For many people, Saturday’s preseason game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats meant little. But for Hergy Mayala, who wore the Montreal Alouettes uniform for the very first time, it was an unforgettable moment.
Born in Congo, Mayala grew up in Montreal. As a child, he watched the Alouettes on television. He therefore realized a childhood dream when he put on the blue, white and red jersey.
“I have seen the Alouettes play all my life. To have the chance to wear the colors, I believe that to date, in my life, it is my most beautiful moment”, he launched Monday after the training of his people, in Trois-Rivières.
Satisfied
Obviously, there was no question of being overwhelmed by emotions. The moment was great, but so was the stake; he was one of 14 players to catch at least one assist, and a good chunk of them aren’t guaranteed to be regular-season starters.
Mayala caught two passes for 19 yards, including nine after the catch. He thus believes that he has demonstrated beautiful things.
“I am [satisfied], he let know. Obviously, there are plenty of players [in the preseason], so I haven’t had the chance to play more than a quarter. I was lucky enough to catch the ball twice, and I think I left a good impression.”
If Danny Maciocia made no promises to him when he initialed his contract with the Sparrows, Mayala intends to take advantage of every opportunity given to him to prove his worth.
In this sense, one thing is certain: he has confidence in his abilities.
“I want to show that I am a quality receiver. One of the best in the league, if not the best, he boasted. I think with the team we have and the quarterbacks we have, I have a very good chance of doing that.
Optimism
Mayala will be in her third season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) after two years with the Calgary Stampeders. He had 67 catches for 846 yards and five majors in 29 games.
But as a Canadian player, he often found himself off the ball. This was especially the case during his second campaign in Alberta, where he inherited a lesser role.
“My second year, my numbers went down, he said sorry. We entered a situation where someone had to play the less important role. Unfortunately, it fell on me.”
Injuries and circumstances have not allowed him to be more involved, but things could change this year for wide receivers.
Indeed, a series of rulebook changes reduced the distance between hash marks from 17 to nine yards. This is good news especially for Canadian players, according to Mayala, since they will be closer to the quarter when the ball is put into play.
“When we went on the pitch [for the first time], I thought he looked a lot smaller!” exclaimed the receiver, about the new configuration.
The Alouettes will play a second and final exhibition game on Friday by hosting the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. Afterwards, Malaya will reunite with his former Stampeders teammates at the regular season curtain raiser on June 9 in Calgary, with the firm intention of claiming victory.
