Saskatchewan Roughrider sensation Wes Cates, in five years in the CFL, rushed for a career total of 4,262 yards. The Rider running back who started with the Calgary Stampeders in 2006, moved to the Riders one year later to become one of Saskatchewan's premier players.
Cates, a guest at Football Night in Saskatchewan, says he was with the Riders since 2007 when the team won the third Grey Cup, "It's been a great time to be a Rider. We've been to the Grey Cup three times in the last four years. Got a ring and looking to go right back and do it all over again," he states.
Originally from Columbus ,Ohio, a big football town where football is one of the major sports at the Ohio State University. Cates grew up a big football fan and a big football participant as a youngster.
He was named second team all state in high school. Cates attended and played for a division two school in Pennsylvania called California University of Pennsylvania where he had an All American career setting a bunch of league records and breaking all the school records.
He found his way to the CFL a few years later. He says it was a rough road after having left football for several years. A free agent contract brought him to the Calgary Stampeders. Calgary traded him to Saskatchewan. "It's been a dream come true. I've been a feature back and a champion and all that good stuff," Cates closes.
Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber running Back Willard Reaves, three time All Canadian All Star, rushed for 5,924 yards, almost 1,200 yards a season in his five years with the Bombers.
Reaves came to the Big Blue in a round about way. He attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona where he was picked up by the Green Bay Packers. After being released by the Packers, Reaves was called up by the Edmonton Eskimos who promptly trade him to Winnipeg.
In his five years with the Bombers, Reaves was on the Grey Cup winning team in his second year with the Bombers and named player of the year in 1984.
Reaves admits he wasn't particularly fond of Winnipeg winters. He was to do a two day commercial shoot in the winter of 1985. "I was supposed to be there for two days. I left the very next day," he says.
Reaves who says he had some great seasons recalls playing some great games against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. "We always had a great rivalry in terms of playing against each other. Always after those games we felt every bump and every bruise," he remembers.
This year Reaves suggests the Bombers are in a transition period of trying to find out who they are. They are maybe two or three players away from having a good team.
Saskatchewan is also in transition as far as the coaching staff is concerned, Reaves says. The Riders have always found a way to win in the last five or six years, but have had some difficulty finishing since 2007.
Reaves says it's nice to see that Saskatchewan and Winnipeg can battle the way they do and yet remain respectful of each other. "I think it's a great tribute to what has happened in the CFL ," he concludes.
