Saskatchewan Roughriders placekicker Brett Lauther could very well celebrate a major milestone where it all began for him in the CFL.
Lauther is six points shy of 1,000 for his career as the Roughriders prepare to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Steeltown on Saturday (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN).
“We’re pretty close to that (total), which is cool, but it’s more of a team, organization, family and friends milestone,” he says.
“If it does happen this week in Hamilton, it’s kind of cool because I was drafted there.
“They were great to me. I have nothing but good things to say about that organization and the people who are still over there.
“It’s just funny how things work out — kind of full circle, sometimes — so it would be pretty cool to do it there.”
Lauther’s first 14 CFL points were scored on Sept. 21st, 2013, when he helped the Tiger-Cats edge the Montreal Alouettes 28-26 in a Touchdown Atlantic showcase game, held in Moncton.
Moncton is 170 kilometres from Lauther’s hometown of Truro, N.S., so a sizeable selection of family members and friends were in the stands when he went 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts and added two converts.
“It’s one of my favourite CFL memories — one that I’ll cherish forever,” says Lauther, who was named the league’s special teams player of the week after his flawless debut in the pro ranks.
Lauther was also on the field for a Tiger-Cats touchdown in his introductory regular-season game.
On a fake field-goal attempt, holder Andy Fantuz — a star receiver with the Roughriders from 2006 to 2011 — flipped the football to Marc Beswick and a 10-yard TD resulted.
Lauther followed up with his first CFL convert. Suitably, the major had been scored by a fellow Saint Mary’s Huskies alumnus.
Also of note: The Tiger-Cats of 2013 employed two former Roughriders quarterbacks: Henry Burris and Kent Austin.
Austin was the Tiger-Cats’ head coach and general manager when Lauther was selected in the seventh round (53rd overall) of the 2013 CFL Draft.
Previously, Austin had guided Saskatchewan to Grey Cup victories as a quarterback (1989) and head coach (2007).
“He’s a pretty special guy, especially out here,” Lauther says. “Whenever I’m doing tours of Mosaic Stadium in the off-season, he’s on the wall there.
“That’s one of the things I always bring up to some of the fans — having him as my first GM and head coach and what an honour it was to be around someone that smart.”
Burris, a 2020 inductee into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, received his first regular starting assignments after signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent in 2000.
After spending the 2001 and 2002 seasons in the NFL, Smilin’ Hank returned to Saskatchewan in late July of 2003 and remained with the Green and White through the 2004 season.
Burris was in typically good humour leading up to the first CFL regular-season appearance by Lauther — who, at 22, was labelled as “baby-faced” by the Hamilton Spectator.
Along those lines, Burris quipped that Lauther needed “parental supervision” to do the interviews that preceded his pro debut.
“That kind of sticks out now that you bring it up,” Lauther says with a laugh.
“Henry is another guy I can’t say enough good things about — to have him as your first quarterback coming into the league and seeing what he has accomplished. He has still stayed in touch over the years, even when he has been in the NFL.
“Having guys like him and Andy Fantuz … the list goes on. Those guys were so inviting to us younger guys for going out or coming over to their place.
“Full circle, I’ve been trying to do that for years here with everyone and make sure everyone’s welcome and getting on board, because the quicker we can get everyone sped up, the better the team’s going to be.”
Lauther registered 31 points over four regular-season appearances with the 2013 Tiger-Cats.
He watched from the sideline with the visiting team when the Roughriders defeated Hamilton 45-23 in the 101st Grey Cup Game.
Luca Congi, another erstwhile Roughrider, handled the placekicking for Hamilton on Nov. 24th, 2013 at historic Mosaic Stadium.
Post-2013, Lauther did not appear in another CFL regular-season game until 2018, when he became the Roughriders’ full-time placekicker.
Saturday’s game will be Lauther’s 104th in the CFL — and his 100th with Saskatchewan.
THE CFL’S 1,000-POINT CLUB
3,991 — Lui Passaglia
3,145 — Paul McCallum*
2,993 — Mark McLoughlin
2,932 — Paul Osbaldiston
2,748 — Troy Westwood
2,573 — Sean Fleming
2,374 — Dave Ridgway*
2,299 — Rene Paredes
2,237 — Dave Cutler
2,125 — Terry Baker*
2,123 — Sean Whyte
1,840 — Trevor Kennerd
1,772 — Bernie Ruoff
1,634 — Noel Prefontaine
1,535 — Justin Medlock
1,498 — Lance Chomyc**
1,462 — Gerry Organ
1,411 — J.T. Hay
1,342 — Don Sweet
1,271 — Sandro DeAngelis*
1,258 — Damon Duval
1,190 — Boris Bede
1,145 — Lirim Hajrullahu
1,050 — Luca Congi*
1,030 — Larry Robinson
1,010 — Zenon Andrusyshyn**
NEXT MAN UP
994 — Brett Lauther*
*—Played for Roughriders
**—Tried out for Roughriders
