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The Toronto Argonauts have won three of their last four games and veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon has been a key part of that success.
“(Lemon’s impact has been) just amazing. You see the play on the field, but it goes way beyond. He’s an outstanding human being, great leader with his experience,” head coach Mike Miller said postgame on Saturday.
“He’s vocal. He reminds the guys where we are and what’s taking place, and he keeps a handle on the focus, too, from a player’s standpoint. We’re just so thrilled to have him, and again, you saw his effort out here tonight. He’s a really good football player, but he’s an even better person.”
The native of Charleston, S.C., who will turn 38 on Tuesday, signed with the Argonauts in July after nearly six months on the free-agent market.
It seemed fair to question if Lemon had anything left in the tank. He played only nine regular-season games over the past two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, recording two sacks, and was a healthy scratch from Week 15 onward during the team’s run to the Grey Cup last year.
Despite that, Lemon has been dominant with the Boatmen. He’s notched six sacks, putting him only one short of the league lead after just four games. He also made a game-changing forced fumble during the team’s 39-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at BMO Field.
“It feels great because it’s been a little bit since I had a strip sack, and that’s been something that’s my forte,” said Lemon.
“I want to lead by example for this team, and I knew a turnover like that would be huge for us to get this win. At halftime, I told the guys, ‘Don’t leave without it,’ so I knew I had to make a play for us.”
The six-f0ot-two, 248-pound defender had 103 career sacks when he signed in Toronto, which ranked No. 12 all-time in CFL history.
After just a month with the team, he’s leapfrogged Rodney Harding and Odell Willis to reach No. 10 all-time with 109. With two more sacks, he’d surpass Tyrone Jones for No. 9 all-time.
Instead of taking all the credit for himself, Lemon is passing it off to defensive coordinator Greg Quick and defensive line coach Demetrious Maxie.
“Coach Quick is doing a great job with the schematics, and him and Coach Maxie are doing a great job to let me do the things that I do great,” said Lemon.
“I’ve played a lot of football, I’ve learned from a lot of great coaches. At the age of 37, I’m learning a lot of new things (from Maxie) that I can put into my game, and it’s been working for me.”
“Coach Maxie, he does a great job with all those guys,” said Miller. “He’s another guy we’re thrilled to have.”
After a slow start to the season, the Argonauts now lead the CFL with 24 sacks. Lemon ranks first on the team with six, followed by Jonathan Kongbo (four), Ralph Holley (three), and Bubba Bolden, Andrew Chatfield, and Dewayne Hendrix (two).
“My confidence has always been there as a player,” said Lemon. “I’m just thankful for this opportunity here to be able to lead by example and showcase the things that I can do.”
The Toronto Argonauts (5-5) will visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-4) at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, August 29 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Argonauts are coming off a 39-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, while the Roughriders lost in Vancouver by a score of 30-16.
The weather forecast in Regina calls for a high of 26 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1050 in Toronto or 620 CKRM in Regina.
