Hamilton Tiger-Cats wide receiver Chris Williams runs the ball past Toronto Argonauts defender Jeff Johnson (L) during the second half of their CFL football game in Hamilton September 3, 2012.MIKE CASSESE/Reuters
Chris Williams wrote his name into the CFL's record book twice in one play at the Labour Day Classic.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats star took a punt return back 82 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Toronto Argonauts on Monday, his league-record sixth return touchdown of the season.
It was Williams's fifth punt return TD of the season and marked a CFL-record third straight game that he had taken a punt back for the touchdown. He also has one kick return for a score this season.
Williams returned a punt 70 yards last week for a TD in Montreal, and recorded a 71-yard punt return TD a week earlier in Winnipeg. The 24-year-old sophomore is now tied with Henry (Gizmo) Williams's 1991 record of five punt return TDs.
Chris Williams leads the CFL with 11 touchdowns overall. After a 33-30 loss to Toronto, Williams credited his teammates for giving him space to work with.
"Those guys out there are blocking tremendously," he said. "It's not me, really. Those guys are out there putting hats on hats and getting people out of the way. I'm just trying to run and find holes."
The Argos were up 7-0 midway through the first quarter when Williams caught a 47-yard punt by Swayze Waters back on the Hamilton 28-yard line. A hole opened up in the crowd, and he was off.
Williams, the league's outstanding rookie last year, could have had one more return TD on his stats right now if he hadn't showboated in a July 21 win against Montreal. In that game, he appeared to run back a missed field goal 118 yards in the second quarter. But without an Alouettes defender anywhere near him, Williams turned around inside the 10 and began trotting backwards to the endzone.
He was hauled down at the one-yard line by Montreal linebacker Brian Ridgeway.
He apologized to Montreal head coach Marc Trestman and his own team after the game, vowing it would never happen again. Soon after, Williams teamed up with Hamilton company Fox 40 International in a 'Play to the Whistle' promotion in which the company and the player would team up to donate $1,000 to local children's charities for each touchdown he scored the rest of the season.