Le ROUGE et NOIR affrontent les Elks dans le premier match de leur série de matches retour
The Ottawa REDBLACKS are getting both of this season’s matchups with the Edmonton Elks out of the way early, kicking off a five-day back-to-back tonight at Commonwealth Stadium.
When toe hits leather at 7:00pm ET, tonight, Ottawa looks to keep the Elks winless, while improving to 3-2 on the young season, following last week’s road loss at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. With Dru Brown knocked out of the game by a late hit to the head near the halfway point, Dustin Crum finished the night 8/11 of 102 yards, while Ryquell Armstead earned 103 yards, and his first CFL touchdown on the ground.
The good news for the REDBLACKS is that Brown will return to start tonight’s game, but Ottawa loses Bralon Addison, Frankie Griffin, Nigel Romick, and Justin Howell to injury. Kalil Pimpleton makes his first CFL start at receiver, as does Davion Taylor at Will linebacker. Ty Cranston returns to the lineup, as does Deshawn Stevens for the first time this season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Edmonton returns from a bye week, eyeing their first victory of the campaign. They were most recently in action against the BC Lions in Week 4, dropping a third-straight three-point game, 24-21 in the dying seconds.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson has thrown for 1,225 yards, and seven touchdowns, spreading the ball around to the likes of Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Hergy Mayala, and Dillon Mitchell. On defence, Noah Curtis’ three sacks are tied for second in the CFL.
The Elks get a boost to their pass rush with the addition of former Toronto Argonauts standout Shawn Oakman, but will be missing Robert Nkemdiche on the defensive line,
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Bob Dyce, Head Coach, on what it will take to bounce back: “You can’t focus on the win, you’ve got to focus on doing the things right that put you in a situation to win. What we do is going to determine our future. We want to define or dictate our future. We do that by making sure we’ve got everything handled and we’re locked in for six seconds at a time, every single play.
Kalil Pimpleton, receiver, on his mentality going into his CFL debut: “I’m very, very confident. I’m out there competing with the guys every day. I’m with the best of the best, day in and day out. We’re all professional athletes, and we carry ourselves as such. With being a professional athlete, there’s a sense of confidence that you have to have within yourself, to be able to get out there and perform at your very best. I do feel that I am very confident in my ability to come out and help my team, along with them helping me as well.
Alonzo Addae, defensive back, on what Ottawa expects from the Elk’s: “They’re going to put the ball in their quarterback’s hands and let him do what he does best. He has a lot of snaps under his belt and knows where to go with the ball, and he’s accurate. We’ve got to make sure we’re all taking care of our assignments.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
7:00 PM ET | TV (ENG): TSN3 / TSN5 / CBSSN | CFL+ | Radio: EN: TSN 1200, SiriusXM (ch. 167) | FR: 104,7 FM Outaouais.
