Beat Montreal? Coming out of last week, the Redblacks hope to fight to the end

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The Ottawa Redblacks hope to close out an agonizing and mentally draining CFL season with a victory.

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It will not be easy to ignore the previous four months. But as the losses have mounted – they’ve had 11 of them in 13 games – Redblacks coach Paul LaPolice is telling his guys to focus on Friday’s CFL season finale in Montreal, not in what happened yesterday or the day before or last week or the past. month. Just worry about Friday.

It didn’t go well for Ottawa vs. Montreal this season, with the Als winning all three games. The last time the teams played in Montreal, on October 11, it was a 20-16 victory for the Als. But it was one of those games that could have been a game for the Redblacks, who were probably the better team that day. The stakes are at stake for the Als, who are struggling to make the playoffs. They are tied with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for second place in the East. Whoever finishes second will get an extra game at home, hosting the East semi-final next weekend.

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“I just finished talking to the guys about being as consistent in our preparation as we can,” LaPolice said. “Make sure we are focused and ready to play and beat Montreal. We certainly want to play hard, play well and we want to end with a victory. I don’t know how it will unfold. Whatever it sounds like, we just need to score one more point than they do, be it scoring early, scoring late, driving to win with a field goal, whatever it looks like.

LaPolice said he has not decided who will start at quarterback. Duck Hodges started the team’s final game against Toronto, a 23-20 loss, but it’s also possible Caleb Evans will come back as No. 1.

“They’re doing equal repeats and we’ll figure it out,” LaPolice said. “(Caleb) has had two chances against them. But we’ll see. “

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There is a possibility that there are other substitutions.

“We’ll probably have one or two roster changes, but we’re still playing to win,” LaPolice said.

A PURPLE CHANGE: Redblacks linebacker Micah Awe wants young soccer players to have opportunities. It’s not always easy to be seen and have the opportunity to play college football somewhere. So Awe developed an app, PurpleShift (it’s free for athletes, you can find it in the app store), that helps kids get healthy, get fit, and get recruited. It has become the official recruitment tool for Football Canada.

“Ottawa is a great soccer city,” Awe said. “You have the Gee-Gees, you have Carleton, you have the Redblacks. There is a lot of talent here and I feel like Canada in general has not had a fair chance to recruit. Many kids think, ‘If I don’t go (Division 1), I’m no good.’ Go ask (Buffalo Bills starting quarterback) Josh Allen, who went to a (college) and then went to Wyoming. Look at it now. It’s not about where you start, it’s about where you end. Purple Shift and Football Canada can really work together to give children the opportunity to pursue their dreams. One chance, that’s all I had. Somehow I became a professional footballer. There are a lot of kids who think ‘I’m just not cut out for that’. IM in Canada. We don’t even play good football. ” Do not worry about that. Get a chance. And then watch where the chips fall. (The app) is free and gives everyone a try. I want stories to come out. My personal goal is for a kid to be 14 years old, to come here and then play college football, be successful, and become a professional. Those are the stories I want. “

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Awe came up with the idea almost four years ago and started working on it.

Said Awe: “COVID came in and I thought, ‘Let me commit to this.’ It took me a year to finish it. I love to play soccer and I love to do this. I always want it to be free for athletes so everyone has a fair chance. “

THE END AROUND: The Redblacks are back at No. 9 in the CFL Power Rankings. They have been ranked last in all but two of this season’s Power Rankings (for two weeks, they sat at No. 8, ahead of Edmonton) … LB / DB Don Unamba (hip) did not practice Monday .. QB Dominique Davis was in uniform on Monday, but will not play on Friday… LaPolice fell ill on his team’s bye week. “That’s what happens,” he said. “Usually you get your adrenaline pumping the last few weeks and the playoffs. Suddenly you stop playing and your body says, ‘Okay, now you’re going to get sick.’ I said, ‘No, no, I have another week.’ “The coach says he’s feeling better now … When asked about watching from home as the other teams start the playoffs next weekend, LaPolice said,” I hate when other people are playing and you aren’t. It is difficult to handle. But there is work to be done. There is also free time. You have to revisit your family and catch up on things you couldn’t do. “