The sackmaster has returned with a vengeance.

After missing the previous two weeks, Charleston Hughes made his presence felt early on against the Stampeders’ West Division rivals, the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The veteran defensive end wasted little time getting acquainted with the quarterback, finishing the game with a game high of three sacks.

“It feels great, what better way to come back than to get three sacks?” Hughes said. “Especially when it’s against a team that really didn’t want you to go out there get three sacks. The numbers speak for themselves.”

The Stamps defence stood tall all game, shutting out the Roughriders offence in the first half and helping get Calgary back into the win column. The Stamps finished with a total of five sacks and applied constant pressure on Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn.

For Hughes, who has made a career of bringing down the quarterback, it was a perfectly scripted return to action.

“That’s the best way that you can get it and want it,” Hughes said. “It feels good to get sacks like that repeatedly, even after a two-week break. What really helped us was that we got two people back (Hughes and defensive tackle Bryan Hall) who came in and helped make a difference in the game. We just go out and compete as a defence as a whole.”

After the layoff, there may have been some concerns about rust, but head coach Dave Dickenson felt that Hughes was ready to go from the opening kickoff.

“I guess maybe I have to give him a couple of weeks more often,” Dickenson quipped. “He played really well and was motivated to make an impact all game. He was a catalyst for our defence and in that first half, nobody could block him.”

Despite only appearing in three of the five contests thus far, Hughes finds himself in familiar territory as he shares the team lead with four sacks, good for second overall in the league.

As a team, the Stamps have allowed a total of 50 points in the past three games after surrendering 70 in the season’s first two contests.

“When you feel like the game is getting away from you, you hit your peak as a defence,” Hughes said.  “You have to find a way to bring back the momentum in your favour however that may be and come back on top, and we did.”

Photo by Mark Shannon