Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the big news stories and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
AJ Ouellette knows a good rushing attack can help when in enemy territory.
He and the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offence will look to keep the Montreal crowd quiet on the road this weekend when the Riders take on the Montreal Alouettes.
“It’s always fun when you quiet a crowd no matter where you are going,” Ouellette said. “When you can hear the crickets chirp and watch the seats clear out early, it’s nice.”
Ouellette and the Riders’ rushing attack will look to continue its success this season. The Riders have the third-most rushing yards per game, averaging 106.7 per contest. Montreal’s defence has been stout against the run thus far, only surrendering 75.6 yards per game. Only the Riders are surrendering less this season (66.9 yards).
The Riders’ running back will also face a former teammate in the Als’ quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Both were members of the Toronto Argonauts and won the 2022 Grey Cup in Regina.
“He challenges everyone on the offence to just improve and be the best version they can be,” Ouellette said. “He was a great leader that we had and stepped in when he needed to. He was cool and calm all the way through. He was a great teammate and a great player in the league.
“He’s a vocal leader and knows what it takes to win. When we had a chat in the locker room in Toronto and he said, ‘If I ever get the opportunity to have the keys to a team, I know what it takes to win,’ because he watched so many great quarterbacks do it, so he knows what it takes.”
With Davis Alexander on the six-game injured list, Bethel-Thompson will start a second-straight game for the Alouettes. The veteran led an Alouettes comeback against the Calgary Stampeders last week.
The Riders will take their 6-1 record and head to Montreal for a showdown on Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.
“(We’re 6-1) but have a long season in front of us. Hopefully, we can keep stacking wins,” Ouellette said.
Montreal hasn’t been a kind place to the Riders in recent seasons, with the club’s last win there coming in 2021.
“The field is a little different (there) and before it was always the horns and all that,” Ouellette said. “They are just a good team at home and the crowd rallies behind the energy and the team feeds off of it.”
The Riders will be without wide receiver Sam Emilus, who will miss this week due to a knee injury.
