Thursday, June 30, 2016

JONES, RIDERS KICK OFF NEW ERA IN RIDERVILLE VS. ARGOS

As though the waiting game wasn’t already hard enough, it only gets tougher for Darian Durant and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Riders say hello to a new season on Thursday night in Riderville, while at the same time begin saying goodbye to a long-time landmark in Mosaic Stadium.
After a bye week to open the 2016 schedule, waiting until 8:00 p.m. local time to face the Toronto Argonauts might be difficult.
“I’m kind of sad that it’s a night game,” Durant told Riderville.com. “Just waking up having to wait all day to come out and play. But at the same time night games are always exciting here so it’s just going to be an exciting day and I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ll just be patiently waiting all day and I’ll be ready to come out here and do whatever I can do to help this team get a win.”
With equal anticipation wait the fans in Rider Nation, and the same goes for Chris Jones. No team has overhauled its roster more than the Riders this year and no team enters the season with more uncertainty.
On Thursday night everyone will see some sort of semblance of what the 2016 Riders are all about.
“That’ll be decided [Thursday] night,” said Jones. “Like I told the team, this is for real – this is our first regular season game. We’ve talked a good game, now it’s a matter of seeing exactly where we are.”
Jones was hired as the team’s football czar – the head coach, general manager and vice-president – after the team cleaned house following a three-win season in 2015. After Jones took the Eskimos from cellar-dwellers at 4-14 to Grey Cup Champions at 14-4 in a matter of two years, Riders fans are hoping he can work his similar magic in Saskatchewan.
With a re-worked roster with the subtraction of big names like Weston Dressler and John Chick and the addition of the likes of Shawn Lemon, Justin Capicciotti and Kendial Lawrence among many, many others, there’s no doubt the Riders are already being built in Jones’s mold.
Veteran quarterback Durant is one of a handful of returning players along with veteran Rob Bagg and young receiver Nic Demski – yet with so many new faces on both sides of the ball, some patience may be required.
Durant is playing his first game in over a year after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in last year’s opener, while approximately 35 players on the team’s 46-man roster will be making their Rider debuts.
“It’s just another great opportunity to do something special this season,” said Bagg, the veteran receiver now in his ninth season with the team. “Every year it’s a fresh start and this year it’s no different – I love the pieces we have here.But with uncertainty and the unknown also comes possibility.
“It all starts Thursday, we’ll find out what we’re really made of. I’m certainly excited and optimistic about it.”
So too is Jones, who will lean on a veteran offence and a young defence that he expects to be ‘very fast’ and ‘very athletic’. Facing an angry Argos team coming off a home-opening loss is a solid first challenge.
“We’ve got to go out and we’ve got to play a solid football game against a very good football team in Toronto,” said Jones. “They’re very well-coached and they didn’t play very well last week, and we’re not the only ones that know that – they know it as well.
“You’ll see a different Toronto team roll in here.”
The Argos definitely know they weren’t themselves in Week 1. They lost 42-20 to hated arch-rival Hamilton, but it’s not just the loss that stings – it’s the fact that it came in a game they’ll never be able to get back: the first ever game at BMO Field.
“We came out and we laid an egg,” defensive tackle Bryan Hall told Argonauts.ca. “Especially on defence. We just didn’t perform when we needed to.”
The O-line couldn’t keep a clean pocket for quarterback Ricky Ray, who was sacked five times, threw an interception and fumbled once. Meanwhile, Brandon Whitaker and the Argo offence couldn’t establish anything on the ground, finishing with just one yard on seven attempts – their lowest rushing total since 2009 and the lowest by any CFL team in a game since 2011.
With a new-look O-line led by off-season addition Josh Bourke and a young defence coached by another newcomer in Defensive Coordinator Rich Stubler, the Argos are still learning but expect to be much better after seeing it all on film.
“We just weren’t ourselves,” said national defensive end Ricky Foley. “It was good to see on film; make our corrections.
“We needed to see it on film and a lot more confidence this week.”
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Head Coach Scott Milanovich was particularly frustrated with the Argos’ inability to capitalize on momentum during their Week 1 loss. A slow start had them down 25-6 at one point, but two touchdowns by Vidal Hazelton within a minute made it a five-point game.
It was as though all the Ticats had to do was press down on the gas again though. Jeremiah Masoli completed 15 straight passes against the Argo defence while former Argonaut Chad Owens put the game away, and in the end the five-point third-quarter deficit was the closest the Argos could get.
On Sunday they face a stiff test against a new-look Rider team that’ll be excited to play at home, but the hostile territory coming off a loss is welcomed by the Argos’ fifth-year head coach.
“Our players love to play there. I love to play there. It’s fun,” said Milanovich. “It’s a college-type atmosphere from my perspective. Their fans are always fired up. It’s the way football should be played.
“Obviously Chris [Jones] will have them ready to play football, there’s no doubt.”
Ray will look to get the Argo offence humming again, one that’s used to finishing in the top half of the league under the offensive-minded Milanovich but last season fell to sixth overall. The veteran pivot threw for 282 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception on 26-of-36 passing in the face of a constant Ticats pass rush.
The Argos, meanwhile, will have to wait until mid-July to get another crack at it in front of their home fans, but for now they have a chance to do some early-season bonding. After playing in Regina on Thursday night, Milanovich has them heading straight to B.C. as part of a nine-day road trip.
Linebacker Marshall McFadden and receiver Kevin Elliott will not play for the Argos after each being added to the six-game injured list, opening the door for Thomas Miles to start at middle linebacker for the Boatmen and Kenny Shaw and Wallace Miles to get more touches in the receiving corps.
The Riders, meanwhile, enter their season-opener relatively unscathed but will have a pair of newcomers in the secondary in veterans and former Stampeders Buddy Jackson and Brandon McDonald, both slated to start at halfback.
Thursday’s game will also be a big matchup for Greg Jones, the former Argos linebacker who will play his first game as a Rider against his former team.

