“There’s just a lot going on in the CFL right now and it’s a challenge to keep good people,’’ acknowledged Calgary Stampeders’ head coach Dave Dickenson, in formally announcing that Pat DelMonaco has added offensive co-ordinator to his business cards to go along with O-line coach.

“That’s why I was so excited to keep Pat.

“It’s about keeping all the good puzzle pieces, keeping the people you trust, respected around the league, part of the organization, part of your team.

“I wanted to keep Pat on the staff and he’s also a guy people were looking at.

“And that’s why this is so important.”

DelMonaco is naturally pumped about his expanded role.

“I’m sure everyone’s talked to (Dickenson) about how they envision themselves in this business, how they want to progress and grow,’’ said DelMonaco.

“So this is something I had envisioned. Just one of those things you slowly earn: If you earn their trust and earn that right to gain responsibility and you have an opportunity to take it, you’re going to get that shot.

“I’m first very excited to be a part of this organization going forward. To have this responsibility within this organization is huge.

“The ability to continue to learn from (Dickenson), on top of that to have Huff doing the player personnel part of it with us is just an awesome opportunity.

“You can’t ask for a better chance to get into this kind of role, with that kind of support.”

DelMonaco joined the Stamps from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2014 and has spent the past half-dozen seasons in charge of the offensive front.

“I feel like he’s been doing a great job,’’ lauded Dickenson. “No one’s going to out-work Pat. I love what he does. He’s been co-ordinating the short-yardage and run game, as well.

“I wanted to make sure Pat DelMonaco stayed and the best way to do that is give him more responsibility.

“And its get us a little change. Some new ideas, keep some structure. Gives a little bit of the hierarchy on the back end of the coaching staff and he’s the guy I wanted to do it.”

DelMonaco has served as an offensive co-ordinator before, in NCAA Division III at RPI, for six seasons.

“You’re always aspiring to look beyond just your little realm, to see how far you can learn and how much you can handle,’’ said DelMonaco.

In other Stampeder coaching news: Dickenson confirmed that quarterbacks coach Ryan Dinwiddie is leaving the Red and White, while special-team co-ordinator Mark Kilam stays put.

“(The change) is not really affecting me because I believe Pat’s earned it,’’ said Dickenson, who’s shoulders the dual HC/OC role since inheriting the top-dog job from John Hufnagel four seasons ago.

“It’s justified. You’re not giving away things just to make people happy. I feel like you need a little bit of change in your staff, as well. Sometimes you need a little bit of a different vision.

“We just want to be better. All of us are confident but the egos aren’t there. We’re just trying to work forward as a group.”

DelMonaco’s promotion doesn’t mean that the boss man is entirely out of the scheming end of things, however.

“We’ll probably end up doing it the same,’’ confessed Dickenson. “We work together. It’s more the install schedule and how we’re going to prioritize plays.

“We’re all on the same page. I’ll probably keep the head phones on. Pat’s got a lot on his plate already. He has five offensive linemen he’s got to coach on every play. When we come off on the sideline he’s got to make sure he can adjust, whereas the play-caller is thinking forward to the next series.

“He’s one of the few O-line coaches that has the awareness, the understanding, of all three phases of the game – the play-action screen game and the run game, as well as the pass game.

“It’ll be a collaborative effort, for sure.”

Curt nods. Strained smiles.

“Oh yeah, a little tension at the beginning,’’ concedes Rene Paredes. “No doubt. I felt it. It was there. And he’s never denied it.

“My locker was right next to his. And we both seemed to be fighting for the same thing.

“Nobody wants to lose his job. So at the beginning we kind of looked each other over, sized each other up.

“But things worked out – as well as either of us could’ve hoped for – and we became very, very good friends, on and off the field.

“Each other’s work made both our careers.’’

Maver and Paredes. Or Paredes and Maver.

The order of billing blinking atop the the Calgary Stampeders kicking marquee these last nine years has been, to either, irrelevant.

Together, they were something more, something greater.

Maver lofting punts with Jordan-esque hang-time to allow the downfield coverage time to its thing or plunging a jagged dagger into the opposition psyche by pinning a punt deep. Parades putting up more threes than Larry Bird, sending field-goal attempts straight and true, right down Main Street to ice or ignite a victory.

After nine years together, eight of those fused together in fan imagination, Rob Maver officially put his kicking shoe in storage on Thursday.

Coach Dave Dickenson was on hand for the announcment. Old retired pal Rob Cote, too. Current pass-catcher Kamar Jorden and Maver’s long-snapper Pierre-Luc Caron. The only pro special-teams guru he ever worked with, Mark Kilam. Other team staff. Friends.

And, naturally, Paredes.

“We know how each other ticks,’’ says Maver. “We’re very different people but professionally we knew exactly what each other were doing. And then the last two years when I started holding for him I thought that made things better.

“We’re great friends.

“I just want to recognize Rene right now. I don’t believe one of us exists without the other. It’s an honour to play with you. You’re going to go down as one of the best ever to (kick) and I’m really excited to watch you keep playing and watch your family grow.”

The story has morphed into local legend, of how a torn quad muscle opened the door for draft-pick Paredes to slide in and how after recovering Maver then shifted focus to concentrate on punting duties.

“We joke about this all the time, now,’’ says Parades. “It wasn’t a joke back then, of course. But if he hadn’t gotten hurt, I would’ve gone back to Concordia and, who knows, maybe never played in the CFL.

“Strange how things work out.

“With the two of us, you’ve to give credit where it’s due. Kilam and Huff knew what they had. Burke Dales had been here for seven or eight years (punting) and they thought Maver and I would be a better combination.

“We’re only a year apart. Maybe that had something to do with it. Teams are always looking to bring younger guys in and I’m pretty sure the salary cap had something to do with it.

“Whatever, it worked. With Huff, things usually do.

“To this day, we’ve both got to thank him for that.”

They’ve celebrated and commiserated over the coming and going of the seasons, the years, joined by a common job expectation.

As Rob Maver takes his leave, any tidbits his sidekick can now share?

“He’ll kill me for saying this but he’s the biggest OCD person I know,’’ laughs Paredes.

“Our lockers are still right next to each other. And they are very different. He’s super-organized, super neat, has to make sure things are perfect, everything has a spot.

“Me? Not so much.”

When 2020 training camp opens late next spring so many things taken for granted for so many years will seem so foreign around McMahon Stadium. No Brandon Smith to take the DB greenhorns under his wing. No Pete Costanza to tutor pass catchers. And now, no Rob Maver to count on to get ‘em out of a jam, either.

“I’m sure Huff and Dave will find someone they believe can do the job,’’ says Paredes. “I only hope it’s someone who’ll be here for the next however many years that I’m around.

“But it’ll be different at the start, for sure.

“We still saw each other each day, of course, but earlier in our careers we used to hang out a lot more than we do now. He works in the off-season. I work in the off-season. I have a family. He’s married.

“Things change.

“We still text nonsense at each other every day, though. He’s still one of the funniest guys I know.

“I know we’ll stay in touch.

“But the day-to-day, that’ll be different. We’ve spent a lot of time together over the last nine years.

“I’ll miss him.”

Even to the point, you wonder, of maybe sometimes tidying up the locker next door – whoever it may belong to by then – should it not meet the fastidious standards of its previous occupant.

Rob Maver nailed it.

Coffin corner. Inside the 10.

No chance for a return.

“Being able to play a small part in the run we’ve had, in a very special time for the franchise, has been an amazing adventure,’’ says the Calgary Stampeders’ longtime punter, who’ll officially announce his retirement from football today.

“Nobody’s won more games than us during that span. We’ve gone to five Grey Cups, won two. Then the calibre of players I got to play with – when I was younger, Nik Lewis, Henry Burris, Jon Cornish, Joffrey Reynolds, then Bo blossoming into who he became, Eric Rogers …

“Guys who’ll go down as franchise greats.

“It’s been quite the ride.”

With the departure of 35-year-old DB Brandon Smith, the 33-year-old Maver briefly inherited and held the ‘old guy’ tag.

For little more than a month, as it turns out.

“Well, not the old guy, exactly. Let’s say guy who’d been around awhile,’’ he parries lightly. “An important distinction to make.

“I’ve seen a lot. Been through a few CBAs, the passing of the torch, you will, from Huff and Dave, the arrival and departure of a lot of great, great players.

“You’re a kid, you put your head down and work and few laters you pick up your head and suddenly everybody else is 23 or 24.”

On the walls of his office out at MacMahon Stadium, special teams Mark Kilam – the only coach Maver worked with during his tenure here, hangs framed photos of special moments involving Maver.

“To watch the development Rob went through over the course of his career … well, it makes a guy proud,’’ says Kilam. “He had to evolve his game numerous times to stay relevant in the CFL because of rule changes, team changes.

“That is quite remarkable.

“Came in as a field-goal kicker, Burke Dales was the punter. Got hurt” – torn quad muscle – “and everybody knows the story about how that opened the door for Rene (Paredes). When Maves got back, Rene was the kicker so he was forced to become the punter.

“They changed the rule about kicking out of the bounds between the 20s so he had to adjust his placement. Then when the block-of-5 couldn’t run anymore, couldn’t free-release off the line of scrimmage, he had to improve his hang time to give us more time to get downfield but he also had to improve his hand-to-foot operating time because they were pressuring more.

“All these things, over the years, where I’m on him, like: ‘Hey, we need you to do this’, then he’d work on it all off-season come back and do it.”

When asked the most challenging aspect of the punting gig, Maver replies:

“Understanding how to prepare yourself, the qualities you have to bring, to best control your mental game, because there are so many variables out of your control. Field conditions. Wind. Circumstances you’re asked to kick in.

“How are you going to handle the ebbs and flows of the game? How will react to a bad punt?

“Understanding how to play the game in your head before even bringing it to the field.”

Over the course, he’s been a two-time CFL All Star and on three occasion a West Division selection. At the 2019 Awards Night at the Scotibank Saddledome, Maver received the prestigious Tom Pate Memorial Award in recognition of his sportsmanship and contributions to his team, his community and the CFLPA.

In his punting, he allied power to precision. The man could seemingly drop a football into a paint bucket along the white sideline stripe from 40 yards away. Virtually on demand.

“Certainly that played into our philosophy,’’ says Kilam. “Could Rene have kicked more field goals from longer distances? Yeah, sure. But when you have a weapon like Rob, why not use it?

“In risky situations, let’s just play the field-position game. Pin them deep, make the stop, get the ball back in great position.

“His skills allowed us to do that.”

Kilam says now that he had an inkling all season long that the retirement option was very much in the cards, but nothing was actually said between the two on the subject.

“So then when I met with him after the (semi-final loss to Winnipeg), I knew that he knew this was the right choice,’’ says Kilam, with something bordering on parental pride. “I mean, just talking to him, you knew.

“I have a great relationship with the guy. I’ve known him since he was a kid.

“I knew there was no talking him out of it. So we just hugged and I told him that it was a privilege for me to work with him.”

In retirement, Maver isn’t going far.

“Calgary has been a very welcoming place, from Day One,’’ enthuses the transplanted Easterner. “When I was drafted back in 2010, I had no inclination that I’d wind up settling here. I met my wife here, she was actually introduced to me by a former teammate, Keenan MacDougall.

“We’ve chosen to make Calgary home. We really love living here.”

No doubting that it’ll seem awfully odd, someone other than the familiar No. 6 launching punts up, up, up into the stadium-lights-illuminated stratosphere (and throwing the odd, third-down, trick-play pass) next fall.

“It’s funny,” Maver muses. “When you first walk into that building you just want to figure things out, avoid being the guy to get that shoulder tap. I never got that sense of being that guy, but you’re just doing whatever you can to stay.

“Then you start to figure things out and your mentality shifts to how you can really excel, make a difference and impact the game from your position.

“I’m very grateful and happy for what I’ve been able to achieve with the Stampeders.”

Nailed it, he did.

Coffin corner. Inside the 10.

No chance for a return.

“I’m happy to be able to move on with my life and start my next career.

“I’m fulfilled.

“I guess that’s the simplest way to put it.”

