Jude McAtamney's perfect streak keeps Calgary Stampeders in CFL playoff race

Rookie kicker Jude McAtamney has seized the opportunity to fill in for injured starter René Paredes, putting together an impressive streak that has the Calgary Stampeders in contention heading into Week 7.

McAtamney has nailed all but one field-goal attempt this season, including eight straight after an early miss. He's also hit all but one convert, making him one of the most accurate converters in the CFL. His strong hang-time on kickoffs has been equally valuable, giving the Stampeders' fast coverage team the chance to get downfield and do its job.

"What I've liked is Jude has helped us in our kickoffs, because he gets so much height," said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. "René can bomb it down there, too, but it just seems like Jude has a lot of height on it, and we've got a fast (coverage) team."

Last week, in a 37-30 loss to Montreal, McAtamney made all three field-goal attempts, including a 54-yarder on the last play of the first half and a 47-yarder in the third quarter. His longest of the season is a 57-yarder from Week 4 during the victory at Kelowna.

"I've hit from the 60s a few times in practice, so it's in me," McAtamney said. "Obviously, the conditions depend for those long kicks, and it depends what the team needs at that moment in time."

Paredes, a 15-season CFL veteran and hall-of-famer-in-waiting, was placed on the six-game injured reserve list with a hip issue at the start of the schedule. Saturday's contest marks the team's sixth game, meaning a decision must be made on what to do with both kickers going forward.

"René does seem to be progressing — and that's a good sign," Dickenson said. "And Jude's kicking well. So I'm just gonna just keep thinking about it and let René get healthy."

The Stampeders (2-3) face the visiting Montreal Alouettes (4-1) on July 19, at McMahon Stadium at 2 p.m., with the game airing on TSN5 and QR Calgary 770 AM.