Sandro DeAngelis got his Grey Cup – and a bit of extra hardware, too.
The kicker from Niagara Falls, Ont. played a major role in helping the Calgary Stampeders win the Canadian Football League championship game in Montreal, where the Stamps beat the Montreal Alouettes 22-14.
The 27-year-old was named Most Valuable Canadian after going a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, connecting from 50, 44, 30, 21 and 12 yards, and adding one convert in the 96th edition of the Grey Cup.
That gave DeAngelis 16 of his team’s 22 points – fitting for the CFL’s leading scorer in the regular season.
DeAngelis also handled the place-kicking duties with three kickoffs for 185 yards. His longest came in at 63 yards.
Calling the Grey Cup “the ultimate prize,” DeAngelis said it was the “best day of my life, by far.
“We’re immortal. This Cup will outlive us and our names will be on it. I can’t think of a better feeling right now in the world,” he said.
The Grey Cup was a family affair for DeAngelis and his parents, two brothers, former coaches and numerous friends, who were all in the stands at Olympic Stadium for the game.
After being interviewed on TV, DeAngelis asked for his family.
“Where’s my family? I’m looking for you guys. Get your butts down here,” he said, looking up into the stands.
Dan DeAngelis, Sandro’s older brother who he has called the “mastermind” of his career, said the group of 21 family members and friends there to watch the game was nervous and excited as things progressed.
“You dream it, you hope it happens, but to see him go out and win the Grey Cup is an unbelievable feeling,” he said. “It’s just fantastic. We’re absolutely thrilled.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and determination.”
DeAngelis's performance was a bit of redemption after he was snubbed for the CFL's Special Teams Player of the Year award in favour of Toronto's Dominique Dorsey.
“I was a little bit angry about Thursday night, but tonight we were judged on our skill and not someone’s opinion,” DeAngelis told The Niagara Falls Review in a phone interview from the field Sunday night.
“They got this fiery Italian upset a little bit and I had a little chip on my shoulder. It’s extremely exciting. It’s truly an emotional night.
“This was the game where we were going to be judged on our skill and not on somebody’s opinion. I’m so proud to be a Calgary Stampeder.”
Early in the second quarter with Calgary trailing 3-0, DeAngelis capped a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive for Calgary when he booted a 44-yard field goal to tie the score. His next contribution came with 44 seconds left in the half when he kicked the point-after on a Henry Burris touchdown pass to Brett Ralph to make it a 13-10 game in Montreal's favour.
DeAngelis tied the game with 5:53 left in the third quarter when he kicked a 12-yard field goal. Later, DeAngelis scored on a 21-yard field goal with 3:38 left in the third quarter and a 30-yarder early in the fourth.
With 4:34 left in the fourth, he capped off a fantastic night by kicking the fifth-longest field goal in Grey Cup history when he connected from 50 yards out. It was DeAngelis' longest field goal of the year, topping his previous best by one yard, and it gave Calgary a 22-14 lead.
“I wanted that one bad. I blew a 48-yarder last week against B.C. so I wanted that one. Someone said it was a knock on me that I’m not able to make the deep ball, so I’m glad to shut them up, too,” he said.