“One hit?’’ The Calgary Stampeders always-ready-for-detonation linebacker considered the question a moment. “Well, one I do remember is meeting John White in the hole in our last B.C. game.

“I had a couple of good hits that night, as I recall. One on a kickoff. Another one where I had two pulling guards, shook off the one guy and got a good smack on 21 (Brandon Rutley).

“But that White-in-the-backfield hit?

“It just felt … ‘Man, okay.’ Holley smiled like a cat lapping at a bowl of cream. “‘That is the way it’s supposed to feel.’”

“When you can hit somebody, you sense their body crumple and you’re absolutely fine, it doesn’t hurt you one bit?

“Awesome. Just awesome.

“Nothing as good as that.

“Nothing.”

In the midst of running the interview gauntlet early on on CFL Awards night at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Holley then nodded towards the CFL Rookie of the Year bauble he’d been presented with a half-hour or so earlier.

“That, though, comes close.”

In sauntering onstage to collect his swag Thursday evening, Holley joined a select group of Stampeder freshman to be so fêted: DaVaris Daniels, Brett Jones, Nik Lewis, Kelvin Anderson and Harold Hallman.

“Being away from football three years, not being on an active roster for the first year or the second year, that want, that desire, that appreciation of every rep, was second to none from me,’’ reckoned Holley. “Because I knew it was taken from me for two years.

“So you’re tired but: ‘Naw, it’s okay. You can be tired later. You’ve got plenty of time to be tired in the off-season.’

“I think that different appreciation was allowing me to be successful early and just kinda do what I did this season.”

In the audience to help Holley celebrate the moment were dad Paul and sister Randi.

And, naturally, very much in his thoughts, his mom, who passed away shortly before Nate graduated from high school.

“Everything I do is to make my mom proud,’’ said Holley in reflection. “Whether that’s being a good man or a good football player or in the future being a good husband.

“That inspires me.

“When something like this, tonight, happens, it’s a reminder of my upbringing and all that I owe my mom and my dad, just my family in general and for the way they’ve shaped me.”

Holley’s nearest and dearest were thrilled to attend.

“We’re just so proud of him,’’ said Paul. “We kinda knew he had it in him. We believed in him. We’ve watched him play since he was eight years old. And he’s just blossomed into a great young man.

“He loves Calgary. The team welcomed him. He’s made a lot of good friends. He feels at home here.”

The innate drive that embodies the Holley style, sister Randi chalks up to sibling rivalry between Nate and twin brother Nick, a runningback and teammate during their collegiate days at Kent State.

“Nick and Nathan always joked that they literally fought to get out of the womb of our mother,’’ says Randi. “Because they’re twins.

“Since they were little they’ve been relentlessly competitive. Whether it was racing off the school bus to get the refrigerator first or what have you.

“Everything in our family was a competition. And they loved football from the very beginning. I think just having each other to compete against, both being incredible athletes, has given each of them that extra edge.”

“In school,’’ chimed in Paul, “their mom and I had to remind them: ‘OK, it’s not who gets done first, it’s who gets the better grades.’ Each of them had to be first, because they viewed everything as a contest.

“Neither Nate or Nick are the biggest guys. But they’ve got heart. They don’t quit.”

That persistence is personified in Holley’s patient ascent to the awards stage Thursday. He began the season, remember, primarily as a special teams monster, filling in at the Will linebacker spot as required. When man in the middle Cory Greenwood went down injured, Wynton McManis was shifted from Will into the centre, and Holley took over outside and began folding ball carriers like pieces of origami.

Despite starting just eight games, he finished third on the club at 78 defensive tackles. With a team-leading 22 special-teams tackles, Holley wound up making a total of 107 defensive plays, good for second highest in the league.

“Just a real pleasure to coach,” lauded Stampeder defensive co-ordinator Brent Monson, “because he did all the right things from the jump.

“One thing we preach in camp is: Effort is Key.

“We had a little effort belt and I’d present it to the guy we thought had shown the most effort on a given day.

“Well, I’d be giving it to him pretty much every second day.

“He played strong safety down south. When you bring a guy who played a different position into the box 100 per cent of the time, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but his didn’t last long because he’s just so naturally physical.

“A seamless transition, in my opinion.

“He’s all business all the time. Meeting rooms. On the field. Practice. A tackling machine with enough speed sideline to sideline.

“As good as anybody in our league, in my opinion.”

Holley has certainly come a long way in a short period of time.

“When my time came, I was ready. I’ve been trained that way my whole lift. Hit the ground running when an opportunity presents itself.

“I think I did that this season.

“And that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Ahead, his immediate future remains unclear.

“I’m just enjoying the moment and kinda taking things as they come,’’ confessed Holley.

“Tonight was fantastic. I’m so grateful. This year was a great experience for me.

“Do I know what’s going to happen? No, I don’t.

“What I do know, the one thing I can tell you for sure, is that whenever I hit a football field again, any football field, whether it’s down there or up here, 100 yards or 110, they’re going to get the best version of me.”

Reggie Begelton’s laser-light breakout show. An often-changing offensive front that guarded Bo Levi Mitchell like he were the Hope Diamond.

Nick Arbuckle’s statement turn subbing for the reigning MOP early on in proceedings.

Mitchell’s return to top form on Labour Day from a torn pectoral muscle in his throwing arm. Kamar Jorden’s playoff comeback from the catastrophic knee injury suffered Labour Day 2018.

Being introduced to DaShaun Amos, Royce Metchie and Raheem Wilson as linchpins in the defensive backfield. Top draft pick Hergy Mayala’s growing comfort level with the pro game. The peerless professionalism of Brandon Smith and Jamar Wall.

So much had been so positive in a season of re-tooling and refurbishment.

None of that seemed to matter much, though, in the wake of a 35-14 West semi-final ouster by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday.

The ache will be pretty raw for some time to come.

“It’s a pretty cut-and-dried business,’’ agreed Calgary Stampeders’ head coach Dave Dickenson on an uncharacteristically early clear-out Monday down at McMahon Stadium. “There’s not much else to say to give the guys any consolation.

“You can see in their faces, they want to keep playing, they want to keep going. It’s been a tough year on us. A good year but not a successful year.

“Feels very abrupt. But that’s the reality of sports.”

Another inevitable reality is change. Retirements. Salary-cap issues. The newly-installed, hard-to-fathom NFL signing window for CFLers already under contract.

All those factors are destined to play a part in how different the 2020 edition of the Stamps will look.

“We’ve got to make some tough decisions and there’ll be a lot of new faces,’’ said Dickenson.

“We’ve got a lot of hurt guys that we have to see if they’ll be able to come back or not and I’m sure Huff has his work cut out for him as far as the cap and that sort of stuff.”

Greenwood, at 36, may have had his fill of the wear and tear and . Tailback Don Jackson is set to test free agency.

Begelton’s gaze has turned, at least for the moment, southerly. Ditto Dexter McCoil, released Monday to pursue those options.

What infuses the Stampeders with optimism is the quality of their young crew.

“When we did our little rookie award, the fake one/ pie-‘em-in-the-face thing, normally, when we vote, nine or 10 guys walk out of the room,’’ recalled Mitchell. “And this year it was literally half the room.

“You could see the shock on the veterans’ faces. We looked at each other: Half our room just walked out.

“That was when we finally realized just how many young people we were playing with.

“And honestly, man, I thought they handled themselves really well. Very professional. A little drama now and then, that’s going to happen with a football team and sports in general.

“A lot of young guys helped us out this year to be successful, took a lot of big steps in the second half of the season.”

There remain regrets, obviously. A high-ankle sprain kept slotback Eric Rogers out of the semi. Sack impresario Cordarro Law was also absent due to an AC shoulder separation.

“We missed those guys,’’ confessed Dickenson. “There were our heart and soul.

“That leadership, work ethic, the smarts, drive … we missed those guys.”

One individual that did suit up Sunday, of course, but will be hugely missed moving forward is DB Brandon Smith. The swami-like figure nicknamed Mr. Miyagi – mentor to The Karate Kid from the 1984 feel-good flick – by his apple-cheeked secondary pals is calling it a career after 11 seasons and three Grey Cups.

“It’s a tough day,’’ conceded Smith. “It’s never a good time seeing all the guys cleaning out their lockers. Butt that’s the game we play.

“We knew it was possible. We just wasn’t ready for it.

“Still trying to soak in that the season’s over, my career’s over.

“You can’t do anything forever. All good things must come to an end. Just trying to enjoy all the guys still being in town, talking to them, last hugs and handshakes in.

“This is family here. (Calgary) is my second home. I’ll still be around, cheering the Stamps on, being a loyal fan. I will miss being on the locker room. It’s one thing being on the field, going to battle with guys. But it’s the camaraderie in the locker room, laughing, joking. Every time I come in the locker room, I’m talking smack with somebody. Every day.

“That’s fun to me. Always in good faith and love.”

From his accounting firm desk back home in California, Smith will be watching, convinced the way ahead is in good hands.

“We had a lot of young guys, new faces in the room,’’ he praised. “And those guys played hard. We fought, scratched and clawed. A lot of people doubted us this year but we had 12 wins.

“Guys went out there week after week and laid it on the line. Although they were young, they played like vets. So willing to learn and adapt to the game style and the playbooks.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to these guys.

“They have a strong foundation to build on.”

“One word? Shock,” confessed defensive back Brandon Smith, peeling off, for a final time, the red-and-white livery he’s modelled with a singular distinction for over a decade.

“I wasn’t ready for it to end like this. None of us were. We had the intention – and every expectation – of moving forward.

“But it’s professional football. (It) happens. The reason they came out to play today was to send us home, to knock us off, to beat the champs.

“And they did that. Credit them.

“For me, now, there’s no next game.

“Because I mean, that’s why I’ve gone out and emptied it every week for as long as I have. You never know when you’re last game, your last play, might be.

“Well, I know. But, no, I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.”

They’ll all, each and every one of the Stampeders, need some regrouping time after being overrun in the second half, their dreams of a home Grey Cup title detailed after being beaten 35-14 by the invading Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Sunday’s Western Semi-Final.

“I don’t have the answers,’’ said downcast coach Dave Dickenson, who’d piloted his charges to appearances in the last three title tilts. “Really, we just got out-coached and outplayed. Gotta look in the mirror on that.

“We got beat. The team that played the best won the football game. They did some new stuff, had some difference coverages, did a good job with their bye week. Just tweaks.

“Like someone said, you could tell … we just honestly weren’t honestly on the same page. (Mitchell) lost his eyes, he didn’t trust the guys a little bit. Ultimately, your quarterback has to be better than theirs to win.

“And it just didn’t happen.”

So many moments that flip-flopped a 14-8 halftime advantage into a cosmetically-lopsided loss linger will linger in mind’s-eye until training camp 2020 kicks off: Nic Demski’s slicing through the Stampeder resistance like filleting a freshly caught Manitoba Smoked Goldeye for a 33-yard touchdown gallop. Bomber deep-threat Darvin Adams getting in behind Tre Roberson to latch onto a Zach Collaros bomb and turning it into a 71-yard major. Chris Streveler powering over people in his change-of-pace role to Collaros, capping his night of battering-ram run production with a 17-yard TD ramble.

“He brought another element and definitely changed the game,’’ said linebacker Wynton McManis, of Streveler. “Getting them key first downs we they needed it. Credit to them.”

Then there were the two second-half Bomber interceptions of Bo Levi Mitchell. In such a rich vein of form of late, Mitchell suffered through a rare afternoon of struggle, finishing with 12 completions on 28 attempts, 116 yards, one TD and three picks.

“Just didn’t have my stuff today,” he explained post-game. “The stuff I need to lead our guys. That’s what I’m paid to do; that’s my job as a quarterback.

“Didn’t execute when we had to. Me and the receivers were a little off on some things, route-wise, yardage-wise, distance-wise.

“Things like that.

“They did a good job, man. They’re a great defence, very well coached.

“With success comes failure. Gotta go through it. Gotta keep you chin up.”

The end, though, is undeniably bitter for a group that had exceeded the expectations of many to fast-track the build on a revised foundation:  Overcoming a plague of injuries to key personnel and off-season departures to post a 12-6 record, nailing down another in a long list of home playoff dates, and the emergence of new stars to replace familiar heroes.

