Sometimes you have to wonder if along with incredible natural athleticism, Roy Finch is also blessed with some type of other-worldly vision.

Perhaps the ability to see things unfold at half-speed, helping allow him to surgically dissect opposing cover teams, seemingly with ease, when he’s running back kickoffs and punts?

No super powers, though, answers Finch, when asked the secret to his uncanny capacity to find seams. Just plain old hard work and dedication to his craft.

“Just repetition,” he said, after running roughshod over the BC Lions in Saturday night’s 27-13 win at McMahon. “Just those repetitions at practice. I take practice really, really, serious. I go full speed, I make moves, I do everything how I’d do it in a game so when a game comes, it’s natural, and it’s easy. So it’s not that hard.”

The diminutive dynamo didn’t find the end zone in the victory, but his deft touch with returns gave the Stamps great field position all night.

He ran back six punts for 174 yards – his longest a 66-yard scamper – and returned two kickoffs for 56 yards.

Those 174 punt yards vaulted him to 1,009 on the season, breaking his own Stamps record in that category.

“Roy, I thought, was excellent again,” said head coach Dave Dickenson. “He’s a difference maker and yeah, we’re blocking well, but he’s making a lot of those plays on his own and he’s exciting to watch.”

On Saturday, Finch set a new Stamps record for punt return yards in a season (Photo by Mark Shannon)

When starting running back Jerome Messam was forced to leave the game in the third quarter, jack-of-all-trades Finch also took up some of the slack with extra time behind Bo Levi Mitchell.

“I’ve been prepping  to see more snaps throughout the year,” said Finch. “Last year, they spotted me a little bit but this year my reps are picking up a little more. They’re trying to gauge my rest because I am the starting punt returner and kickoff returner. But I’m very confident in everything that I’m doing. I know the offence in and out: protections, routes, what other guys are doing. So I’m pretty confident and that’s why coach is putting me in the game – because he trusts me.”

As for his forte – returning punts – Finch’s 1,009 yards in 10 games on 56 returns has him atop that league stat, ahead of Ottawa’s Diontae Spencer, who has 48 returns in 13 games for 640 yards.

Finch has three punt-return touchdowns. No other CFL punt returner has scored more than one major this campaign.

“Each week we know the special teams part of the game is going to be critical,” said Finch. “That’s every week. I just try to stay focused on the scheme, on what we’re trying to do. I know I can make plays, man. I know the type of teammates that are around me – they’re busting their butts for me, man, and all I can do is just go out there and give my all – give 110 per cent effort.”