ALS, REDBLACKS KICK OFF WEEK 2 IN ALL-EAST CLASH

If the Montreal Alouette fans who head to Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium on Thursday night are anything like they’ve proven to be in the past, the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ offence is in for a loud night.
“It was a loud crowd,” said Als’ wide receiver Kenny Stafford in an interview with MontrealAlouettes.com when asked about his time visiting Montreal as an Eskimo last season. “It was a difference for me actually going to play there and playing against the Alouettes. Now I know how loud it can be for the opposing team.”
The East Division match up will be the Montreal faithful’s first peek at the Alouettes of the 2016 season, including the new-look offence led by Offensive Coordinator Anthony Calvillo.
“It’s going to be great to get back out in front of our home crowd,” said veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn. “We had the one pre-season game (this year) but this time it’s a regular season game.
“We’re going out and trying to win. We’re trying to be that team that doesn’t lose at home. We want to have that mentality.”
So far so good for the Alouettes’ offence, which will look to build on a strong start in Winnipeg. The Alouettes have a great chance at becoming that winning team in their first of three match-ups against Ottawa if they continue to buy into Calvillo’s game plan the same way they did in their 22-14 win over Winnipeg in Week 1.
“You can see now it’s Anthony Calvillo’s offence,” REDBLACKS defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon told OttawaREDBLACKS.com. “He’s running it the way they ran it when he was quarterback so you’re going to see a lot of the running game, quick passes, protect the quarterback and trying to get the ball in the hands of the play makers.
“This is starting to look like their offence and starting to look like they’re comfortable in it and we just have to try to bring what we have and try to counter it.”
Leading Montreal’s charge is 37-year-old Glenn, who completed 30-of-42 pass attempts for 332 yards and a touchdown in the season opener. That unit was in command most of the night, although two turnovers inside the red zone left points off the board.
Glenn will have plenty of options to throw to on the first half of Thursday’s double header, having found eight different receivers last week including Duron Carter, who had seven receptions for 69 yards in his first game as an Alouette after returning this off-season, and Nik Lewis, who collected 51 yards on six catches.
Lewis, Carter, Stafford and S.J. Green form one of the CFL’s most formidable pass-catching units and could make the Alouettes a much-improved offensive team throughout 2016.
Burris has reportedly been placed on the six-game injured list, meaning, for now, the REDBLACKS are Harris’s team.Trevor Harris will make his first start behind centre as a REDBLACK when Ottawa takes the field filling in for starting quarterback Henry Burris, who suffered a pinky injury on his throwing hand in the REDBLACKS’ thrilling 45-37 overtime victory against Edmonton in Week 1.
“He’ll (Burris) be back and we’ll be welcoming him with open arms when he’s back,” said Harris. “For the time being, I’ll be ready to roll. That’s why you want to make sure, for coach Campbell’s sake, you can’t have too many quality quarterbacks and my job is to come in and be a quality quarterback for this team.”
Harris wasted little time after taking the field to justify the REDBLACKS’ decision to sign him this off-season – one possession to be exact – throwing a long bomb to Chris Williams for a 71-yard touchdown on his first passing attempt. The former Argonaut pivot impressed in the rest of his debut as well, connecting on 17 of 19 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns.
“To have that confidence that no matter which one (Harris or Burris) is in there that we can still go out there and execute our game plan and beat a team like Edmonton on the road when we actually had a few mistakes,” said Williams. “We had some turn overs and a blocked punt for a touchdown so we really didn’t execute our best but we executed enough to win the game.”
Montreal’s red hot defence – a defence that allowed a league-low 14 points and only one touchdown drive last week – will be another story for Harris to deal with. Defensive end John Bowman will be the biggest pest, having already collected seven tackles and two sacks in the first game of the regular season.
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While Ottawa put up gaudy numbers against the Eskimos’ depleted secondary, points won’t come as easy against Montreal. That also means the REDBLACKS’ defence will have to be stingier than it was against Mike Reilly and the Eskimos.
“We just have to go out there and do what we do,” said REDBLACKS’ defensive back Jerrell Gavins. “It’s not necessarily about what they do, it’s more about what we can do prevent them from doing what they’re usually successful at.”
The REDBLACKS ended the 2015 season series victorious, finishing a perfect 3-0 against Montreal in their stellar second season as a franchise.
Montreal took all three the season before.
Based on history alone, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top this week.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