“I’m really proud of the players, the coaching staff, for giving it a good run,’’ said Dickenson. “Everyone bought in and did everything they could.

“Losing’s disappointing. It sucks. But that’s pro sports.

“We just honestly felt like we were trying to climb, climb, climb and couldn’t quite get to the top. But the guys never relaxed, played hard.

“Just didn’t make enough plays.”

In spite of the progress, there’ll be long winter of overall evaluation and personal self-analysis.

“Honestly, in the first half we had control of that game,’’ said offensive tackle Derek Dennis. “We had opportunities to go up big.

“We didn’t take ‘em and the second half just got away from us.”

“Man,’’ confesses the once-again-ready-for-prime-time receiver, “it is honestly hard to put into words what I’m feeling … Everything this week has just happened so fast.

“So I haven’t had any time to sit back and actually realize how far I have come, how long the process has been, how much progress I’ve made.

“I’ve been preparing for this game, for this moment, for over a year.

“I mean, I feel strong.

“I’m ready to go.

“But I think it’s going to take until game day, coming out, seeing the crowd, feeling the buzz, for the whole thing to hit me.

“That, I think, is when I’ll finally know:

“I’m back.”

That’ll be Sunday, 2:30 p.m., McMahon Stadium.

K.J. is, at last, A-OK.

A week of gathering speculation was confirmed when Jorden’s name appeared on the Calgary Stampeders’ depth chart early Saturday.

The road back to competitive health has been a long, sheer uphill climb. Days upon days of rolling out of bed and dreading the necessary rehab. The worry. The doubt. The latent frustration.

The catastrophic injury suffered on Labour Day Monday of last year that dislocated a knee while tearing the anterior, medial and posterior ligaments had tossed his star-ascending season into the dumpster and threw his career into jeopardy.

Surgery required eight hours.

Only a week before, he’d broken Herm Harrison’s single-game franchise receiving record of 237 by 12 yards. Against Sunday’s West semi-final foe, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, adding a bit of symmetry to the whirlpool of emotion.

Through only a half season in 2018, Jorden had amassed 944 yards and six TDs. His horizon blazed a brilliant, neon-bright blue.

And then, that Labour Day afternoon, he went to make a block against the Edmonton Eskimos and …

“I’d never been through a major injury of this nature, so at first I wasn’t prepared,’’ Jorden acknowledges. “You go through so many emotions. I tried to look at every day on its own. Do what you can today. Don’t look ahead, don’t try to predict the future.

“That’ll just drive you crazy.

“You’re so up and down. Waking up and mentally preparing for rehab as opposed to waking up and getting ready for practice is SO different. A whole other mindset. I won’t lie.

“And there were times where I would do too much work, my knee would be banged up even more and I had to shut it down for a week. So I had to learn when to chill, too. I’ve learned a lot about myself through this process.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever be here. But here I am. And I’m so incredibly happy.”

If he’s happy, be sure the whole gang is over-the-moon ecstatic, too.

“Seeing him smile again because he’s going to play football again is so, so great,’’ says Stampeders’ receivers coach Pete Costanza. “He loves playing football more than anything else.

“Whether it’s ‘against all odds’ or a ‘miracle’, as some people are saying … whatever. Adrian Peterson was a miracle, too, and he’s playing high-level football. Unquestionably, it’s a spark for our entire football team. Remember when he first came out just to see if he could run around and finish a practice, and everyone was cheering him?

“To see K.J., then to now, is just super exciting. He’s like a little kid again.”

A kid eager to get out and start bossing the playground again with his pals.

“K.J.’s been in all our meetings, at all our practices, just preparing for this moment,’’ says slotback Reggie Begelton. “Honestly, that’s my brother, man. I want to see him out there. We all want to see him out there.

“He was having an amazing, breakout, career, record year and that happened. So unfortunate.

“I just want him to get out there and do what he does best.

“K.J.’s K.J.

“Can’t have enough weapons. His being back impacts me. Impacts us all. Takes a load off. I’ve got another threat on the other side. So just let me do my job.

“If I can get open, I get open. But I know for a fact he can get open.”

In Jorden’s mind, the support of the organization and backing of his buddies looms large in this comeback tale.

“For them to know I’m going through a major injury and allow me to be around the team, to use their facilities, that’s been so key to my being here today, ready to play.

“I’m just blessed. the support I’ve received from everybody.

“I like to think I’m a hard worker, but those things have motivated me to do even more.”

During the drudge days, in the gym rehabbing, or at home wondering, did he ever catch himself daydreaming about the sensations of that first post-injury catch?

“Nope,’’ is the instant reply. “If that catch happens to be for a first down, I won’t be doing none of this” – he strikes the Usain Bolt-style post-catch first-down stance so favoured these days. “Football’s football. I’ve been doing this since I was six years old. I’ve caught the ball a million times. I don’t want to overthink it. I don’t want to overthink that I’m playing again, that it’s playoffs, that it’s Winnipeg.

“None of that.

“After we win, I can savour all that other stuff.

“Once it’s game day and the whistle blows, it’s time to play, time to contribute.

“That’s what I do.

“That’s what I am.”

Welcome back.

“Willie Jefferson? He’s a freak of nature, man,’’ the Bonecrusher, Derek Dennis, whistles admiringly. “A force. A good friend of mine but we’ve had some great battles over the years.

“You don’t come across many 6-foot-7 defensive ends that athletic unless you’re in the NFL.

“When he’s on, when he’s doing his thing, he provides energy for the rest of their line and chances are that their defence is having a good-to-great game. They feed off him.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re on your Ps and Qs when matched up against him. You only pick your game up when you’re going against someone who presents a great challenge.”

When breaking down Sunday’s West Division semi-final versus the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at McMahon Stadium, the ability of the Calgary Stampeders’ offensive line, in particular Dennis and Nila Kasitati at the tackle positions, to keep Jefferson at bay, to provide quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell passing lanes free of unwanted clutter, ranks high on the imperative to-do list.

A complicated task, to say the least. Jefferson ends up in the darnedest places, bouncing all over the line of scrimmage to keep the blocking schemes designed to muzzle him off kilter.

The 28-year-old from Beaumont, Tx., only set a league record with 16 pass knockdowns this season, forced a half-dozen fumbles and finished third in QB smackdowns with 12 en route to being named the West’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

When game-planning how to attack the Bombers, plenty of roadblocks pop up. There’s Adam Bighill, prowling the middle of the second level like a caged (ex)-Lion. League interception leader Winston Rose and sure-tackling Chandler Fenner lead the defensive backfield.

Jefferson, though, is the galvanizing cohesive that makes it all work.

And obviously, after prolific stints in both Edmonton and Saskatchewan, he’s lovin’ life in the ‘Peg.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games, right?” Jefferson told the team website following Bombers’ practice at IG Field on Thursday. “I came here because I wanted go somewhere where I felt I could be me, where I felt like I could be comfortable and be a dominant defensive player. Knowing a couple of guys on the offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball and knowing how Coach O’Shea coaches his teams I wanted to be a part of that.

“I like how this organization came after me in free agency and I like how things have gone this season. It hasn’t been about one player, it’s been about the team.

“This season … new team, new system, new coaches, new environment, new teammates … for me to be able to come over here and get into this system and play the way I’ve been able to play is amazing.”

The challenge he presents is every inch as immense as the man himself.

“This is why you play the game,’’ says Kasitati, who’ll see a lot of Jefferson on Sunday. “You want to go up against the best. Willie’s one of the best. He’s done great things in this league.

“It’s all about preparation against players like him. He’s such a disruptive player; part of his being a freak of nature. I’m sure their guys rally around him so we’ve got to take care of business.

“It’s a mental game. Willie doesn’t talk too much. I like Willie. We kinda go back-and-forth with each other. It’s a mutual respect thing.”

When Jefferson does that Reed Richards (Stretch from the Fantastic Four) impersonation, arms rising high into the air, well, any quarterback might be forgiven thinking he’s trying to throw over the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai.

The five-man Stampeder attacking force field, though, has done an admirable job on Jefferson this year, limiting him to only a couple of tackles and no sacks over their three regular-season collisions.

“We credit that to the GP,’’ says another anchor of the Calgary offensive front, Ucambre Williams. “He’s their catalyst, for sure. Someone you’ve got to pay special attention to. A great player. You can never, ever go sleep on him.

“He’s going make his plays but we’ve just got to minimize those plays so he can’t have a bigger impact on the game.”

The Bonecrusher, a teammate of Jefferson’s two seasons ago on the Regina flatlands, fully understands the task at hand. Doing it well will go a long way in helping the Stamps along the way.

“Winnipeg went out and spent that money on him for a reason,’’ Dennis reminds you.

“They knew what they were getting.

“Willie’s a rare talent, regardless of what league you’re talking about. Pretty much the engine that makes it go for them defensively.

“You’ve got to respect the man. Respect his ability.”

The entire stack of chips, all in, one number, riding on a single spin of the roulette wheel.

Broken bank. Or broken hearts.

Over three donnybrooks, only seven points – total – separated the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

A converted touchdown of aggregate gap, after 180 knife’s-edge minutes of slogging and slugging?

Yes, it’s that close.

“Oh yeah, exactly what we’re expecting, again,’’ agrees SAM linebacker Jamar Wall. “Be foolish not to.

“Nothing’s gonna come easy. Nobody’s running away and hiding.

“You can tell, these are grudge matches. Every time. Everyone’s hurtin’ after these games.”

One team will be hurtin’ more by 5:30 p.m. MST Sunday.

The Bombers present major challenges on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

For starters, offensively, tailback Andrew Harris, part eel, part bulldozer. Along with a slew of dangerous options catching the ball – Lucky Whitehead, Nic Demski, Darvin Adams and Kenny Lawler.

On the other side, the thieving Winston Rose, league leader in interceptions, and 6’7’’ skyscraper defensive end Willie Jefferson – the West’s nominee for Outstanding Defensive Player – swatting away pass attempts at the point of attack as easy as some people shoo flies on a hot, lazy summer afternoon.

“They’re one of the more physical teams in the league,’’ says Stamps’ all-star slotback Reggie Begelton. “Their DBs are gonna get hands on you, they’re going to challenge you. They’re not going to let you run.

“If we allow them to control the tempo of the game, it’s going to be trouble. That’s what they want to do. You’ve got to have a mindset that: ‘This person in front of me is not going to dictate; he’s not going to beat me.’

“You have to make it personal.”

Whatever the elements, the Stamps’ would’ve expected a steady dose of No. 33 out of the Winnipeg backfield. Given a forecast of snow and a “high” of minus-12 Celsius, the Harris Factor could carry even greater importance.

“We’re a strong run defence,’’ reasons interior D-lineman Mike Rose. “And that’s what they pride themselves on, running the ball. We’ve got to go out and set the tone.

“At the end of the day, a running back’s a running back. I don’t put nobody on a pedestal. We’re going to hit him like we hit everybody else.

“We’ve got to stop the overall run game. A lot of them touch the ball. They check-down a lot. We can’t let them outlet the ball to Harris all the time.

“The big thing is making the tackle early, setting them up on second-and-long.”

At QB, Zach Collaros – who helped fashion Winnipeg’s 29-28 topping of the Stamps on Oct. 25 in his comeback appearance – has been taking first-team reps out at IG Field this week and looks set to direct the Big Blue’s attack.

“He was a true, starting, star quarterback,’’ reminds Wall. “Injuries have kinda derailed that a little bit. But he’s legit. That’s no secret.

“(Chris) Streveler’s more of a running quarterback, as we know. Collaros can go through his reads, go through the progressions and still scramble to keep plays alive.

“We saw that the last time we played them. He gave them a spark.

“Streveler might be a bit more unpredictable, because of the way they use him, but with Collaros in there, it’s more of a true, balanced attack.

“We have to be prepared for both. And we have to be prepared for them to throw everything at us, including the kitchen sink.”

The one-upmanship between the two has been building since the Stamps trimmed the Bombers 22-14 in the 2018 West final at McMahon a year ago.

The three tight outcomes this regular season are a continuation.

