The saying goes that nothing in life is certain besides death and taxes, but you can add Tommy Stevens converting on short yardage situations to the list.
The third-year Stamp has been nearly perfect when his number is called, converting 21 of 22 third-and-short assignments this season.
Catch the 6-foot-5, 241-lb. quarterback lining up at a game in McMahon Stadium and you’re bound to sing-along to the tune of Chip Taylor’s ‘Wild Thing’ shortly after he moves the chains.
Additionally, he leads the league in touchdowns with eight so far this season, scoring three of those majors against the Ottawa Redblacks in the club’s last outing.
But the credit doesn’t go to Stevens alone, as he gives props to the o-line and blockers helping him get across to the endzone.
“It starts up front,” Stevens admitted. “Everything kind of goes as they go so credit to those guys. We’ve done a great job since I’ve gotten here. The coaching staff puts us in the position to make the plays and then it’s up to us to execute.
“Credit to the guys up front, fullbacks, receivers. I think having a skillset for it obviously helps. I’ve played a lot of positions growing up so it’s not too foreign for me.
“And I’ve enjoyed it.”
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Stevens and Co. have been virtually automatic throughout three seasons making the play seem pretty easy to carry out.
But it takes all 12 men on the field paying attention to detail and meticulously executing their role for the play to have any success.
“There’s only two times I can think of since I got here in 2022 that we’ve actually gotten stopped on third down, so again it’s a credit to the guys up front,” said Stevens.
“If we have any mishaps or mistakes, we can’t execute the way that we do so being precise in those movements (is important), and that includes the receivers, fullbacks.
“We have a bunch of different personnel packages so it could be different guys in there, but we’ve done an excellent job.
“I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Famous for spiking the ball after he dives into the endzone for six, Stevens switched up his celly following his third touchdown of the night a couple weeks ago.
Scoring in the north endzone with the newly added Coors Light Corral to his left, Stevens heaved one up to roaring crowd.
“We kind of talked about it really since (The Corral) was built,” said the 27-year-old. “I don’t know how many touchdowns I’ve had that have ended up down there but (the celebration) kind of just happened.
“Being my third one for the game I already had two spikes down, and I looked up there and saw people and thought ‘Yeah okay, let’s throw it up’ and my thought was to throw it about as far as I could right before I did it.
“I made eye contact with a couple girls and was like it would be a really bad look if I just accidentally smoked one of them in the face, so I tried to layer it, give it some air and wasn’t exactly throwing it to anybody. I think it hit the back wall, so not sure if anyone went home with it but maybe we’ll do it again sometime.”
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His next opportunity will come on Monday, Sept. 2, as the team prepares for the annual Labour Day Classic against the visiting Elks.
The rivalry matchup tees off the rest of the season for the Stamps who, with 18 days between games, have a chance to return to the gridiron with a re-kindled fire as they set their sights on an extremely tight West Division.
After 13 weeks, all five western teams sit in close quarters with the Roughriders at the top (5-5-1), the Blue Bombers and Lions in second and third (5-6), the Stamps in fourth (4-6) and the Elks closing out the division (3-7).
Six of Calgary’s last eight games come against Western opponents, with three matchups against the Elks, two against the Riders, and one more against the Lions in Vancouver.
The quest for the west starts on Labour Day Monday.
“It’s a great opportunity for us and our team,” said Stevens. “All of our goals are still ahead of us this season, we can kind of look at it as a fresh start to the year. We’ve all had some time off to get away, but guys here are competitive and want to play football, this has been on our mind for sure.
“I think a lot of people would agree it’s probably the best home game of the year. You get the flyover with the jets.
“There’s something special about Labour Day so we’re excited.”
Kickoff between the Stamps and Elks, which goes at 4 p.m. MT, will be preceded by a CF-18 flyover, and the Canadian Armed Forces will be honoured throughout the game.
Included in Labour Day’s special game day atmosphere, fans are encouraged to wear black in an effort to match the club’s on-field uniform and ‘blackout’ McMahon Stadium.
