One year to the day that he last took a snap under centre for the Ottawa REDBLACKS, Jeremiah Masoli is back.
The star quarterback makes his return to the lineup, Saturday, after a year-long absence due to injury, and he will be in familiar territory. Masoli leads the REDBLACKS against his former team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as Ottawa looks to record a second straight win. Kickoff goes at 7:00pm, from Tim Horton’s Field.
It was Tyrie Adams at pivot for the REDBLACKS, in Week 4, leading the team to a 26-7 home win over the Edmonton Elks. Adams threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to fullback Marco Dubois, and the first rushing major of running back Demontre Tuggle’s CFL career put the the game away late, along with four field goals from Lewis Ward.
Ottawa enjoyed another standout performance from Barron Miles’ defensive unit, forcing three turnovers, and terrorizing rookie quarterback Jarret Doege. Linebacker Douglas Coleman, and defensive backs Brandin Dandridge, and Damon Webb each notched interceptions, while defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin, Cleyon Laing, Kene Onyeka, and Bryce Carter all sacked the quarterback.
The game did give way to yet more unfortunate injury news for the REDBLACKS, with Adams suffering an ACL injury, and being ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Head Coach Bob Dyce, and Special Teams Coach Cory McDiarmid make one change, with Savon Scarver getting a look as the team’s kick returner.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Hamilton stands as the lone winless team in the East Division, struggling in the absence of prized free agent acquisition, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.
Before a Week 4 bye, the Tabbies were shelled on home field by the Montreal Alouettes, dropping a 38-12 result. Quarterback Matt Shiltz threw for 345 yards, and a pair of interceptions, also rushing for 24 yards on four carries. Tim White paced the receiving core with 143 yards through the air, with D’haquille Williams a close second, with 102. All 12 points came by way of field goals.
Defensively, Hamilton got to the quarterback with frequency; logging four sacks courtesy of defensive linemen Malik Carney, and Ted Laurent, linebacker Jameer Thurman, and defensive back Chris Edwards, respectively. Edwards was fined after the game, however, for delivering a shove to Als receiver Austin Mack after the final whistle.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
Jeremiah Masoli, quarterback, on his recovery, and how it feels to return to action: “I’ve grown to love this game so much and I’m thankful to still be where I’m at. I’m thankful to the organization, the front office and the coaches. Not one time did they ever pressure me into coming back sooner than I felt ready.”
Jaelon Acklin, receiver, on facing his old team in the Ti-Cats: “I’m a businessman. This is business for me. When we step between the white lines, I’m not really friends with anybody other than my teammates. It’ll be about the vibe of the game. If they want to talk trash (to me), they’d better ball. You’d better walk like you talk. If not, you look like a fool. We’re all entertainers, we’re all businessmen. My goal is to go out and make plays. If they want to try and play physical and hit us in the mouth, we have to do the same thing.”
Bob Dyce, Head Coach, on Masoli’s impact on the rest of the team: “These guys really follow him. When it comes to meetings, he’s like a secondary coach to have there as well. A lot of players, when they’re hurt, they kind of sink back. He’s got such a strong character, it still carried through even while he was down.”
BROADCAST INFORMATION
7:00 PM ET | TV (ENG): TSN3 / RDS (French) / CFL+ | Radio: EN: TSN 1200, SiriusXM (ch. 167) | FR: 104,7 FM Outaouais