“They don’t wear red-and-black, they’re a rival,’’ reckons Rose. “They don’t play for the Horse, they’re a rival. We play everybody the same way.

“I think this game’s going to be very physical and I think we’re going to be the more physical team.”

Only three more sleeps and (groan) maybe a couple more driveway shovels to wait.

“This,’’ says Begelton in summation, “is what you play football for: Moments like this.

“People are always saying that playmakers make big-time plays in big games, right?

“Well, this is a big-time game.”

“The ritual is, when you’re a new guy coming in and nobody knows you, they put your last name on a strip of tape on the front of your helmet,’’ DaShaun Amos is explaining. “So they asked me what my last name was.

“I told them but I guess they didn’t hear me clearly. So they asked again and I spelled it out for them.

“And they’re: ‘Oh, you mean like the cookies!

“So from then on, I became Famous Amos. After that, I felt kind of obligated to eat the cookies.

“And, know what? They’re good.”

So is he.

Fame, of course, is relative, even for someone nicknamed after a hunk of trademarked cookie-dough (made from only premium, semi-sweet Ambrosia® Chocolate Chips, as the ad line goes).

But DaShaun Amos took a step towards country-wide notoriety Wednesday, named a CFL West All-Star in his first season as a starter working inside the Calgary Stampeders’ defensive umbrella.

“I’m just maintaining the standard,’’ protests Amos, who made two starts – one at halfback, one at corner – in 2018. “The older guys – Wall, Smitty, even Bell – set that standard and the rest of us follow.

“It’s nice, individual recognition. A great honour, being recognized like this. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very grateful. But as long as I do my job according to the guys in the room, that’s what matters to me.

“They’re happy? I’m good with that.”

And why in heaven’s name wouldn’t they be over-the-moon elated? Replacing Emanuel Davis at the halfback spot, Amos registered 42 tackles, and pilfered five interceptions, including a decisive Pick Six in the Labour Day Classic rematch up north at Commonwealth Stadium and a late, potential-comeback snuffing steal off Winnipeg QB Chris Streveler to seal Calgary’s lone win over three starts against the Bombers.

As it happens, the Big Blue are here for a second visit this year in Sunday’s West semi-final at McMahon.

“No, no nerves,’’ Amos of his his first-ever pro playoff start. “Just being here last year, with the guys going all the way, I got a taste of it. And just these last few weeks feels like we’ve already played four or five playoff games. They’ve all been important games.

“We’ve had to learn to play down to the wire, how to finish games and learn from our mistakes.

“There’s no magical stuff out there. It comes down to who executes better, who comes out and makes plays. We’ve played them three times before, so we know what to expect. Make a great game plan and from there just be ready for anything and let them adjust to us, instead of the other way around.”

In acknowledging Amos’s all-star selection, DB coach Josh Bell sounds eerily like a proud, if gruffly, mildly unsatisfied foster-father figure.

“Oh, he made a lot of mistakes in practice,’’ Bell said. Then a smile. “In practice, mind.

“He actually utilizes practice. Makes some mistakes on Day One, less mistakes on Day Two, less mistakes – if any – on Day Three and so by game-day he’s almost letter perfect.

“They call him Famous Amos, right? Well, what’s in a name? Everything.”

And, yes, Mr. Bell does hold a certain fondness for the confectionary

“You have never had a Famous Amos cookie?!’” he gasps, blinking in disbelief. “Then you have been deprived of life. Oreo? Naw. Chips Ahoy!? Huh! You’re kidding, right?

“This kid, he is a solid, consistent football player. The Famous Amos of young DBs. As a coach, that gives you peace of mind. Look at Brandon Smith. He’s the perfect example for a guy like (Amos).

“Who cares about a ceiling? We can figure that out later. First off, you care about the basement. And his basement is high. So on a bad day, your bad games are other guys’ good games. They can only hope to be as good as a bad Brandon Smith game or a bad Famous Amos game.

“These guys are putting in the work so that even at they basement level, they’re still better than other people.

“That’s how you achieve greatness.”

And greatness is what DaShaun Amos is aiming towards.

It’s inherent, after all, in the nickname.

“I’m a guy who doesn’t like to leave any stones unturned,’’ he says. “I like to play free, play fast. No hesitation. Any questions I have, any mistakes I make, I want to have fixed by the weekend.”

There is no more important weekend, obviously, than the one upcoming, where Amos plans on living up to his cookie namesake.

“I’ve embraced it. It’s fun. And I like to have fun. If you take everything so serious, you’ll wind up with grey hair.

“Made it my Twitter handle, my Instagram handle. It’s even going to be on my cleats this weekend. Got ‘em custom-made.

“Check ‘em out.”

The fame, you get the feeling, is only just beginning.

The temperature this Tuesday reads 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Not a gossamer-thin wisp of cloud to mar a brilliant blue sky.

By contrast, the crystal-ball forecast locally for West Semi-Final Sunday at McMahon Stadium reads partly cloudy and a frost-tinged high of minus-12 Celcius.

And yet a part of Singleton’s competitive being still feels he belongs here, especially given the time of year and the stakes.

“Oh, yeah,’’ the former Calgary Stampeder linchpin linebacker admits. “There’s still that pull. That tug. Of course. I guess there always will be.

“I talk to those guys every week, some of them every day. We text back and forth.

“So of course you want to be out there, too, going to battle with them, winning with them, being a part of that. I know that locker room. I know how much fun it is in there. I know how ready they are, how committed they are to being the best.

“Those are still my guys.”

Sunday, as Singleton prepares to head back to Philly, the Stamps begin a quest for back-to-back Grey Cup championships.

Their path to a fourth consecutive title-game appearance would be a week longer than usual, needing to first subdue the Winnipeg Blue Bombers here on Sunday before venturing into the belly of the green-skinned beast, Mosaic Stadium.

The Grey Cup, of course, is set for McMahon Stadium on Nov. 24.

“It’s kinda funny,’’ muses Singleton. “My three years we had the bye into the West final. Now, it seems they find themselves in an underdog role.

“Everyone, for whatever reasons, just wants to look the other way on Calgary.

“Well, if anybody bothers to look at who’s still playing quarterback, there should never be assumption or a question.

“For what Bo’s done over the course of his career … how many games has he lost?

“If I’m betting, I’m still betting on Bo. He wins. That’s what he does.”

Since being elevated from the practice roster on Oct. 16th, Singleton has played in the Eagles last three fixtures, versus the Cowboys, Bills and Bears.

“It’s funny but the first game I got to play in was at Dallas a couple weeks ago, Sunday night, in that stadium. But knowing myself and having that expectation the last five years, that knowledge, that I could do it, I could play here, I actually was more calm than nervous: I felt I was finally doing what I should be doing.

“Of course it’s easier being THAT guy, the guy I was in Calgary, the guy everything goes through. You can relax a little more in practice. Now I do scout cards for the offence, get some reps on defence and also going full speed on special teams in practice.

“But it’s fun. I’m where I want to be. If you don’t enjoy the grind, you shouldn’t be in the game.”

Given the number of high-profile departures – Singleton front and centre among them – his former team has be forced to grind more than ever in compiling 12-6 record before securing home-field for the division semi-final.

“People say there aren’t many big names anymore,’’ tut-tuts Singleton. “But Tre (Roberson) has come into his own. You watch Wyn (Wynton McManis), and he’s dominated at whatever position he’s played. Hopefully Cory (Greenwood) is back this week. He’s been out awhile but for a long time there I was thinking he’d break every tackling record I’d set there the last two years.

“The guys are doing the right things. (Brent) Monson isn’t (DeVone) Claybrooks so maybe the defence doesn’t get talked about as much but if you look at the numbers, they’re doing just fine.

“There are a lot reasons why I like their chances of winning it all again.”

Ranking high among them the emotional resonance provided by long-standing, 34-year-old DB Brandon Smith announcing his decision to retire at season’s close.

“Smitty,’’ says Singleton, “is one of my best friends. I mean, he’s one of the reasons I got stitches in my face. ‘Cause we ran into each other so hard on one play that my face mask squeezed my face so hard it busted my cheek open.

“Even now, after a game where he has, say, only two tackles, I’ll text him and say: ‘What? You not competin’ anymore?’ And he’ll fire back at me.

“He’s been in Calgary for 12 years, and this is a guy who dominated at that boundary half, one of the hardest positions to play in football, at any level.

“How many corners have come to Calgary and been all-CFL playing on Smitty’s side? Just about every single one of them. How many Will linebacker have played in front of him and been all-CFL? Same.

“Why? Because they trusted the guy playing alongside them.

“Smitty’s the common denominator.

“It’ll be fun watching these – hopefully – next three games because nobody in the world deserves another Grey Cup as much as he does.”

Given the break in the Eagles schedule, there had been some chatter that maybe Singleton – an unabashed Stampeder backer now and forever – would jet in to catch the tilt live.

“If the game had been Saturday, I could’ve,’’ he explains. “But I can’t really fly back after a Sunday night game in Calgary and get to Philly in time.

“So I figured I’d stay out of the minus-12 weather in favour of the plus-27.

“I couldn’t have seen the guys much anyway. These next three weeks, with a chance to win a home Grey Cup, this being Smitty’s last year, all the stuff going … let them focus, let them do what they need to. They don’t need any additional distractions.”

The Eagles will be hosting Tom Brady and the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots a week from Sunday, when the Stampeders hope to have advanced to Regina. And they’ll welcoming Seattle to Lincoln Financial Field on Grey Cup Sunday.

No. 49 in Eagles’ green, though busy, will be keeping tabs nonetheless, you can wager large.

“If they can do it, win again, it’d be amazing thing for the city, of course, but also for a lot of guys who have stepped up big-time this year – Reggie (Begelton), for instance. On defence, Mike Rose. So many others.

“For those guys to be a major parts of a repeat Grey Cup, especially with the game being in Calgary, it’d be pretty special.

“It’ll be bittersweet watching them, but I’ll be tuned in this weekend, and I’m sure they’ll take care of business like they should.”

“Oh, I was busy. Definitely busy,’’ the wide-wingspan linebacker is saying, the day following the 21-16 at B.C. Place that cinched a home playoff date for the Calgary Stampeders this coming Sunday. “But I knew J.C. (Sheritt), of course. And I was talking to their personnel people.

“In the end, it wasn’t an easy decision, leaving my son, my family, my business. This is the first time playing football that I’m far, far away from (Dexter Jr.).

“But this is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I knew football wasn’t over for me. Everything in life is about opportunity.

“When they’re there, in front of you, you gotta seize them.

“And it’s been a blessing, man.

“These are playoffs coming up. Where every detail – looking at film, making adjustments, being at your best – matters.

“Everybody gotta be on their Ps and Qs now. This is the time when your game has to elevate.

“Can’t wait.”

McCoil’s two seasons as an Edmonton Eskimo certainly elevated him to prominence. A CFL Rookie of the Year award and league All-Star Team Selection in 2014. The next year, helping the Chris Jones-piloted Eskimos to the 2015 Grey Cup title.

Since leaving Edmonton, McCoil enjoyed extended spell with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers, playing in 26 games.

Ten days after signing on here as a free agent Oct. 22nd, McCoil made his first significant on-field contribution modelling Red and White, stepping in to end any B.C. hopes of a last-gasp comeback, intercepting a Brandon Bridge pass and returning it to the Lions’ 10-yard line.

“To be honest, every time a linebacker makes a play, I get pretty excited,’’ says Stampeder linebacking coach J.C. Sherritt, a teammate of McCoil’s those two years at Commonwealth Stadium. “But to see him come in and right away make an impact to help us win a game was huge.

“You had to feel so good for him.

“That guy deserves everything that comes his way.”

McCoil says the moment was welcome but …

“I already felt a part of this,” he insists. “The camaraderie goes well beyond the field. We’re getting to know each other, building those bonds.

“But it was nice, the (interception). You could tell that everybody was happy for me.”

Given their northern title ties, Sherritt, naturally, was part of the pitch-party that initially reached out to gauge McCoil’s interest.

“Anything done in this organization involves multiple people,’’ says the first-year coach. “I played a part of it because of our friendship. But only a part.

