Follow CALGARY STAMPEDERS

© 2024 Calgary Stampeders. All rights reserved.

Menu
Features October 26, 2023

Plenty To Play For

Don’t tell the Stampeders this is a meaningless game.

Calgary will look to win their third straight outing for the first time this year in their season-finale against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Friday at 7 p.m. at McMahon Stadium. You can buy tickets to Fan Appreciation night here.

Stampeders wide receiver Luther Hakunavanhu says there is still plenty to play for.

“It’s very important,” he explained. “This third win in a row could be big for us. I’ve heard that this is a league where you’ve got to get hot at the right time, so a win would help us from a confidence perspective.

“Some people might not think it’s an important game, but to us we have to clean up mistakes from our game against BC so we’re still treating it like a big game that we have to win.”

The Stampeders locked up the final playoff spot in the CFL with their win over the Lions last week and now that they are in, Hakunavanhu says the team truly believes anything can happen.

“I personally said they (the league) messed up and let the wrong team in,” Hakunavanhu said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to back that up. It comes down to everyone being 0-0 and after this weekend the playoff fun begins.”

RELATED
» BUY TICKETS: Fan Appreciation vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers – 27.10.23
» HIGHLIGHTS: Calgary 41, BC 16
» 1-on-1 with Nik Lewis
» 7 THINGS – Bombers @ Stamps
» Wheel Chair Football at the Alberta Children’s Hospital

It wouldn’t take the most knowledgeable fan to see that after the win against the Riders and before the biggest victory of the year against the Lions, the Stamps were visibly more loose during practice. Hakunavanhu says that looseness comes from knowledge of the playbook and thinking less.

“We talk about having fun with the game,” he explained. We can’t be stressing because you start to try and do too much. We took that approach and had it throughout practice. It kind of just happened.”

The third-year Canadian receiver is heating up at the right time as he’s made big plays in both wins that led Calgary to a playoff spot. He’s happy that things are picking up for him, but he also thinks there are still plenty of plays left for him to make.

“I’m more of someone who dwells on the catches I should have made,” said Hakunavanhu. “There’s a couple of contested catches that I feel I should have come down with in BC. The big catches for me are ones I expect to come down with. The more I can put myself in a position to make those plays and come down with the ball it helps the team out. I want the trust from the quarterback.

“I just want to keep executing and making plays and I’ve just got to be a little more clean and do everything I can to help my team win.”