Quebec’s Mathieu Betts’ exceptional season was recognized in the best possible way on Thursday evening when he was voted the Canadian Football League’s defensive player par excellence.
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Betts dominated in a BC Lions uniform with 18 sacks, breaking the record by a Canadian athlete. The previous brand belonged to Jamaal Westerman (2015) and Brent Johnson (2005).
The former Laval University Rouge et Or became the first Lions player since Keron Williams, who had 12 sacks in 2012, to finish at the top of the CFL in that regard.
“From a purely football standpoint, I would say I take a lot of pride in my speed and high effort,” Betts said in a CFL press release.
No one has hit the opponent’s pivot as often as the one who has tried his luck with the Chicago Bears in the NFL since the Alouettes’ John Bowman’s 19 sacks in 2015.
The 28-year-old Montrealer didn’t steal his prize. He also recorded a career-high 44 defensive tackles, as well as two special teams tackles, three for losses, three forced fumbles and a blocked punt.
Nothing seemed to stop Betts on the field, his best game coming in the third week of action. In a 30-6 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Lions’ number 90 had three sacks.
Mathieu Betts had his best game of the season on June 22 against the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg, recording three sacks. Photo provided by CFL, Daniel Crump
Betts, who beat Toronto Argonauts cornerback Adarius Pickett in the voting, is the sixth Canadian player to win the award, the last being Alex Singleton in 2017, and the 14th member of the Lions.
“It’s really amazing,” Betts said of the players he emulated, including Cameron Wake and Brent Johnson. As soon as I arrived at the Lions, friends told me about Brent Johnson. Cameron Wake is a pillar of the CFL and an example of someone who wants to succeed.
Dequoy leaves empty-handed
The other Quebecer up for an award at the CFL gala in Niagara Falls was Marc-Antoine Dequoy. The Alouettes marauder, the only representative of his team that evening, defeated Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira and took the title of Canadian player par excellence.
Oliveira, who faces Dequoy and the Als in the Gray Cup final at Tim Hortons Field on Sunday, is the second athlete in the country to reach the 1,500-yard milestone (1,534).
However, it wasn’t enough to dethrone Chad Kelly as the circuit’s MVP. Even though he looked bad in the Eastern final against the Alouettes, the Argos quarterback had one heck of a regular season with 23 touchdown passes for 4,123 yards and eight majors on the ground.
Marc-Antoine Dequoy (#24) signs autographs after a win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on October 28th. Photo Martin Chevalier
The Argos evening
Kelly led his team to the best record in their history (16-2), tying the CFL record for number of wins.
So it’s no surprise that the Toronto team stole the show at the gala as Dejon Allen (offensive line), Javon Leake (special teams), Quan’tezz Stiggers (rookie) and head coach Ryan Dinwiddie all climbed onto the stage .
A very small consolation for a training session that has already been canceled.
Argos quarterback Chad Kelly was targeted by the Alouettes on September 15th. Photo Martin Chevalier