“The fortunate thing for me is that we had established a relationship where I could be frank with him about what kind of a situation he was going into, what kind of an organization he was joining.

“He knows me.”

And knowing him, the league’s 2012 Most Outstanding Defensive Player honouree understood the skill set and intangibles McCoil could bring to the Stamps.

“He’s as dynamic as they get,’’ lauds Sherritt. “To say the least. I remember one game, against (Toronto), Odell (Willis) tipping the ball up, lateraling it over to Dexter, and him running it to The House.

“With his (6-foot-4) size, to be able to move the way he does, excel inside the box, out of the box … well, he’s just a special player.

“The thing with tall guys like him, they have a hinderance to their game. He doesn’t. He’s that tall but he can also just flat-out ball.”

Naturally, as his first CFL post-season journey in four years beckons, McCoil’s thoughts invariably drift back to that championship run in 2015, Edmonton toppling the Ottawa Redblacks 26-29 at IG Field at Winnipeg in the 103rd Grey Cup.

“I remember certain times in the game where we had to step up and face adversity, but nobody hung their heads and we came together as a team,’’ recalls McCoil.

“We were so tight. So close.

“I see a lot of similarities in this group, in terms of the brotherhood, the encouragement everybody gives each other to be better.

“They know how to win here.

“I’ve got one Grey Cup ring.

“I’d like to add another to my collection.”

“There are times on the field right now,’’ Bo Levi Mitchell confesses, “where Dave (Dickenson) is like: ‘Hey, what do you like? What do you want to call?’

“And I tell him: ‘Call whatever you want. I feel unstoppable.’

“There are times, stretches, playing this game when things just lock in, when it all seems to come together: When you feel confident, when you’ve done the work, when your body feels good and your arm’s at its best.

“Man, when my arm feels good, there’s not a throw one the field I can’t make.

“And it feels good now.

“That’s when football is so fun.”

In October, the two-time MOP averaged 362 yards passing a game, a 72.3-per cent completion rate for 1,449 yards and 10 TDs as opposed to three interceptions.

So, no, Mitchell can’t repeat as player of the year in 2019.

Thursday, though, he was recognized with CFL Player of the Month laurels.

“And I want to be player of the playoffs, too,’’ chimes in Mitchell. “Especially Nov. 24th, that last game.”

If he is, the odds are prohibitive that the Stamps will be celebrating a third Grey Cup, and a franchise first at the cozy confines of McMahon Stadium.

There remains a decidedly tricky piece of road to travel before reaching that destination.

Heading off to B.C. on Friday, all playoff possibilities are in play for the Stamps: First, and the bye; second, and home field next weekend; or third, and an unsettling West semi-final junket to the land of the Golden Boy, Confusion Corner and Salisbury House nips. Winnipeg.

“I told Bo that the last three games,’’ points out Calgary Stampeders’ QB coach Ryan Dinwiddie, “are the highest he’s graded out in my four years here.

“And he’s been pretty high a few times before, of course.

“We obviously don’t have to throw on every down, like we’ve been doing lately. We want to establish more of a run game. But obviously we have that faith, that trust, in our leader.

“He’s going to have to carry us a little bit and be really efficient. Take care of the football, make the big throws without any turnovers. We’ve got to be on the field, making first downs. Which is what he does so well.

“This, from now to the end, is when you need your top guys to shine.”

Mitchell feels he and his group are on the cusp of shimmering.

“We’re definitely pushing in the right direction as an offence,’’ he says. “The last couple of years we’ve had things locked up or close to earlier and started being a little more conservative as an offence because we had this great defence that wasn’t giving up more than 10, 15 points every week.

“So as an offence we were just trying to find ways to hold our position, not be too daring, and it’s really hard to operate that way for me. That’s not the way my mind works.

“You want to be going full throttle. I know I do.

“The last four or five games I’d be averaging, like, 200 yards a game. That seemed crazy low because it felt like we were playing so well last year.

“This year’s been different. It’s been more of a fight, right down to the end here. And as an offence right now I think we’re playing as well as we ever have reaching the end of a season.”

At the moment, however, the Stamps are contending with a rash of nicks and knocks while making final preparations for the junket west.

“We’d like to be a healthier group,’’ admits Dickenson. “But it’s Game 18. That’s what it is. Whoever’s number’s called, go play a good game.

“I want the best lineup but I have to be smart. I have to be sure the guys out there can finish the game, play while, win the game but I need as many guys feeling as good as possible for next week.”

Or the week after, depending.

Whenever, wherever, with Bo Levi Mitchell in his present form, everything is possible.

“For a few games after coming back from that injury he was maybe a little rusty but now he’s at his old form,’’ says Dinwiddie.

“Back to being the best Bo.

“Couldn’t have come at a better time.”

We’ve reached Halloween, when the frost is literally on the pumpkin. What lies ahead is mere speculation.

The immediate, unswerving aim is Saturday and securing home-field for either the divisional semi-final or final.

“Right now,’’ says Mitchell, “all that’s on my mind is that we’ve got a football game this weekend to win.”

Nobody, it says here, there or anywhere, does that better.

“I’m not much of a vocal guy,’’ Reggie Begelton is confessing, post closed-door practice Wednesday at McMahon Stadium. “Honestly, Bo (Levi Mitchell) can see it in my eyes. When he needs a play, he looks at me and I look at him back.

“We just have that connection. Like: ‘OK, I need you to get this one.’

“We don’t have to say much. Actions speak louder than words anyway.”

So the old ‘eyes-met-across-a-crowded-room’ cliché fits in this case. Literally.

Only, however, if that room is spacious enough to hold 30,000 onlookers, is rimmed by a bank of high-powered floodlights and what happens there spills out live on hi-def plasma TV screens from coast-to-coast once a weekend.

In honouring a true breakout campaign at slotback, Begelton has been named Calgary Stampeders’ 2019 nominee for Most Outstanding Player. Among his competition, Saskatchewan QB Cody Fajardo, Ti-Cats’ quicksilver weapon-of-mass-destruction Brandon Banks and Vernon Adams, Jr., the architect of the Alouettes’ renaissance in Montreal.

Heady company.

The highs of the moment are a far cry from the disappointment of a year ago, when a broken arm kept Begelton out of the Grey Cup game up north in Edmonton.

“Yes, it is a long way,’’ he acknowledges. “I’m blessed with the opportunity to get nominated.

“Without Bo, I wouldn’t be here. Same with Nick Arbuckle. They’re the ones getting me the ball. I’m just doing my job.

“There was a sense of nervousness there from the beginning of the season (after the injury). I went into the off-season really early to get back to at least where I was. I made a goal for myself to at least try to get 1,500 yards, 10 touchdowns. It’s something I’d never done before. I’d never been over a thousand yards as a receiver at any level and that was one of my biggest goals.

“Well, almost there.”

Yes, in Saturday’s regular-season curtain-dropper at B.C. Place, Begelton sits only four snares to shy of 100 and requires 116 yards to hit that 1,500.

He’s already reached the 10 TD mark, of course, so in that department he’s playing with house money out on the west coast.

Naturally enough, the reigning league MOP, Begelton’s pitch-’n-catch partner, applauds Wednesday’s nomination.

“Very very, very deserving,’’ Mitchell reckons. “He’s done an amazing job. The thing that’s impressed me most about Reggie is his progression throughout the entire year.

“Wasn’t like he was hot at the start, then fell off, then got hot again. No ups and downs, peaks and valleys. Every single week he’s improving.

“His intelligence blocking has improved, and his YAC – to me, that’s where he’s taken the biggest steps, the timing of his routes is allowing him to get big YAC.

“He’s a guy who score three, four touchdowns in a game and just take it over.”

And, really, he’s just getting started.

“Reggie’s really starting to get a veteran feel for the game,’’ is how receivers coach Pete Constanza describes Begelton’s blossoming. “He’s more comfortable with the speed of things around him now, his blocking’s better, he’s more assignment-sound in the run game.

“And then I really think the chemistry he built with Bo, as well as Nick earlier in the season, has helped out. A lot. They developed that trust factor where they can read each other’s body language to get open, to buy time, to make plays.”

Over his much-accomplished, lavishly-decorated tenure as the QB-of-record here, Mitchell, of course, has developed that kinetic simpatico relationship with a choice few receivers, Marquay McDaniel, Eric Rogers, DaVaris Daniels and Kamar Jorden chief among them.

Begelton, therefore, has joined an elite group.

“I think we’ve created something and it’s only going to get better,’’ enthuses No. 19. “You’ve got him, Eric, K.J. coming back on the field, Hergy (Mayala) … so much receiving talent.

“That’s a lot of animals there that can eat defences alive.”

Think of the progression. From being released at his first Stamps’ camp to 22 catches that rookie year after rejoining the Red and White, to 25 snares before the cruel September injury last season to near the top of the league receiving charts this go-around.

And as of today, a nod as a MOP candidate.

“Honestly,’’ admits Begelton, “I’m awestruck for words. It’s been a long ride. I finally got the opportunity and I took advantage of it.”

Not that ‘satisfaction’ vernacular.

“Honestly, I do go back home (Beaumont, Tx.), I sit in my corner and I smile. I do smile.

“But it’s so easy to sit down, lay on the couch and see what you’ve done. We’re still in-season. So that’s one of those things, where you have to get out of your comfort zone.

“I came here for a championship. So individual stats are good, but I’m here for that Grey Cup.”

Olive Branch.

Because if there’s anything McManis ain’t extending out there between the lines, hunting down the rock with a bordering-on fanatical single-mindedness, it’s that.

Nothing peace-and-love, cooing dove about his job description.

“Being in the middle?’’ repeats McManis, the inevitable toothpick flip-flopping side to side in his mouth. “It’s fun. A lot of fun. Things happen a lot faster. The field seems smaller. You have the opportunity to be around the ball a lot more and who wouldn’t enjoy that.

“You get to be that leader, the guy everybody’s looking to.

“Plus, you’re hitting and being hit. Like you said, you’re right in the guts of the game. Takes a lot to be able to hold it down in the middle. You can’t run from anybody or any contact in there.

“It’s big-boy football.

“A grown-man’s game.”

Preparing to make his sixth start in the middle, McManis is growing by leaps and bounds into the grown-man’s game as the 11-6 Calgary Stampeders ready for the short haul to Vancouver and Saturday night’s date against the B.C. Lions which – coupled with Edmonton’s earlier at Mosaic Field in Regina – will determine whether or not they play next week, and if so, where.

In his first year in the leading-man role, remember, Cory Greenwood was only leading the loop in tackles at 79, his sights unblinkingly set on taking down Alex Singleton’s franchise best of 123 before being hurt against Hamilton and subsequently placed on six-game IR.

Shifted over from the Will spot, McManis hasn’t missed a beat(down), making his first start the middle on Sept. 20 at BMO Field versus the Argos the following week and continuing to evolve at the epicentre of Calgary’s defensive resistance.

“Just shows you his versatility,’’ says Jamar Wall, himself a positional convert, from DB to Sam linebacker. “Last year, if you recall, he was a special team’s demon before stepping into the starting role at Will this season. Then when Cory went down he just went after it full bore, showed he was a young guy ready to take advantage of an opportunity.

“That’s what makes our team great. Lots of guys learn multiple positions. Everything’s inter-connected on the field, in one way or another.

“So versatility is important.

“One: Helps your value. Two: Helps the team and you in knowing what the guy beside you is doing so you can play fast.”

The shift from the outside in isn’t nearly as simple as moving a few steps from the right or the left.

“It speaks to his athleticism and ability, right off the jump,’’ praises Stamps’ linebacker coach J.C. Sherritt. “To seamlessly do that … shows how smart a football player he is.

“He can process on the fly, play both spots. Just a guy you want to be around because he loves his job and wants to get better.

“You’ve gotta have a different mindset, moving from Will to the middle. And you’ve got to be a physical football player, going up against 300-pound linemen. When you’re out at the Will, you’re a little more protected, there’s more space. It is, in a sense, more of an athletic position.

“But like I said, it’s pretty impressive to see a guy who can play both at a high level, like he has.

“So he’s earned his success: 100 per cent.”

