Lewis Ward (born 2 September 1992) is a professional Canadian football

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football at the University of Ottawa for the

Gee-Gees The Ottawa Gee-Gees are the athletic teams that represent the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980, a ...

Early life

Ward was born in England, & moved with his family to Kingston, Ontario when he was in the middle of grade 8. He was raised in a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

loving household & grew up playing soccer himself.

University career

Ward played for the Ottawa Gee-Gees from 2013 to 2017 as he became one of the best kickers in Gee-Gees and U Sports history. He finished his university career having converted 89 successful field goals, which is the most in program and

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

history. It is also second all-time in U Sports history to Johnny Mark's 91 career field goals. He is also the leading scorer in Gee-Gees football history with 412 points and third all-time in U Sports.

Professional career

Ward went undrafted in the

2017 CFL Draft The 2017 CFL Draft took place on Sunday May 7, 2017 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN and RDS. 71 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The draft was broadcast live on TSN ...

and instead returned to school for his fifth year of eligibility. Following a successful 2017 season, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on 3 January 2018. Following the departure of 2017 kicker, Brett Maher, the Redblacks had an open competition for their kicking position between Ward,

Richie Leone Richie Leone (born March 10, 1992) is a gridiron football punter for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played collegiate football for the University of Houston. He has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Pit ...

Sergio Castillo Sergio Castillo (born November 1, 1990) is an American professional gridiron football placekicker and punter for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at West Texas A&M. Professional career ...

, and Mathieu Hebert. He went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in the pre-season and won the starting placekicking job with Leone handling punts and kickoffs. On 28 July 2018, Ward tied an Ottawa Football Club record by making seven field goals in a single game, tying him with Terry Baker in 1984 and Dean Dorsey in 1989. On 11 August 2018, he set the all-time CFL rookie record for consecutive field goals made with 22, surpassing Luca Congi's benchmark of 21. He continued that streak to 22 September 2018 in a game against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

, where he broke

Rene Paredes Rene Paredes (born May 15, 1985) is a professional Canadian football placekicker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a two-time Grey Cup champion after winning with the Stampeders in 2014 and 2018 and is a fo ...

' single-season consecutive field goal record of 32 made in

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with his 33rd straight in the second quarter of that game. In that same game, he again made all seven of his field goal attempts, tying his own club record and extending his streak to 37 consecutive field goals made. In the following game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he broke the all-time consecutive field goal record of 39 made, also by Paredes, over the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

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seasons, by connecting on all three of his field goal attempts to bring his streak to 40. On 19 October 2018, against the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

, Ward broke the professional football record of 44 consecutive field goals made by breaking Adam Vinatieri's record from the National Football League with his 45th straight field goal. He finished the 2018 regular season having made 51 field goals out of 52 attempts, shattering Paredes' single-season field goal accuracy record of 94.74% with a completion percentage of 98.08%. His single season consecutive field goal streak finished at 48 made by the end of the regular season. He was named as the Redblacks' nominee for the league's

Most Outstanding Rookie The Most Outstanding Rookie Award is annually awarded to the player judged to be the best player in his first year in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner from the East Division, and th ...

and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. At the 2018 Shaw CFL Awards ceremony, he won both awards, becoming the first ever kicker to win the Most Outstanding Rookie Award. Ward's consecutive field goal streak continued into the 2019 season, including in a game on 5 July 2019 where he made a career-long field goal of 53 yards. On 17 August 2019, Ward was wide right on a 34-yard field goal attempt, ending his consecutive field goal streak at 69 made. Later in the season, on 19 October 2019, Ward set a new franchise record by successfully connecting on a 56-yard field goal, the longest in Ottawa professional football history. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

and signed a one-year extension with the Redblacks on 14 January 2021. On November 4, 2021, near the end of the 2021 season, the Redblacks announced that they had signed Ward to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2022 season.

References

External links

Ottawa Redblacks bioOttawa Gee-Gees bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Lewis 1992 births Living people Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Canadian football placekickers English emigrants to Canada English players of Canadian football Ottawa Gee-Gees football players Ottawa Redblacks players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Kingston, Ontario