RAIN MAN: RAINEY’S PUNT RETURN LEADS LIONS FROM BEHIND OVER STAMPS

Chris Rainey scored two touchdowns and made a clutch second-down catch late in the game, helping the Lions grind out a 20-18 home-opening win against the Calgary Stampeders.
Rainey scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 73-yard punt return with 13:35 left in the fourth quarter while Rene Paredes missed two field goals and a convert for the Stampeders, helping the Lions come from behind to surprise the Stampeders and kick off their season with a 1-0 record.
The return by Rainey was a fitting turning point in a game dominated by defence and special teams, as both Jonathon Jennings and Bo Levi Mitchell looked ordinary while the other facets made all of the game’s biggest plays.
The Stampeders blocked three punts but failed to take advantages of some golden opportunities, including a first and goal at the one that resulted in a turnover on downs after four straight plays of failing to find the end zone, along with an early fumble by Mitchell.
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While the Stamps held a two-score lead at one point in the third, it was Rainey’s one-yard touchdown run that pulled the Lions close and then, after a quick stop by the Lions’ defence, a spectacular return by one of the game’s most electrifying return men that made the difference.
In his first opening-day start, Jennings threw for 248 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions on 24-of-42 passing. Bryan Burnham had a game-high 88 yards on five catches as he looks to emerge as a top threat for the Lions in his third season in the league.
Mitchell threw for 233 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions in the loss for the Stampeders. His favourite receiver was Kamar Jorden, who finished with 73 yards on three catches including the game’s only receiving touchdown.
With all the questions about who Mitchell might throw to in 2016, the 27-year-old Jorden answered the bell early for the Stamps’ offence when he hooked up with his quarterback for a 48-yard pickup on the game’s opening drive.
Looking to get on the board early and take the Lions’ home-opening crowd out of the game, Mitchell was sacked on a second-and-seven play by T.J. Lee on the blitz and lost a hold of the football. Big interior Mic’hael Brooks came up with the loose ball, immediately ending the threat and giving the Lions’ some early momentum.
More than anything, however, the impressive defensive play set the tone for how the rest of the game would unfold.
While all eyes were on the young pivots Mitchell and Jennings, neither could find the spark early on as defensive coordinators and former CFL players Mark Washington and DeVone Claybooks had their defences dialed in.
The Stamps got the football back and Mitchell put them back in scoring range, but Paredes missed his first field goal try from 47 yards out and Calgary opened the game with a single to make it 1-0.
Paredes wouldn’t make the same mistake on his next try, making good on a 43-yard field goal try to make it 4-0 Calgary, while Jennings and the Lions’ offence continued to struggle with back-to-back two-and-outs.
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THE CANADIAN PRESSTHE CANADIAN PRESS
Third-year Stamps starter Mitchell continued to move the ball for the Stampeders but the offence couldn’t find ways to capitalize early on. With nine minutes to go in the half and a four-point lead, Calgary was stuffed on four straight plays at the BC goal line, including an off-side accepted against the Lions, leaving another Stamps possession without anything to show for.
It wasn’t long later the Stampeders finally cracked the code and finished a drive. Mitchell completed his first three passes of the drive, including a 25-yard pickup to Lemar Durant, setting up an 18-yard touchdown to Jorden to give Calgary a 10-0 lead after Paredes missed the extra point.
The Lions responded with a late field goal from Richie Leone, but in the end the first half was defined by three blocked punts on special teams for the Stampeders and a Calgary offence that couldn’t cash in on its chances.