Communication, as McManis said, has played a vital part in being able to overcome the litany of injuries on defence.

“We’re talking before a play, after a play, during a play,’’ says Wall. “At all times. Coaches don’t have to make many corrections because we have enough vets on this team who understand to make the necessary changes before we even get the call down.

“So we don’t think about it. We just react and play.”

The tightness of the individuals as a collective, agrees McManis, shortens the feeling-out of assuming new, different responsibilities.

“The players around me,’’ he emphasizes, “make such a difference. As a team, we do a good job of letting each other know what’s coming. Being so close, the trust is there,

“Nate (Holley)’s giving me tips, for instance. Cory’s still around to help me out, point out little things. So it’s not like I’m out there trying to learn a new position all by myself.

“I’ve got everybody else with me. We’re in this together.”

And together, they’ll be looking to nail down second place and home-field in the West semi-final at the very least.

“We’re looking at this game like we do every game,’’ McManis insists. “We’re going out to take care of our business. And we’ll see where that leads us.”

He shifts one of those trademark toothpicks from the right side to the left.

“Man, they’re my comfort zone,’’ he concedes, by way of explanation.

“Have been since I was, oh, maybe eight years old. I must have about 3,000 toothpicks at home, in containers all over the place.”

A wide, high-beam grin.

“Yeah, I do like toothpicks.”

Almost as much, you’d wager from his tone, as life on the inside, where things happen more quickly, the field seems smaller, where there is no running and olive branches simply do not exist.

In single-minded pursuit, Cordarro Law, tracking the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ super-sized quarterback with the zeal of a wounded, famished bear.

Between the two of them, at that precise moment in time, they might’ve counted a single body part that could accurately be described as 100 per cent the-picture-of-health.

“Streveler, man, you gotta give him credit,’’ Law was saying the following morning. “He was banged up there all night long, hurtin’, but he stayed in, fighting for his team.

“That’s part of being a champion. Sticking it out, no matter how much tough it is. Standing up and being there when you’re guys need you.”

A soft, appreciative nod of the head.

“Hats off to him. That is one tough man.”

Takes one to fully appreciate one.

It’s rundown Sunday, and one sleeve of Law’s black Calgary Stampeders’ sweatshirt/hoodie hanging comically loose, limp, empty, at his side.

“How’d you lose your arm?” he was asked jokingly.

He formed his reply in a laugh.

“Ah, a little sore is all.”

What isn’t, in Cordarro Law’s world? A pity Safeway doesn’t stock six-foot-two-inch full-body bandages. He’d keep the shelves empty in this town.

“This year,’’ he reminds you, in rebuttal, “I’ve played every game. I’ve been fairly healthy. Mostly nicks and bruises. Aches and pains.

“No big deal.

“The last two years I’ve missed a lot of time because of injury. That’s been frustrating. This year, honestly, has been a blessing, being able to be out there to help my guys, help my team.”

That he did during Saturday’s 37-33 conquest of Streveler and the Bombers. And that he will again, regardless of the outcome, Friday at the IG Field rematch in the Manitoba capital, as the Stamps endeavour to remain perched atop the West Division standings.

“I singled Cordarro out when giving out the player-of-the-game-type thing,’’ praised head coach Dave Dickenson. “I thought he just laid it all on the line. He’s not the youngest guy – he’s not the oldest, either.

“But he was rolling out there, playing extremely hard.

“He’s our leader. He is. He’s a guy that takes ownership of his play and of the guys around him. We needed him.

“He was our best player.”

Beyond the 10 quarterback sacks (T-4 in the league), the two forced fumbles and 41 tackles, the pressure from the outside enough to make QBs across the league file a joint-restraining order. He’s the adhesive. The working example.

“I wouldn’t call him a father-figure, exactly,’’ joked interior D-lineman Mike Rose, five birthdays Law’s junior.

“A favourite uncle, more like. Treats you right. Teaches you how to be a man. A good guy. Took me under his wing when I got here. Just a special person. Gives it his all.

“The Calgary way is Next Man Up but at the end of the day you do need somebody who is consistently doing the right things, to show the way.

“He’s that somebody.”

Five-year man Derek Wiggan is more than happy to second that assessment.

“What is there to say about Law?’’ he asked. “He’s our heartbeat. He’s the old guy in the room so when you see him working so hard, how can you not work as hard?

“Football means a lot to him, and it shows.

“Law’s been an all-star in this league. Guys respect him. He doesn’t have to talk all the time because we see how he works every day; how he goes about his business.

“You try to model yourself after that.”

The path to the playoffs has been decidedly different than in past years. Dotted with more uncertainty.

But here they are, in control of their own destiny in regards to first place, home field and the bye.

“We’ve been through a lot on the line, losing three, four guys who could’ve been starters. Before we even got going, some key guys left in free agency,’’ Law acknowledged.

“Has it been frustrating? No. Not really. More a fun, energetic year. At least for me.

“I got my love back for football being around these young guys.”

You see, every D-lineman’s favourite uncle takes his job, both on the field and away from the thousands of prying game-day eyes, very, very seriously.

“I’m six or seven years older than a lot of guys in that room,’’ he said, remindfully. “We’ve got a lot of first-year Stamps in there. So I have to set the example ‘round here.

“That Horse means a lot to me. I’m proud to wear it. I’m gonna play my heart out whenever I got it on.

“And they got to, too.”

Contending teams. Excellent teams. Dynastic teams. And, yes, the odd just-okay edition.

“I’ve seen a lot of good teams,’’ Smith reflected of his “But this team … no quit in them.

“We go out and there we fight. We claw. We scratch. However we gotta win.

“We lay our bodies on the line. As you can see, we’ve gotta lot of fallen soldiers, week-in, week-out. It’s a special team to be a part of. I’m glad to have every one of those guys.

“All it’s about is putting a W on the board.”

Once again, the 2019 Calgary Stampeders did just that, a 37-33 pier-6er over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that once again sees them occupy the summit of the Western Conference with two starts remaining on the regular-season itinerary.

Slotback Reggie Begelton may have snared three Bo Levi Mitchell touchdown passes. Josh Huff gorged himself on 121 yards receiving. Mitchell himself shrugged off a frustrating series of drops to amass 321 yards through the air. The defence held fast when it counted, at the end, clinging resolutely to a four-point lead.

Yet the night, in a very real sense, belonged to the 35-year-old Smith, who has officially announced he’ll be calling it a career whenever exit day may be for these Stampeders.

With dad Michael in attendance from the family home in Oakland, Calif., he was feted by the McMahon Stadium faithful at game’s end, and deservingly so.

“It was sweet. He’s a huge Stampeder fan, CFL fan. He follows it night and day. So for him to come up and witness it is .. I wish my other family could’ve been here but I’m sure they’re at home, watching on TV.

“I know they’re filled with joy and love, as well.

“They come up every year. Not being able to come and see me play is gonna be a piece of them that’s also gone.

“But we have great memories.

“Just because I’m not playing anymore doesn’t mean I’m not part of the city.”

Smith’s decision couldn’t be classified as a stunner, even if the timing caught more than a few people by surprise.

“Smitty came to us a couple weeks ago. He’d always kinda hinted at it, had fun with it,’’ explained head coach Dave Dickenson. “But he made it official to me and Huff.

“We felt it was good to let the fans know. He, to me, is the guy I love to have in the locker room. He just gives it his all every single game.

“A guy every team needs to build on.

“We wanted to do something for him. Obviously we didn’t give him a car or anything like that. He’s gonna be one of those all-time Stamps.

“Been here 12 years, doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. I thought it was nice for the fans to be able to give him a little love.”

Leader. Mentor. Playmaker. Calming influence. Emotional catalyst. Smith has donned all these guises during his stay here since arriving in 2007 from the Arena League San Jose SabreCats.

“It’s been a good ride,’’ he agreed, underplaying as is his custom. “Usually after every season I sit back and assess, see how everything feels and make a decision.

“Coming into this season, I thought about (retirement). Kinda wanted to go out last year after the Grey Cup. But the body felt good, season went well and with the Grey Cup being in Calgary, that’s something I wanted to be a part of.

“That played a lot into returning.

“The city’s been great to me. I’ve been in Calgary my whole career. I have nothing but love for the city. I just wanted to give the fans to see my last game on the field.

“With the battle going on in the West, we’re confident, but there’s still uncertainty. We have to play out the season but just to give the fans a heads-up. I owed it to them, at least.

“Being able to guide your own destiny played a huge part in it. I never wanted to be forced out; to end it on an injury or anything like that.

“Being in the position to set my life up outside football, being able to walk away and be okay with it, on good terms, was important to me.”

Ahead, coming up fast on the horizon, the post-season and an opportunity Nov. 24th to help author an ending to end them all.

“It’d be a great accomplishment,’’ he acknowledged, smiling slightly. “To do that for the city, for my teammates.

“I don’t know if anyone else has done it.

“It’d be a good way to out. God willing, we just go out there and lay it on the line. Keep fighting week-in and week-out.

“When it’s all said and done, I’m gonna give it my all.

“I’m gonna empty the tank.”

That’s what’s known as being money.

Cutting inside to leave Winnipeg DB Marcus Sayles clawing at air, the gifted slotback, enjoying a breakout season, sailed in for the winning touchdown from 17 yards away as the Calgary Stampeders edged the Blue Bombers 37-33 in front of 26,885 fans in their final regular-season home fixture at McMahon Stadium.

Winnipeg’s last-ditch attempt to overturn the scoreline and author a dramatic finish seemed to have ended with 1:36 left, Calgary defensive end Chris Casher sacking quarterback Chris Streveler on third-and-10 at the Bomber 37-yard-line.

But after getting the ball back a minute later following a missed Rene Paredes field-goal attempt, they once again failed, DaShaun Amos intercepting a final play Hail Mary.

By fighting back to prevail, the 11-5 Stamps once again inched ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and into top spot in the CFL’s West Division by virtue of winning seasonal series between the two teams.

The Bombers, also in the first-place mix, drop to 10-7 on the season.

The two rivals collide again Friday at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

Wideout Josh Huff enjoyed a superb evening playing pitch-and-catch with Bo Levi Mitchell, piling up 121 yards, but Begelton did the decisive damage.

After swimming upstream for what seemed an eternity, the Stamps drew even at 11:03 of the third quarter, Ante Milanovic-Litre a seven-play, 75-yard march, bulling over from two yards away.

The ensuring two-point touch toss, Mitchell to Josh Huff deep in the Blue Bomber end zone, squared the scoreline at 30s.

Justin Medlock’s fourth field goal of the evening then propelled the visitors in front again, however temporarily, 33-30.

The first half was not pretty from a Calgary standpoint.

Dropped passes. Fumbles. A pick deep in their own territory. The litany of Stampeder first-half gaffes was uncustomarily long as the Bombers motored in front 27-19 by the intermission.

A Milanovic-Litre fumble forced by Sayles was scooped up by the Winnipeg defensive back and returned 24 yards for a touchdown.

 On the play following the ensuing kickoff, Winston Rose – with his chart-topping ninth – intercepted a Mitchell toss and in quick order receiver Lucky Whitehead swept right for a 24-yard major.

The Bombers’ other first-half major arrived via a 34-yard toss from Streveler to wide-open Kenny Lawlor from 34 yards away.

For the homesteading Stamps, Begelton latched onto his first two touchdown passes of the game.

The Bombers took advantage of Stampeder mistakes to assume the advantage.

Responding to back-to-back miscues resulting in touchdowns that gifted the Manitoba visitors a 20-11 lead, Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell led the reigning Grey Cup champions, hooking up Reggie Begelton from 21 yards away for the slotback’s second major of the game.

Swiftly, though, Winnipeg answered back, quarterback Chris Streveler finding a wide-open Kenny Lawlor from 34 yards away in the end zone to establish the 27-19 lead.

The costly Stampeder turnovers, in a 1:18 span, began when Bomber defensive back Marcus Sayles stripped running back Ante Milanovic-Litre of the ball deep in Stampeder territory, scooping up the debris and motoring 24 yards for a touchdown.

The offensive snap following the kickoff, Mitchell was intercepted by Winston Rose, setting the stage for a 24-yard TD sweep by receiver Lucky Whitehead.

