OTTAWA — The Toronto Argonauts will look to tighten their grip on the East Division as they travel to the nation’s capital for the first time this season, taking on the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The Meeting between the provincial rivals will kick off the first Saturday tripleheader of the season.
The last time Ottawa and Toronto faced each other was a Week 8 meeting which saw the REDBLACKS get the best of the Boatmen in a 23-13 road win from BMO Field.
Entering Week 14 the Argonauts have an opportunity to tighten their hold of first place in the East Division. With their 28-8 Labour Day win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto took a four point lead over the Montreal Alouettes in the East Division standings. A win over the REDBLACKS would help keep some separation between them as the playoff race heats up.
Ottawa is coming off an impressive win of their own, as they the dominant play of their defensive unit led them to a 38-24 win over Montreal to kickoff Labour Day Weekend. The REDBLACKS trail the second-place Alouettes by just two points ahead of their matchup Friday with the Argos.
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In Toronto’s win over Hamilton it was receiver Brandon Banks and running back AJ Ouellette who seemingly powered the Boatmen offence. Banks caught a pair of passes for 80 yards with a touchdown and also recorded a rushing touchdown on an immaculately designed reverse-options play.
Ouellette continued to show signs of steady improvement and reliability, which has contributed to an increase in his offensive role as of late. The Toronto back carried the ball 11 times for 46 yards in the contest and once again proved to be more than reliable in passing situations, caching five passes for 70 yards.
The duo will try to repeat those efforts against a REDBLACKS defence that allows 273.4 passing yards per game and 105.5 rushing yards a game, the third most yardage league-wide in both categories.
With a supporting cast of Markeith Ambles, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., DaVaris Daniels and an emerging Damonte Coxie, the talented group of Toronto receivers should prove to be a significant test for the REDBLACKS secondary.
Through the first 13 weeks of the season, the trio of Ambles, Gittens and Daniels have combined for 1,606 receiving yards and eight of McLeod Bethel-Thompson‘s 15 passing touchdowns.
Bethel-Thompson was happy with his team’s overall performance, but knows there is always room for improvement, starting Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital.
“I thought we started fast and then we lost it a little bit in the second quarter,” Bethel-Thompson told Argonauts.com following the Labour Day Classic. “We rode that wave which was really good, so to play for three quarters is a step in the right direction. We have to use it. There’s stuff to clean up but there’s always stuff to clean up. After Labour Day is when you have to be playing your best ball.”
The Argos defence had no problem containing the Ticats offence in front of a sold out home-crowd in Hamilton. It was the fifth time this season that the Toronto defence has held opposing offences to 20 points or less. On a per game basis, the Boatmen have surrendered an average of 23.4 points to opposing teams, the third fewest in the league.
As of late the Argonauts defensive unit has been headlined by defensive back Jamal Peters. Peters currently leads the league with six interceptions on the season and has recorded five interceptions over his last two games.
As happy as Peters has been with his recent caliber of play, the defensive knows that it only means he has to continue to build on his play, and help his defence.
“We have to keep going,” Peters told Argonauts.com. “I want to keep doing what I’m doing and try to stay consistent. We always try to set the tone, we know we’re a good defence.”
Ottawa quarterback Nick Arbuckle is coming off one of his best performances of the season in their win over Montreal. Arbuckle completed 20 passes, throwing for 313 yards and a touchdown as he helped lead Ottawa to their third win of the season.
REDBLACKS receiver Jaelon Acklin had a stellar performance in the win, the Ottawa playmaker set a new career-high in receiving yards as he reeled in seven of his 10 targets for 159 yards, which included a 64-yard catch and run. Acklin continues to be the team’s top receiving target and for good reason, entering Week 14 he leads the CFL 963 receiving yards.
While Acklin dominated headlines with his electrifying performance, the REDBLACKS have found offence from a variety of sources this season. Devonte Williams is coming off a 15 carry, 72 yard game. While quarterback Caleb Evans rushed for his ninth touchdown against Montreal, tying him for the league lead.
Defensively, the REDBLACKS allow an average of 24.2 points per game and are led by defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV. The Ottawa pass-rusher has had a breakout season thus far, and leads the CFL with 10 sacks ahead of Saturday’s game with Toronto.
Interceptions have been hard to come by for Ottawa, who have a league low eight on the season. However, they appear to be building momentum when it comes to making plays in the secondary, as they’ve intercepted three passes in the last two games.
As the battle for playoff seeding and divisional positioning heats up, both the REDBLACKS and Argonauts are looking to extend their winning streaks to three games and earn crucial points in the East Division standings.
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