Jennings got in a rhythm in the third and set up a Leone field goal midway through the quarter to shrink the Lions’ deficit to four, but the Stampeders didn’t take long to respond.
While the Lions struggled in the run game in the first game after the Andrew Harris era, the Stampeders couldn’t muster much on the ground either despite having the big Jerome Messam in the lineup to replace the retired Jon Cornish. Yet when a 59-yard kickoff return by Roy Finch and a 31-yard completion to Durant put Calgary in prime scoring position, it was the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Brampton, Ont. native in Messam who finished off the drive with the two-yard touchdown.
Messam’s first touchdown of the season extended Calgary’s lead to 17-6, and the Lions needed an answer from their 24-year-old sophomore quarterback in a hurry.
You could get the sense that Jennings was getting into more of a rhythm against a young Stampeder defence as the game progressed, and he only heated up heading towards the end of the third quarter. Jennings hit Burnham for a 15-yard pickup to get sticks moving, then after a 10-yard completion to Shawn Gore drew a pass interference penalty on the Stamps’ defence.
Two more completions to Burnham and the newcomer Nick Moore put the ball at the one, and from there it was the former University of Florida running back Rainey finishing the drive off with the one-yard touchdown run. Arceneaux couldn’t haul in the pass on the two-point conversion, but the Lions cut the Stampeder lead to 17-12 at the end of the third.
A quick stop by the BC defence and it wasn’t long after that the Lions turned the tables completely. On the very next punt, Rainey  found an opening down the sideline, sprinting for a 72-yard punt return touchdown, his second major of the game.
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Moore scored on the two-point conversion, giving BC a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter — the Lions’ first lead of the game.
As Mitchell looked to mount a response on the following drive, the Lions’ defence stepped up again, this time sacking Mitchell for the second time of the night on second down to stop the Calgary offence in its tracks. Alex Bazzie’s sack of Mitchell and a punt out of bounds by Rob Maver gave the Lions solid field position just half a quarter away from starting their season with a win.
Yet you just knew the Stampeders weren’t going to give up. Their defence made a quick stop to get the ball back in the hands of Mitchell, who promptly completed four straight passes, including one to offensive lineman turned eligible receiver Dan Federkeil for 21 yards.
But immediately after Adam Bighill ended the drive with a sack, the Stampeders looked to tie the game on a 31-yard field goal by Paredes with just over three minutes remaining. After struggling with two early misses, including an extra point, the veteran kicker again fired wide.
Thanks to some effective running by Jennings and a highlight-reel grab by Rainey at the sticks in addition to a first down run by Jeremiah Johnson, that was the last chance the Stampeders would get.
Johnson finished with 44 yards on nine carries to pace the Lions’ rushing attack while Messam, replacing the retired Jon Cornish, was held to 16 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against a stingy BC run defence. Moore was an active part of the Lions’ passing attack in his first game back in B.C. after signing with the Lions, while Emmanuel Arceneaux was held to just 39 yards on four carries.
The win for the Lions ended a run of four straight wins for the Stampeders, including this year’s pre-season game and last year’s Western Semi-Final. It also puts them all alone at the top of the West Division following Week 1, as the Stamps, Eskimos and Bombers are 0-1 while the Riders were idle. They’ll look to keep the momentum rolling with a visit to Tim Hortons Field to face the Ticats on Canada Day.
After allowing only three points in the first half and leading through most of the first three quarters, the Stampeders let one slip away Saturday night and will try to get back on the board in their home-opener, also on Canada Day vs. the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

