s 22-8 triumph over the Montreal Alouettes, veteran receiver Marquay McDaniel officially surpassed a significant statline on the season.

“I mean, it’s cool,” McDaniel stated after exceeding the 1,000-yard plateau for 2016. “It kind of different than it used to be as far as kind of being easier to get now. I have my sights set on a bigger number, but it’s always good to get over that hump. When you’ve done it before, it really doesn’t mean too much, but like I said, it’s good to get it.”

Finishing with eight catches for 81 yards, the Virginia Beach, Va., native now sits at 1,074 yards and counting with two games to go. It marked his second consecutive campaign reaching the impressive figure and third overall after coming two yards short of the milestone with the Tiger-Cats in 2010.

The Stamps struggled to move the ball offensively at times on Saturday evening and, although the Als came in with a lackluster 4-10 record, the Hampton University product knew the visitors’ defence would pose a challenge.

“Montreal has a good defence and we knew that coming into the game and I told the guys before that they’re a scrappy group,” offered No. 16. “They’ve got some players over there and they fly around. They definitely were playing for their playoff lives tonight so we knew what type of game it was going to be. We’ve just got to be sharper and that’s all it comes down to. It comes down to us.”

While McDaniel leads the team in receiving, the 32-year-old feels fortunate to be part of a unit with six pass-catchers having totaled at least 400 yards. No other CFL squad can make that claim.

“Those guys have stepped up,” the five-foot-10 security blanket said regarding DaVaris Daniels and Kamar Jorden in particular. “You throw (Anthony) Parker in there and you’ve still got Lemar (Durant) out there and Simon (Charbonneau-Campeau) steps in.

“That’s the expectation around here. When your number is called and they get that opportunity, they want to make the most of it. It’s good to see other guys making plays because that’s what makes us tough to defend.”

Now finding themselves at 14-1-1, McDaniel feels the Red and White should pull out all the stops in order to obtain the best record in league history after 18 regular-season games.

“That’s more what I’m looking at right now, playing well and getting that,” explained McDaniel. “It’s right there, so why not go for it? Why not be the best team in CFL history? That’s not our ultimate goal, but if it’s right there and if we play how we want to play, we’ll get that done.

“I think that would be a huge accomplishment and it would be good for (head coach) Dave (Dickenson) to get it, especially in his first year and him being the coach he is and him being the guy he is. I think it would be special for him and it would be special for all of us and I think it’s something we need to try to get.”