 The Stampeders vaulted in front 11-3 before the end of Quarter 1, Mitchell engineering a four-play, 75-yard drive punctuated by a nine-yard TD pass to Reggie Begelton, his eighth of the campaign, and an ensuing two-point convert toss to Richie Sindani.

Medlock then booted his second goal before Sayles took full advantage of the forced fumble.

Earlier, the teams traded three-pointers.

 Stamps’ kicker Rene Paredes connected on a 41-yarder after Mitchell aired out a pinpoint 55-yard pass to slotback Eric Rogers on the game’s first snap, the Calgary drive eventually curtailed by back-to-back drops.

The Bombers responded to equalize on their next possession, Medlock infallible on a 32-yard try.

“Smitty, what he gives you is perspective,’’ praises former teammate and current position coach Josh Bell. “You could be wailing, like: ‘Ah, man. My house burned down!’ Or: ‘My car flipped over and I broke my leg!’ Or: ‘I just lost my dog!’

“And he’ll just turn, look at you and say: ‘Could be worse. You could have no teeth.’

“Think about it. No teeth? That’s bad. Man, that means you gotta suck on chips.

“That’s a perspective on life. On the game.

“Sometimes the offence struggles. Sometimes the defence struggles. Sometimes special teams struggle. You (make) a turnover, say, and some guys are screaming: ‘What the …?!

“Smitty just puts on his helmet and says: ‘Let’s do it ourselves.’

“I’ve taken that perspective into my life.”

An accountant by non-football trade, the Oakland-born/Sacramento State-molded mainstay of the Calgary Stampeders’ defensive secondary knows, at 35, the numbers finally make sense.

*12 CFL seasons.

*Soon to be 173 regular-season starts.

*Six (seven?) Grey Cup appearances.

*Three (four?) rings.

*17 (and counting) interceptions.

*Three (and counting) picks for touchdowns.

*615 (and counting) tackles.

*One (soon two?) West and CFL All Star berths.

*An encyclopedic knowledge of the position generously shared.

*A treasure trove of memories meticulously stored.

A one-team man so at odds with a one-man team concept, Smith sprinted out of that big inflatable Stampeder helmet for what could potentially be a final time Saturday, last man to do so, symbolically.

Whenever 2019 ends for the White Horse will be the end for Brandon Smith. That’s official.

“You can’t just call him a ‘staple of the defence’ or anything of that nature,’’ says longtime secondary cohort Jamar Wall. “He’s more than just a statement; something bigger than that. That doesn’t give him enough credit.

“Twelve years shows the value he has, what he brings to the table year-in and year-out. In this business, if someone’s better than you or potentially better than you, especially if you’re older, you get replaced.

“That hasn’t happened with him. For a reason. Because every week he shows you why it’s impossible to replace this man.

“I love him. He’s like a brother to me. My first time travelling to a game, he was my room-mate. We just hit it off. It’s gonna be a sad thing to see him go, but when you go out on your own terms – and he is – it’s a lot easier.”

Michael Smith flew in from Oakland to watch live what could potentially be his son’s final home game in professional football.

“I kinda thought he might retire after last year. I cringe every hit he takes,’’ admits dad. “He’s getting up there, been playing since he was eight years old. As a father, I don’t want to see my kid banged up when he leaves the game.

“He gives me a lot of pride. He’s not a massive-type guy. To make it this far with a small-stature body says a lot.

“Every year he’s left home to come to camp, he tells me: ‘I’ve got to go make the team.’ After the first couple seasons, I thought that was a given. But that’s his mentality – he’s always thought of himself as a rookie. To play as long as he has at this level, he’s had to stay humble and focus on what’s in front of him.

“In the off-season he has his aches and pains and sometimes I’ve wondered if he could even make training camp.

“Once he gets here, something comes over him. Being in the city of Calgary, with his teammates, he’s whole demeanour changes and he seems to be OK.”

For Bell, arriving at McMahon Stadium from B.C. five years ago, No. 28 provided the ideal touchstone to settling in.

“He is one of the men who taught me what it is to be a Stampeder. And it was never a conversation. Smitty taught me by what he does every day, when it’s time to play.

“I learned by watching. He is a Stampeder down to the core. Part of the legacy. One of those guys who when he comes back and walks around this stadium in the years ahead, people will go: ‘Look, that’s Brandon Smith …’

“He’s a good football player but an even better man.”

A man who has made an impact on a franchise and left an imprint on a city.

“He really does consider Calgary his second home,’’ says Michael. “And I have nothing but respect for Calgarians. They’ve treated me very nice here in Canada.

“I’m very grateful to them for embracing him and making him one of their own.”

There remains more to the story, of course. How much more remains to be determined. About the only way to top going out a champion in 2018 in the den of your bitter rivals is going out a champion again on home soil a month and a half from now.

“That,’’ says dad, “is why he came back. He wanted to go out winning the Grey Cup here.”

For what Brandon Smith has done and what he’s meant for so long, a rallying cry if ever there was one.

“I know his decision is even further motivation for me to go get it done one more time,’’ says Wall. “We plan on giving him a farewell tour, getting that Grey Cup, having him lift it here, in Calgary.

“Like I said, he’s family to me. And you always want to see your family off in the best way possible:

“Happy as they can be.”

Jamar Wall is, of course, spot on: It’s impossible to replace this man.

Whatever happens between now and late November, after those dozen seasons of service, it’s a given that the Stampeders will dearly miss Brandon Smith when camp opens late next spring. Miss his quiet yet fierce competitive spirit. Miss his consummate professionalism. Miss his scandalously underrated abilities.

But even he’ll tell you: Could be worse.

Could have no teeth.

“Whenever we play, my dad’ll be watching at home in Vancouver and if I make a play he’ll film it on his phone,’’ explains son Ante.

“Then it goes viral.

“He sends it to my uncles and cousins in Croatia, my cousins in Germany. Everywhere he can think of. Worldwide.

“I mean, my dad, whenever he gets a chance, he just blasts out my clips.

“It’s awesome.”

That’s what awesome dads do.

Fresh from an eye-catching, 43-yard performance toting the rock last weekend against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a “tweak” to tailback Don Jackson may present the bruising third-year Simon Fraser grad an opportunity for his first career start in the Calgary Stampeders’ backfield.

“IF if does happen, well, I’ve been preparing as a starter since Year One,’’ he says. “I mean, actually I’ve always been preparing for this, 11 or 12 years, however long I’ve been playing football.

“A lot of work has gone into it.

“IF it does happen, I don’t think it’ll add any pressure. Terry (Williams)’s there. Don’s still gonna be on the sideline. We’ve got Robo. So it’s not like the weight of the world will be dropped on my shoulders or anything. We do everything by committee.

“So nothing out of the ordinary.

“Just another day in the office.”

Albeit a decidedly important day at the office, given the opposition, the chasing Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and that claustrophobic jumble atop the West Division standings.

Being able to run the ball effectively, if only intermittently, will, as ever, be paramount in allowing QB Bo Levi Mitchell to do what he does best and launch downfield thunderbolts to his array of pass-catchers.

As well, should a start come his way, Milanovic-Litre, a CFL fan while learning the game back home in B.C., understands the high standards demanded of the job hereabouts.

“Obviously, Cornish and Mess (Jerome Messam), all the rich Canadian tradition at the position and historically the way the Stampeders have run the ball … it’s big-time here,’’ he agrees.

“We still watch Jon Cornish film. All the time. We have something called Teach Tape. So when someone shows good technique or makes a nice play, it’s there for you to learn from.

“I mean, I think Jon Cornish wrote the textbook on Teach Tape. For running backs, he’s why it was invented.

“So, yeah, it means a lot to being a running back here.”

Milanovic-Litre’s position coach will tell you that he’s more than up to the task.

“We have all the faith in the world in Ante,’’ emphasizes Marc Mueller. “He played more this year than ever at tailback. He’s finished games. He’s been in there for meaningful snaps.

“He can handle whatever role we give him.

“We know that if he’s out there, he’s going to run the Stampeders’ offence, the way all our backs down. That means run the ball effectively and protect the quarterback.

“He’s great with the ball in his hands. Sneaky quick. Just a well-rounded football player. Whether he’s used at fullback, running back or on special teams, he finds a way to make a difference.

“And (Saturday) we know he’ll continue to do that for us, whatever we ask of him.”

Whether in a pinch-hit role or for the first time as a starter.

Meaning proud pop Petar just might be extra busy social-networking Saturday night out on the west coast.

“Hey, maybe,’’ replies son Ante, with a smile and a shrug. “Hope so. You never know.”

Actually, he’d much rather extinguish the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offensive candles.

The bounty-hunting rush end will be four days north of age 31 when Big Blue and Chris Streveler arrive at McMahon Stadium in pursuit of the West Division-frontrunning Calgary Stampeders.

But an 11th win and the Stamps taking another step towards a sixth regular-season West Division flag over the past seven seasons would be among the best belated b-day presents a fella could receive.

Not that the Bombers, led by Streveler, will gift-wrap it for him.

“One guy,’’ cautions Law of Winnipeg’s QBing replacement to the injured Matt Nichols, out for the season with an injured pitching wing, “ain’t gonna take him down. He’s a big, strong, powerful dude. We’ve gotta be sound as a team and make sure that we’re ganging up on him whenever he tucks the ball away.

“This is a bit of a different beast than we’re used to, definitely. We can’t just pin our ears back and rush this quarterback because Streveler, one read and he’s taking off.

“Then we gotta find a way to slow down (Andrew) Harris, too. He’s playing MOP-type football.

“So between the two of them, we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

The 6-foot-1, 211-pound Streveler, a regular hellion whenever he escapes the pocket and begins to thunder downhill, certainly presents a different set of variables than the predominantly drop-back Nichols.

The second-year signal-caller currently ranks sixth in rolling the rock at 641 yards, at an average of 5.7-per-tote. Which doesn’t make him merely a one-dimensional yard-muncher, though, as is shown in the 1,430 passing yards he’s accrued.

Nichols, of course, was the man at the throttle when the Blue Bombers edged Calgary 26-24 in the lone clash between the two sides this season, back on Aug. 8 at Investors Group Field.

“They’ve got enough run game to deal with there in Andrew,’’ sighs Stampeders defensive co-ordinator Brent Monson. “Then you add Streveler to the mix.

“We need to be really sharp with our tackling. He’s a difficult guy to bring down. And they do like to get him out there and run him around.

“We’ve got to keep him in the pocket. He’s made some nice throws, too, made some big plays with his arm. So he can hurt you with more than his running.

“He’s a dangerous quarterback. We’ve got to be on our stuff.”

Lately, the banged-up Stampeder D is becoming well drilled in dealing with rush-activated pivots. Last week they welcomed the CFL’s seventh leading rusher, Roughrider quarterback Cody Fajardo, to town. Fajardo ran for a team-high 67 yards but the locals ran out 30-28 winners, anyway.

“I think we’ll see a couple quarterbacks (Saturday), to be honest,’’ reckons Stampeder boss Dave Dickenson. “I think you’ll see Zach (Collaros) in there a little bit, as well.

“(Streveler) is strong. He can run, he can throw. They do a lot more misdirection and designed quarterback runs than Sask does. Whereas Sask, if the coverage takes it away, (Fajardo) just takes off.

“So there are some similarities, body types and all that, but the systems are different.

“We’ve got to tackle well and hopefully win the line of scrimmage.”

Saturday’s date marks Calgary’s final home game of the 2019 regular campaign and the first of a back-to-back doubleheader versus the Bombers.

“It changes the game quite a bit when you add the dynamic of a running quarterback,’’ echoes linebacker Nate Holley. “Sometimes they’re the hardest types to play against because they can kill you with both their feet and their arm.

“It adds another component to the game but as long as we lock-in, use our eyes and read things the way we need to, it’ll all play out the way we want it to.”

“Any time you get an opportunity to work in the Calgary Stampeders’ offence, it’s just such a deep honour,’’ Ante Milanovic-Litre is saying, while doing a passable Chris Hemsworth, outfitted as he was on rundown Saturday in shades, the trademark long blonde hair and a cut-off-at-the-shoulders smack-in-black Calgary Stampeders’ signature tee.