REDBLACKS REVENGE: OTTAWA WINS GREY CUP REMATCH IN OT THRILLER

The Ottawa REDBLACKS got their revenge over the Edmonton Eskimos, winning the Grey Cup rematch 45-37 in an overtime thriller.
It was Trevor Harris, not Henry Burris, who led the REDBLACKS to victory after the reigning Most Outstanding Player appeared to jam the pinky finger on his throwing hand in the third quarter and could not return to the game.
Following a 19-yard rush by rookie running back Trevon Van, Harris found Brad Sinopoli in the end zone to give the REDBLACKS the lead in the extra frame. Greg Ellingson would convert on the two-point attempt and the defence did the rest, stopping Mike Reilly on third down to clinch the victory.
The win was the REDBLACKS’ first over the Eskimos since joining the league in 2014.
Harris was impressive in his Ottawa debut, completing 17 of 19 passes for 292 yards and throwing three touchdowns. Burris threw for 251 yards with a touchdown and a pick.
The final minute of the game featured a 39-yard field goal by Sean Whyte to give the Eskimos a 37-34 lead, but Chris Milo booted a 55-yarder to tie the game as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Harris continued to lead the REDBLACKS offence in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 31-24 after a 38-yard Milo field goal. Adarius Bowman and the Esks responded with a 40-yard gain and Whyte added a 35-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 31-27. It didn’t take long for Ottawa to answer back as Ellingson took a short pass 56 yards downfield. Milo hit another field goal to put the REDBLACKS back up by seven. Derel Walker delivered a returning blow, moving the Esks 64 yards downfield before John White punched in a touchdown to tie the game.
White finished the game with a rushing touchdown on 43 yards and 11 carries and a receiving touchdown on 51 yards.
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The offensive showdown started right on the opening drive. A 20-yard reception by White was the highlight of the Esks’ opening drive that ended in a single.
Starting at midfield midway through the first quarter after pinning the Esks deep in their zone, Burris and the REDBLACKS went to work. Burris threaded a 19-yard pass to Ernest Jackson but their drive would end there. In the red zone, Van fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Kenny Ladler to end the threat.
In the final minutes of the opening frame, Arnaud Gascon-Nadon sacked Reilly in the end zone, putting the REDBLACKS up 2-1 with the safety. They would add a single on their next drive to go up 3-1 and carry a lead into the second quarter.
A pair of first downs by Jake Harty and Brad Sinopoli moved the chains downfield for Ottawa but they could not put any more points on the board.
Reilly and the Esks offence went back to work, hooking up with new weapon Chris Getzlaf for a 21-yard gain and Nate Coehoorn to move the team into field goal distance. Sean Whyte hit a 29-yard field goal to put the Esks back up 4-3.
A series of short passes from Burris brought the REDBLACKS into scoring territory where Van cut through a seam for a 14-yard rush. Kienan Lafrance scored the first touchdown of the game on a four-yard reception and Ernest Jackson caught the two-point conversion as Ottawa went ahead 11-4.
A 55-yard reception by Walker brought Edmonton into the midfield. Bowman caught back-to-back passes before John White found a hole for a 27-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game.
Following a 12-yard Sinopoli reception, Milo nailed a 45-yard field goal in the last play of the first half to give the REDBLACKS the 14-11 lead.
The REDBLACKS opened the second half on offence but couldn’t get anything going. Milo’s punt attempt was blocked by Ruben Frank and the rookie brought it back for a touchdown to give the Esks the lead back. The defence would get back to work as Odell Willis intercepted Burris to put the Esks in great field position. Edmonton would hit another field goal to put themselves ahead 21-14.
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Not long later, Burris appeared to jam his finger and left the field with the training staff. Off-season signee Harris, in his first play as a member of the REDBLACKS, came into the game and immediately hooked up with Chris Williams on a 71-yard touchdown to tie the game 21-21. It was the longest pass of Harris’ career.
The seesaw battle continued but moved in favour of the REDBLACKS as Harris and Williams connected again, this time on a 37-yard major as Ottawa regained the lead, 28-21.
Reilly and the Esks picked up the pace on offence, quickly moving downfield and adding another Whyte field goal as the third quarter dwindled down.
This marked the first matchup of Esks head coach Jason Maas against his former team. The ex-REDBLACKS offensive coordinator left for Edmonton in the off-season following the departure of Chris Jones.
Next week, the REDBLACKS visit the Montreal Alouettes while the Eskimos get an early bye.

STAMPS, LIONS HEAT UP WESTERN RIVALRY IN B.C.

The BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders are getting a little close for comfort these days.
The two West Division rivals kick off their season at Vancouver’s BC Place on Saturday night, where they’ll meet for the fourth time in five games.
“We don’t like them, they don’t like us,” Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian told BCLions.com. “The most physical team is going to win.”
The Stampeders took last year’s season series 2-0 and outscored the Lions by 33 points before winning the Western Semi-Final in convincing fashion, 35-9. As though the Lions didn’t already have a bitter taste in their mouths, the Stamps went ahead and claimed the pre-season finale in Vancouver last weekend, 31-21.
On the back half of a Saturday night CFL double-header, now it becomes real. Dave Dickenson will make his debut as a head coach while the all-time wins leader Wally Buono puts on the headset for the first time since 2011 for the Lions in what will be an important starting point for both sides.
“The first two games (pre-season) were meaningful too,” Buono insisted. “I enjoyed the experience. It’s been a month now that we’ve been working at this and obviously this is an important game.
“It’s important to win a game against a very football team and it’s important to win at home.”
For the Lions it’s a chance to end what’s been a difficult stretch of games against the Stampeders and, more importantly, assert themselves early on in what could be one of the most heated West Division races in recent memory.
Despite a busy off-season with many veteran additions and the return of Buono to the sideline, the Lions have been one of the least-talked about teams heading into the 2016 season.
Former Ticats Brandon Stewart and Mike Edem bolster a veteran secondary that includes breakout halfback T.J. Lee and long-time Lion Ryan Phillips.
Also getting plenty of talk coming out of camp is Loucheiz Purifoy, who will line up at nickel for the Lions. The 23-year-old is a dark horse on the Lions’ defence and should have plenty of opportunities to make plays.
“The thing about him, he makes plays,” said Buono. “The more playmakers you have, especially in the secondary, those are things that help you win the game.”
Elimimian is hardly new to the team but his presence was badly missed in 2015 after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury back in the summer. With Elimimian and Adam Bighill, the Lions have the last two Most Outstanding Defensive Player winners, also known as Team 100 and the league’s fiercest linebacker duo in the league.
If the Lions’ defence can return to 2011 form, the year the Lions won the Grey Cup on home turf and Buono’s last year on the sideline, this is a team that could cause plenty of trouble in the West.“I’m excited to suit up,” said Elimimian. “Any time you don’t play, you miss it. I think we have the best linebackers in the CFL.”
Of course it starts and ends with Jonathon Jennings, who will make his first opening day start. Jennings is under huge expectations this season after a flashy 23-year-old debut season in the league.
“He’s got a persona that you want quarterbacks to have,” Buono said. “He interacts and gets along well with everybody, yet he’s not afraid to take responsibility or to be a leader.”
In addition to a new-look defence and a young quarterback heading into his sophomore season, the Lions will also test their new-look offensive line. First round pick Charles Vaillancourt will make his first career start at guard, while at tackle Antonio Johnson takes over for Levy Adcock who is recovering from pneumonia.
While the Lions are out to make some noise and prove people wrong, the Stampeders may have their own chip on their shoulder. They’ve heard their fair share of doubts from prognosticators this off-season – despite going 14-4 last year and losing in the playoffs only to the eventual Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos in the Western Final.
Plenty of changes have occurred in Cowtown, especially on the sideline where John Hufnagel turns over the headset to Dickenson, the former Stamps and Lions quarterback who will make his head coaching debut.
The Stampeders also lost veteran defensive coordinator Rich Stubler along with defensive mainstays Keon Raymond and Juwan Simpson, while on the offensive side of the ball Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller departed to the NFL while Jon Cornish retired.
Still, 26-year-old Bo Levi Mitchell has emerged as an elite CFL quarterback and gives his team a chance to win on any given night.
“Oh man, we’re itching to get out there,” said Mitchell. “It was nice to get out there and play with the guys, but we know we’re gonna see a different BC team.
“They can put points on the board fast and we know they have a stout defence so it’s going to be a tight game.”
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mitchell will throw to Marquay McDaniel, Bakari Grant and, among others, Kamar Jorden, considered among many a candidate to break out in 2016.
Jerome Messam will carry the football for the Stamps after being acquired late last season in a trade with the Roughriders, while paving the way will be 2016 CFL Draft pick Roman Grozman, who makes his first career start at a position he’s never played before at centre while Pierre Lavertu recovers from an injury.
“I think I had maybe three of four practices in university,” said Grozman, a graduate of Concordia. “I pretty much learned it here. Any opportunity to get on the field or the roster I’ll take it.”
Safety Josh Bell will not play for the Stamps due to injury. Jamar Wall slides over to his spot while Ciante Evans fills in at halfback. Tommie Campbell will make his first career start at corner opposite Fred Bennett on a new-look Stampeders secondary.
For the Lions, Jeremiah Johnson will get the call at running back a year after leading the league in touchdowns. He has big shoes to fill after long-time Lion Andrew Harris departed to Winnipeg as a free agent.

