OTTAWA - The Ottawa Redblacks would love nothing more than to carry the momentum from their recent victory over the Montreal Alouettes into a rematch.
With new interim head coach Bob Dyce at the helm, the Redblacks (4-11) posted a 24-18 win over the East Division鈥檚 second place Alouettes (7-8) on Monday.
Now the two teams will square off for the final time this season Friday night at TD Place.
While slim, Ottawa鈥檚 playoff hopes are still alive. But the club has a challenge ahead after losing a number of key players Monday.
Those sidelined in the win include returner/receiver Devonte Dedmon (quadricep), receiver Jaelon Acklin (head/shoulder), running back William Powell (shoulder), linebacker Patrick Levels (ankle), defensive lineman Praise Martin-Oguike (ankle) and offensive lineman Dino Boyd (shoulder). Ottawa is already without receiver Nate Behar and defensive back Justin Howell.
鈥淚f you get banged up at all in that last game it鈥檚 going to be really tough to come back and be ready," said Ottawa quarterback Nick Arbuckle.
With injury comes opportunity.
First-year receiver Siaosi Mariner will make his CFL debut Friday night.
鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to see Siaosi Mariner in (Acklin鈥檚) spot,鈥 said Dyce. 鈥淗e鈥檚 done great work throughout the year ever since he鈥檚 been here. You can see his teammates really rave about him, but the challenging part is not a lot of reps with the short period between games.鈥
Arbuckle is already familiar with Mariner as the two trained together during the off-season and ran routes for nearly three months.
鈥淚t feels like all the months of our off-season kind of built up to this one opportunity to play together,鈥 said Arbuckle. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an all-around playmaker.鈥
Ryan Davis will come in for Dedmon, and Dyce feels more than confident integrating both into the game plan.
It鈥檚 not the ideal scenario for a team desperate to keep its post-season chances alive, but Dyce said there鈥檚 no real option but to deal with the hand they鈥檝e been dealt.
鈥淲e鈥檙e focused on what we have to do,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he coaches have made a great game plan and worked together well with the players and so we鈥檙e focused on what we do. For us to have success we focus on ourselves.鈥
It鈥檚 been a challenging season for the Redblacks, but the coaching change seems to have provided new energy to the team.
鈥淵ou can feel it,鈥 said Arbuckle. 鈥淜ind of in those critical moments, you know, at halftime and in the second half, just a feeling of belief in each other.鈥
Ottawa trailed 12-7 at the half earlier this week, but Arbuckle said there was no panic despite the fact they鈥檇 faced a similar fate their last two games against Toronto and come out on the losing end.
鈥淭here was just a feeling that we were going to get the job done,鈥 the QB said. 鈥淲e were going to do everything we needed to do to win the game at the end.鈥
Ottawa will need a similar mindset this week to pull off another victory.
The Redblacks will also look to put an end to a long losing streak at home. Ottawa has lost 21 of its last 22 games at TD Place and, with just two home games remaining, including Friday鈥檚 matchup, time is running short to give fans something to cheer about.
Montreal has lost its last two games against the Redblacks and will look to gain momentum as it heads into the final stretch of the season.
The Alouettes are dealing with their injuries as the team announced receiver Reggie White Jr. (knee) and centre Sean Jamieson (knee) are done for the season.
MONTREAL (7-8-0) at OTTAWA (4-11-0)
Friday, TD Place
EYE ON THE PRIZE: A win in Ottawa this week would clinch Montreal's playoff spot.
KEEP IT GOING: Ottawa converted on 58 per cent of its second down chances last week in Montreal. The Redblacks were held to just 17 per cent in their previous game against the B.C. Lions.
QUITE THE CONNECTION: Last week, Montreal's Eugene Lewis was second among all CFL receivers with a season-high nine catches. He now leads the CFL with 82 receptions and has connected with Trevor Harris a league-high 70 times for 981 yards and nine TDs. Lewis now has an active 39-game reception streak.
This report by the 好色tv Press was first published October 13, 2022.
