The results weren’t there on the field for the Edmonton Eskimos this year, but on Wednesday the media and Canadian Football League head coaches recognized a pair of Edmonton’s top performers.
Slotback Fred Stamps and defensive tackle Almondo Sewell were named CFL West Division all-stars.
Stamps, 31, led the league in receiving, with 1,259 yards in 15 games played. A hip injury and a bone bruise in his foot forced him to the nine-game injured list for the final two games of the season. He’s gone over the 1,000-yard mark for five consecutive seasons and has been a division all-star five years running. Stamps was one of just three unanimous selections as an all-star, along with Saskatchewan running back Kory Sheets and Calgary running back Jon Cornish.
In his third season with the Eskimos and in the CFL, Sewell has picked up his second consecutive West Division selection. The 27-year-old played in 15 games this season, had 39 tackles, eight quarterback sacks, knocked down one pass and had a fumble recovery.
The six-foot-four, 288-pounder from Buff Bay, Jamaica, also likes to return kickoffs. He had two for 24 yards in Week 16 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but was hurt and stretchered off of the field on his second attempt, sustaining a scary-looking back injury. With tests for spinal fracture returning negative, Sewell suited up in Week 18 and finished out the final two games of the Eskimos’ 4-14 season.
Division all-stars were selected by 77 voters, including media across the country representing their respective divisions and CFL head coaches. League-wide all-stars will be named in early December.
