In his first regular season game as a B.C. Lion, former Langley Ram receiver Jevon Cottoy caught a pass from quarterback Mike Reilly for a six-yard gain against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with one minute and 30 seconds left in the first period.
Reilly, the Lions’ new starting quarterback, tried to find Cottoy a second time with 9:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the pass was incomplete.
Cottoy’s debut game ended in a 33-23 defeat for the Lions.
Cottoy, a 6’5″ 230 lb. wide receiver, was signed by the Lions in December after a standout season with the Langley Rams.
He finished the BCFC regular season with 39 receptions for 657 yards and eight touchdowns in eight games played.
Cottoy went on to record seven receptions for 246 yards and four touchdowns in the Rams BCFC semi-final win over the VI Raiders, then went four for 110 yards in the BCFC Cullen Cup win over the Okanagan Sun, nine for 180 yards and three touchdowns in the CJFL national semi-final win over the Hamilton Hurricanes, and went five for 109 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ Canadian Bowl loss to Saskatoon.
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Cottoy turned in an impressive performance at Lions’ training camp, with one Lions staffer reportedly predicting Cottoy would be in the NFL in a matter of a few years.
A profile posted to the Lions site described how Cottoy moved to Canada from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent when he was nine years old to live in Calgary, where he eventually took up the North American version of football in Peewee.
“My uncle had played soccer and he knew I had the length at over six-feet to try out,” Cottoy recalled.
After a knee injury that required surgery, Cottoy considered giving up the game to become a firefighter, but changed his mind when his Calgary Colts coach moved to the Langley Rams.
He discovered he missed the game and the bond with teammates.
“I’d kind of lost that and forgot how it felt,” he recalled.
“Being back in a locker room environment made me love the game even more. It worked out because now I’m a BC Lion.”
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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