ESKS, REDBLACKS KICK OFF SEASON WITH ANNUAL GREY CUP REMATCH

One team stood in the way last November for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, who face more of the same on Saturday night when they kick off their 2016 season against the Edmonton Eskimos.
The annual Week 1 Grey Cup rematch takes place at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, where the Green and Gold will raise the championship banner nearly seven months after a 26-20 victory in the 103rd Grey Cup Championship over Ottawa.
For the REDBLACKS there’s no doubt it will be an evening of mixed emotions, as they themselves were just one play away from now being called the defending Grey Cup Champions.
“You never want to lose a championship,” REDBLACKS linebacker Damaso Munoz told OttawaREDBLACKS.com. “But we did and it made us better and stronger as a team and as a family.”
The REDBLACKS held a fourth-quarter lead in that game until Eskimos short-yardage quarterback Jordan Lynch scored what would turn out to be the game-winning touchdown. It was a bitter end to a season that will never be forgotten in the nation’s capital, as Ottawa defied the odds and bounced back from a two-win season with a 12-6 record, an East Division title and an appearance in the Grey Cup.
But while some, like Munoz, will use that game as motivation for Saturday’s opener, others have moved on.
“It’s hard to forget, but at the same time it’s two different teams and a new season. It’s a totally different situation,” said receiver Brad Sinopoli. “It’s not motivation for our team. We’re not talking about last year, we’re just going in trying to get our first victory.”
For both Munoz and Sinopoli and everyone else, that’s what matters most – starting the season 1-0. The matchup between these emerging cross-division rivals may be the same, but much more has changed.
For starters, Jason Maas has gone from being the offensive coordinator of the Ottawa REDBLACKS to the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. Maas orchestrated the CFL’s number one offensive attack last season but was hired by the Eskimos after they lost Chris Jones and almost all of their coaching staff to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
What’s more, the first- and third-ranked defences in the CFL (Ottawa and Edmonton respectively) are each only half intact.
REDBLACKS rookie and 22-year-old Jonathan Rose will face a tough first task as the team’s starting corner against Maas’s aggressive, up-tempo offence as Ottawa moves forward without defensive backs Brandyn Thompson and 2015 All-Star Jovon Johnson.
Aston Whiteside makes his return to the REDBLACKS’ depth chart after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, but outside of him and Zack Evans it’ll be all new faces on Defensive Coordinator Mark Nelson’s defensive line.
If pre-season is any indication, Burris and the REDBLACKS are ready to pick up exactly where they left off late last season — something they’re excited to do now that it’ll all count for real.Despite all the changes on defence, however, Ottawa’s offence will provide some semblance of continuity this season — even without Maas in the fold. Jaime Elizondo arrives from the Argos with the same offensive philosophy as Maas, while Most Outstanding Player and franchise quarterback Henry Burris will have his four 1,000-yard receivers from last season to throw to.
“Training camp is training camp,” said Burris. “You enjoy the process of coming out here and practising and getting ready for the season but you get to a point where it’s like, man, enough of this, let’s get to the real stuff.”
The Eskimos will have a few major wrinkles themselves. They’re the defending champions and the odds-on favourite to win it again this season, but to do that they’ll have to overcome some big changes on both sides of the ball.
It was Jones who helped spark the turnaround from 4-14 in 2013 to 14-4 in 2015, but now he’s gone and the Eskimos are Maas’s team. Maas brings from Ottawa the same offensive philosophy as the departed Steve McAdoo but will look to speed things up the same way he did last year when the REDBLACKS led the CFL in total offence (386.3 yards per game), passing yards (322.6 yards per game) and average time of possession (33:10).
Grey Cup MVP Mike Reilly, named the CFL’s top player for 2016 by TSN, teams up with 2015 league-leading receiver Adarius Bowman and Most Outstanding Rookie Derel Walker to form a dynamic offensive attack, but the Eskimos know this year they’ll have a target on their back.
“It’s different for us because this is the first time we’re defending the Grey Cup in more than a decade,” Reilly told Eskimos.com. “We’ve certainly been on the other end of it and we know what it’s like to play against a championship team. Last year was Calgary. They were getting everybody’s best shot and this year, we’ll be getting everybody’s best shot.”
The biggest changes for the Eskimos come on the defensive side of the ball, where Pat Watkins and Marcell Young are the only returning starters in the defensive secondary. Aaron Grymes left for the NFL while Otha Foster joined Chris Jones in Saskatchewan. Just last week they learned they’d be without starting corner John Ojo for the season after he suffered a ruptured Achilles.
Recent free agent signing Cord Parks moves from halfback to corner while Deion Belue (halfback) and Kenny Ladler (SAM linebacker) are young players expected to take on major roles for the Eskimos this season.
Either way that unit will have its hands full against Burris and his array of game-breaking receivers.
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“When the team gets to go against a quarterback like this with a strong arm, we look forward to playing against him,” said Deon Lacey, the Esks’ starting WILL linebacker. “The guys are eager to get it rolling and knowing we have the Grey Cup rematch, the guys are eager to get it done.”
“They have to be tenacious and be able to do it for 60 minutes,” added Maas, who knows this week’s opponent particularly well.
For all the off-season talk about whether the Eskimos are still the top dog in the West, the team isn’t thinking about any of that or what happened last year.
“There’s not been a thought of the past since we started training camp,” said Maas. “We all took a moment of silence to congratulate everybody and since then, it’s been ‘what have you done for me lately.’”
“This is what you play for,” added veteran middle linebacker JC Sherritt. “These are the games that count. The goal is to start fast in this league. Right out of the gate, we get one of the best offences in the league to test us, so we’re excited.”