“It’s indescribable.

“You’re in there with Bo, Dave’s calling the plays, all these crazy receivers. And what can I say about the O-line. Those guys just did a great job of blocking the front level and then our receivers took care of their DBs.

“Yeah, I broke a few tackles here and there but I think the most exciting part was how collective our run game was. It didn’t came down to one guy. It took all 12.”

In a game that, Milanovic-Litre, a special teams warrior of no small repute, led the Stamps in rush yards with 43 during the 30-28 conquest of the Saskatchewan Roughriders at McMahon Stadium, including key runs at table-tipping times.

Think Canadian-bred backs and the immediate image is of a guy bombing straight downhill like Franz Klammer trying to tame the Lauberhorn in Switzerland.

Well, versus the Riders, Milanovic-Litre displayed a nimble evasiveness to go along with the north-south 6-foot-2, 232 lbs hammer.

“Ante,’’ praised Stamps’ running backs coach Marc Mueller, “is just a very good athlete. He’s got great feet. He picks up speed. He can carry a pile.

“He’s probably in that 4.5-4.6 range, so he’s not slow. Just so big, got that good frame to him, a thick dude. Difficult to handle.

“He works so hard. You’re happy for all those guys who step in and play well. When they put in the time then get an opportunity, they don’t have any regrets afterwards.

“Ante played well. Don (Jackson) played well. Terry (Williams) played well. Charlie (Power) played well.

“To see them all get a chance, go in and give us a grab-the-bull-by-the-horns type of thing is great.”

The tone of the entertainment on offer was decidedly abrasive.

“Being able to answer the bell in a game like that … there’s no better feeling,’’ agreed Milanovic-Litre.

“I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They intentionally crossed over our line in warm-up. Then they were trying to start something early in the game.

“But our attitude was: ‘We’re not going to let somebody come into our house and get away with that.’ It really did have a playoff-game feel. Who could’ve written what happened in that first quarter? Just crazy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone score the way Jamari (Gilbert) did. Unreal.

“This is pro football. Sure you might be able to scheme up on some plays, in some situations, but when they have as much film on us, a lot of what happens is already anticipated. So it comes down to who wants it more. Like two hungry dogs fighting over a bone in an alley.

“So not pretty football, by any means. What it came down to was straight-up street fight.

“And we came out on top.”

As the daylight continues to dwindle, the mercury in thermometers begins to incrementally drop and conditions worsen, the importance of bruising backs like Milanovic-Litre only grow in importance.

“Guys that can carry the pile, tough runners, make guys on the other side think twice about going after them get more and more valuable,’’ reminds Mueller.

“I think all of our backs play a lot bigger than they are.”

Unsurprisingly, Milanovic-Litre simply cannot wait to get back on the field.

“We’re back in first,’’ he noted. “We control our own destiny. Now it’s all about buckling down and holding on.

“I think every running back kind of licks his chops when it’s raining or snowing. The colder the weather gets the more the game goes back to when you were a kid in your back yard dreaming of maybe someday playing in the CFL.

“Not many people want to be out in minus-20, minus-30 temperatures with the wind howling but let me tell you, when you’re wearing football pads that’s the best time of any year.

“Pressure’s on.

“Big games.

“You’re whole attitude is: ‘Let’s go. This is fun.’”

In need of a play.

In search of a hero.

And …

“ASAP Herg,” trumpeted quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, praising the man who made that play, became that hero, on a night both were urgently needed.

“Yeah, baby. That’s the man.”

Indeed.

Friday, ASAP Herg – a play-on-words on rapper A$AP Ferg, coined by slotback Eric Rogers – was top-of-the charts good.

Five catches, two of those marking his first touchdowns as a pro, and the massive 25-yard snare on that third-down after Mitchell escaped pressure in the pocket to find the first-round draft pick alone in a pocket of space to seal the deal.

Hergy Mayala, take a deep bow.

“Definitely feels good every time you win,” confessed Mayala, dealing with a thicket of cameras, microphones and voice recorders post-game in the wake of the Stampeders’ 30-28 first-place-grabbing victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “That was our mission.

“It was a long road but I feel like I’ve arrived and I’ve got a lot more I can still show.

“I knew I’d have the chance and it just happened to be these last two games. It definitely feels great every time your quarterback looks for you at crunch time.”

And the nickname?

“Now it’s everywhere.”

Make big plays, you get nicknames – and big recognition.

“Hergy definitely took a step up this week and he’s done that every single week,” said Mitchell. “It’s fun to see. Fun to be able to trust a guy, give him those plays. I said out there I’m going to give him a little bit of crap cause I saw him go for the ball, he turned and looked and the ball kinda slips through and he grabs it really late.

“So I’m going to tell him: ‘Just concentrate, take that hit for me and you’re the hero.’

“It was awesome.”

There is, in any line of work, a vast difference between wondering, guessing or hoping, and actually knowing.

“When I saw him in training camp, I knew he had all the tools,” said Rogers. “Coming from the States there was an adjustment. He had to learn how to run routes and the playbook was a big challenge for him.

“You’re starting to see him more comfortable, more confident. He’s come a long way.

“When you know, rather than just kinda hope, you run a little faster. Everything slows down. You’re seeing that in him more and more, game by game.

“Coach Dickie is drawing up plays for him. That last catch he had, he was the No.-1 read. We try to get everybody in our receiving corps involved, give them responsibility, and that’s good.”

Mayala, of course, was the eighth-overall pick in this year’s CFL draft out of the U of Connecticut.

“He had a foot injury early in the year,” said coach Dave Dickenson. “I honestly don’t think he trusted the offence yet. He didn’t know where to go and where he fit. He was growing and building, then finally his foot healed and he felt he could be himself and you’re seeing the results.”

One characteristic this Stampeder edition has in spades is resolve. They stay the course, in fair winds and foul. Friday, star corner Tre Roberson was lost on a hit to the head early. The offensive line had already taken a hit when anchor Shane Bergman was injured during warm-up. Then defensive end Chris Casher was ejected just a shade over a minute into the second quarter.

“We overcame a lot of adversity,’’ agreed Dickenson. “I’m happy that we won but it was a battle. It felt like a playoff game.

“A very even-played game. I don’t think either team can look in the mirror and say: ‘We’re better than them.’ Just a very hard-fought game that ended up a classic.

“It’s just SO hard. Each game’s gonna come down to the wire. I can’t remember our last game where we could actually breathe before winning. It just doesn’t seem like anything’s going to be easy.”

Typifying this group’s resolve was Bergman, who mysteriously vanished after warm-ups, only to re-appear late in Quarter II to take up his accustomed spot along the O-line.

“Big shoutout to Zack Williams,” lauded Mitchell. “They’re announcing the guys before the game and nobody could find Berg. Nobody knew what was going on.

“Then when Berg got in there right before that touchdown, everybody got kinda hopped up. They started saying ‘Hoggies on three!’ Just a big morale boost having a guy like that back in there.”

Bergman was waiting to see what the knee would feel like Sunday morning.

“I’ve never had a warm-up quite like that,” he admitted. “Kind of unfortunate, I tweaked my knee but got some imaging done and all was good so froze it up to get rid of the pain and went out and played.

“They said there’s no break, where we thought there might’ve been one, so we’re good to freeze it and get out there.

“Cause it’s crunch time.”

That it is. Now the West is theirs to win again with three games left to be contested.

And Mayala, following up a 116-yard performance in Montreal in style Friday, has grown to the point where he could be a large part of that quest.

ASAP Herg was asked as he held he felt all the attention post-game was something he would be okay with on a weekly basis.

Mayala flashed a Cheshire Cat grin.

“Yeah, I can get used to it.”

Much in the balance. That familiar green menace from due east bent on usurping the throne.

A decidedly November feel to it all, a month early.

“Oh, man, this never gets old,’’ coos Bo Levi Mitchell. “Can’t you tell by the smile on my face?

“This right here is CFL football. Everything else leads up to moments like these.

“We want first place. We want to be on a roll heading into playoffs. What better way to do those things than by playing a team that’s hot right now, doesn’t seem to have any holes. And shoot, man, their head coach is the brother of our head coach.

“A lot to chew on, right?

“This is why I play the game. Why we all do.”

The 10-4 Saskatchewan Roughriders versus the 9-5 Calgary Stampeders, 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Set the traps. Trot out your well-thumbed, dog-eared copy of the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus for appropriate adjectives.

“I mean, we’re not in the playoffs yet but to be in this position, in the mix, given what’s at stake, it feels that way,’’ acknowledges slotback Reggie Begelton.

“Sask is Canada’s team. They’ve got fans everywhere. But we’re Calgary’s team. Of course they’re gonna have a lot of their fans in our stands. But at the day we can hush them up and give our fans a reason to get loud.

“The atmosphere is gonna be great. First place on the line. The bye. Home field. Look, all the chips are on the table. Who’s gonna take it?

“They’re gonna try and punch us in the mouth. We’ve just got to punch back.”

By tuck-in time late Friday night, the Stamps will either find themselves technically perched – as has become custom – on the West Division’s top rung (via having carried the seasonal series between the two rivals) or two games in arrears with only three dates remaining on the dance card. A highly precarious position, to put it mildly.

“Earlier, they were kind of up and down,’’ says the oracle of the Calgary D, 12-season defensive back Brandon Smith. “I don’t even know what kind of streak they’re on, to be honest, but they’ve been winning game after game, it seems.

“They’re sure clicking on all cylinders.

“All year we’ve been trying to put ourselves in a position to be in big games like this one. It’s huge. It has magnitude.”

Yes, much has changed between July 6th’s Nick Arbuckle-propelled 37-10 gouging of the flatlanders by the invading Stamps at Mosaic Stadium and now.

Riders are riding a 9-1 run since then.

“They’re just playing at a higher level,’’ critiques Calgary coach Dave Dickenson. “They’re basically the same team. They’ve been fortunate, the injury bug has gone their way this year.

“(On July 6) they were finding their way in the system. New coaches. They did go in free agent market to find some guys they liked. But their whole secondary is the same. Solomon (Elimimian)’s stepped up now – that was his first game back, against us. Micah (Johnson) didn’t have any training camp. He’s playing great football now.

“They’ve all just kinda elevated their play.

“They have a lot of talent. They’re physical. They’re fast. They’re aggressive. They added to their receiving corps – they’re as good as anybody.

“They’re quarterback is playing well. So, big challenge.”

Among the most pressing of those myriad of challenges is rush end Charleston Hughes, a former ally of no small achievement, currently with 15 sacks to lead the loop, at the ripe old age of 35.

“He’s having a great year,’’ praises Dickenson. “Letting everybody know about it, too. But he’s a great football player. He’s got lots in his repertoire. He’s got power, he’s got speed, he’s got spin. The other thing that’s underrated with him is that he’s very, very intelligent. He predicts snap counts, he knows tendencies, he peels with running backs.

“So he’s having a great year.”

The Charleston chatter, his old pals know from first-hand experience, is sure to be non-stop.

Hey, whatever drives a fella’s bus or floats his boat, shrugs Mitchell.

“That’s how he motivates himself, by talking. He’ll be talking on the field, too. Come out, do our jobs, and he won’t be talking as much.

“Our guys gotta stop his momentum. He’s a guy who plays really well when he plays free. He’s been here as long as anybody and is still doing it as well anybody.

“Definitely a game-changer, if you let him be.”

Ramifications. Rivalry. Family ties. New allegiances pitted against old alliances.

Yes, a decidedly November feel to it all, a month early.

“In one way, it definitely does have a different feel,’’ confesses the two-time MOP/two-time Grey Cup MVP. “Usually at this point in a season we maybe didn’t have first wrapped up but were two or so games ahead.

“Every single year I’ve been the starter we’ve won the division, except the one we tied with Edmonton at 14-4.

“So I’m kinda excited about being the team going out to hunt somebody.

“Let’s see how they respond to being in first place and trying to hold off someone coming after them hard.

“Don’t care how old or young you are, how many years you’ve been around. Games of this nature, as athletes this is what we live for.”