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Features September 2, 2023

Living The Dream

Playing professional football under the bright lights in a stadium you grew up catching games at as a kid?

Yeah, that’s what dreams are made of.

Hailing from Scarborough, Ont., Stamps defensive lineman Kelon Thomas took to the field for the first time in his hometown at the pro level last weekend in Toronto. He got the chance to suit up in front of his friends and family, and it would be an understatement to say the moment was special.

“Honestly, it was great to be home,” he said. “It was the first time playing on BMO Field. I used to be there watching games in the nosebleeds as a kid, so it was a great experience walking out pre-game and seeing the stadium full. It felt good.”

The young defensive end made his presence felt primarily on special teams, including a big hit on the Argos returner, forcing a long field on the Toronto offence.

Although the end result wasn’t in Calgary’s favour, Thomas is confident the team will bounce back on Labour Day Monday.

“Coming off a tough loss against Toronto, but we will be better against the Elks for Labour Day Weekend.”

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Before arriving in Calgary, Thomas played football for two years in Kelowna with the Okanagan Sun and capped off his last season in Lake Country with a Canadian Junior Football League championship. They conquered the Regina Thunder at Mosaic Stadium by a score of 21-19 in the Canadian Bowl.

Thomas was honoured as the outstanding defensive lineman from the CJFL’s B.C. Conference in 2022 after collecting 11.5 sacks in 10 regular-season games for the Sun. He also had 19.5 tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick.

He had seven tackles and two sacks in the Sun’s two conference playoff wins, and 2.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks in Okanagan’s 21-19 victory over the Regina Thunder in the Canadian Bowl.

In three seasons for the Sun, he accumulated 42 tackles, 18 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one blocked kick.

The 22-year-old made it out to the University of Calgary Dinos season opener Friday night to watch former Okanagan Sun teammate Dom Britton make his U SPORTS debut.

Although the Dinos suffered a 33-9 loss against their provincial rival Golden Bears, Thomas is confident that the Calgary-born quarterback can lead the Dinos back to their winning ways after facing some growing pains the past couple seasons.

“Seeing Dom start, I believe he’ll do good. He was the main quarterback in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and he’s always been the backbone of our team, helping us not only get to the championship, but winning the championship.

“He’s going to be a big factor for the Dinos, and I believe he’s going to be really good.”

The rookie also made sure to support fellow d-lineman Kwadwo Boahen, who returned to the University of Alberta for another year after being drafted by the Red and White this past April. Besides working alongside each other during training camp in May, the two have also spent a brief amount of time together in Kelowna, and Thomas has nothing but praise for Boahen and wishes him all the success this Canada West season.

“He’s a ball player, man,” he said. “He’s a dog. He’s going to do whatever he’s got to do and hopefully he comes back here, and we can play beside each other like we did for the Okanagan Sun.”

Thomas was absent from practice for Day 1 and Day 2 with a shoulder issue, but was a full participant on Saturday’s workout and has been listed as questionable in what would be his Labour Day Classic debut.

Kickoff goes at 5 p.m. on Monday, and you can buy your tickets to the annual tilt here.