Friday, June 24, 2016

ALOUETTE AIR SHOW TAKES FLIGHT IN SEASON-OPENING WIN OVER BOMBERS

 Duron Carter picked up exactly where he left off while Kevin Glenn couldn’t be stopped, as the Alouette offence took flight in a 22-14 win over the Bombers on Friday night.
It was a date Bombers fans had circled on the calendar all off-season as many new faces made their debut in Winnipeg royal blue, but in the end it was the Alouettes making the statement with the season-opening win.
Glenn threw for 332 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-42 passing in his first opening-day start as an Alouette, while Carter caught a game-high eight passes for 96 yards as the Als’ offence combined for over 400 yards in a winning effort.
Equally impressive was Montreal’s defence under Noel Thorpe, which stymied Drew Willy all night, recording five quarterback sacks and forcing one interception.
Andrew Harris was effective in his long-awaited Bomber debut, rushing for 80 yards on 13 carries (a 6.2-yard average) and chipping in six catches for 40 yards. Ryan Smith was quiet along with the rest of the Bombers’ passing attack, recording three catches for 28 yards.
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Weston Dressler made three catches in the first quarter before leaving the game with an injury following a hit along the sideline. He did not return, finishing the game with 22 yards on three catches.
While the Bomber offence struggled to get in sync out of the gate, an hour-long delay due to lightning in the area put a damper on Investors Group Field early. A 41-yard field goal by Boris Bede and a safety conceded by the Bombers gave the Als a 5-0 lead through 15 minutes, while the Als’ defence continued to set the pace by holding Willy at bay.
The Alouettes continued to carry the play as Glenn was comfortable and efficient against the Bombers’ Richie Hall defence, but a dominant first half by Chris Randle that included an interception and a fumble recovery, both in the shadow of his own goal-post, kept the Alouettes out of the end zone through most of the first 30 minutes.
Still, Willy and his new acquisitions minus Dressler failed to take advantage. Glenn completed six straight passes, including a highlight-reel tip-toe catch by Carter along the sideline, setting up a one-yard touchdown run by Brandon Bridge on second down to put the Als ahead 12-0.
Bad turned to worse for the Bombers when Chip Cox intercepted Willy’s pass on the very next offensive play, taking it deep into Winnipeg territory on the 30-yard return. But it wasn’t long after that Randle picked up his second turnover of the game when Sutton fumbled just in front of the Bombers’ goal line.
Medlock missed his first field goal try as a Bomber soon after, hitting the upright from 47 yards out with half a minute left in the second quarter — but down 12-0 the Bombers could go into the room at halftime knowing they dodged a bullet and were still very much in the football game.
Not lost among the big-name acquisitions by the Bombers, it was the strong-legged Medlock, also the most accurate kicker in CFL history, that gave Winnipeg some much-needed momentum early in the third quarter. Medlock drilled a 58-yard field goal right down the middle of the uprights, tying the longest field goal in Bomber history and cutting Winnipeg’s deficit to 12-3.
But any bit of momentum the Bombers mustered was quickly washed away. On the very next possession, Glenn and his hot hand found Carter over the top on the deep ball to give the Alouettes the ball inside the five. Glenn went right to S.J. Green along the left sideline in the end zone, and the veteran duo connected for six to extend Montreal’s lead to 19-3.
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The Alouettes added a field goal to extend the lead to 19, while the Bombers showed signs of life midway through the fourth when Willy moved them inside the red zone. But on a third-down gamble, Willy was stuffed on a great individual effort by Bear Woods, turning over the football and putting it back in Montreal’s hands.
The Als conceded a safety to make it a 16-point game, but the Bombers were again stuffed on third down on another sack by Montreal’s defensive front, this one from Jesse Joseph.
Winnipeg made it a little bit interesting late in the fourth when a highlight-reel 63-yard grab by Darvin Adams set up a Willy to Adams connection for the Bombers’ first touchdown of the game. The Bombers converted the two-point conversion to make it an eight-point game.
Just when it seemed like the Als had the clock wound down, the Bombers made a stop and Bede pushed a rare miss to give the Bombers life. Willy took the field near his own goal line with 55 seconds left, but needing the whole field and eight more points, time ran out on the Bombers.
Last year’s sack-leader in John Bowman got off to a strong start in his 2016 campaign recording a pair of sacks while adding a team-high seven defensive tackles. But at the end of the day it was Anthony Calvillo and Jacques Chapdelaine’s offence that soared for the Alouettes as six different receivers caught three or more passes.
Ian Wild led the game with eight tackles for the Bombers while Randle finished his day with six tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Bede hit two of three field goals in the win while Medlock finished his first game as a Bomber with one successful kick on two tries.
After a slow start, Willy finished the game with 303 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception on 25-of-34 passing.
The Als will look to capitalize on their early momentum in their home opener on June 30 in a pivotal matchup with the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
For the Bombers it’ll be back to the drawing board after a frustrating home-opener. They’ll travel to Calgary in Week 2 for a Canada Day matchup with Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders.