The Alouettes’ regular season ends Friday night (7:30 p.m.) at Percival-Molson Stadium, when they face the Ottawa Rouge et Noir for the fourth time this season. Khari Jones and his players have won the first three matches and want to complete the sweep.
“I told our players earlier today that I felt we had a winning team and I would like our record to reflect that,” Jones said Thursday.
A win would effectively allow the Birds to finish the regular season with an 8-6 record. Above all, they would thus retain their hopes of playing the Eastern semi-final against the Tiger-Cats in Montreal rather than Hamilton on November 28. If the Alouettes win, the Tiger-Cats will have to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday in Hamilton to play in the semi-final at Tim Horton’s Field.
Unless Friday night’s game is one-sided, Jones has confirmed that Trevor Harris will play it all, which won’t be a luxury considering it will only be his third start with the team. Annoyed by injuries, Eugene Lewis and Tony Washington won’t be in uniform, but any healthy starters will put on their shoulder pads.
PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
Eugene lewis
“Even if we were sure to finish first, I would like to play. It is our profession and there is a limited number of games that we can play in a career. Missing a game just to rest? Football is my job and I love to play, ”said linebacker Patrick Levels.
Washington and guard Philippe Gagnon (lower leg) will miss the game against Ottawa on the offensive line, but center Sean Jamieson will make a comeback. With a knee injury, Jamieson has missed the last six games after he very good campaign up to this point.
Jamieson had played as a blocker and guard in the college ranks and in his first seasons with the Alouettes. Some in the organization, however, believed for several years now that Jamieson could be successful in the middle of the line and it has proven to be this season.
“I had never played center before, but I was always curious about what all the players on the offensive line had to do with each play. The biggest adjustment was to familiarize myself with the handovers.” , said the Western University alumnus and native of Winnipeg.
Strength in numbers
Particularly because of the quarterback changes the Alouettes had to make, the offensive performance was uneven for most of the season. The same could be said about defense in the first half of the season, but coordinator Barron Miles’ unit has been playing pretty well for the past month or two.
“I think it was a process and we all ended up finding our role within the group. All players now know what to do and what is expected of them, ”explained Levels.
There aren’t really any star players in Miles’ group. On the other hand, there is no weak link, either. The starting 12 players, as well as several of the reservists, are efficient and solid and take turns making key plays.
“I agree with this analysis. We always try to make sure that the 12 players in the unit work as a whole, ”agreed Miles.
“I think that is indeed the case. Our entire defense is strong. There are several players who can hurt an opponent’s attack, so they can’t focus on stopping one in particular, ”added Jones.
PHOTO GRAHAM HUGHES, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
Khari jones
” The list is long. Almondo Sewell and Nick Usher play very well; David Ménard is having the best season of his career; Jamal Davis II is playing extremely well, too; then there is Michael Wakefield. That’s not to mention Chris Ackie and the linebackers, and our defensive backs, who are all opportunistic players, ”Jones said.
A championship defense?
Miles is not the type to throw flowers at his players. So he did a few laps of the ice before answering this question.
” We’ll see. I can’t wait to see how we play, we always prepare to achieve this goal. But I would be crazy to say that we don’t have the manpower to win a championship, because that’s our goal. ”
But before thinking about the Tiger-Cats and the playoffs, the Alouettes will first have to focus on the Rouge et Noir and not take it lightly.
“It’s not hard not to look too far ahead because there will be a stake in Friday’s game. We will have ample time to prepare well afterwards. We know the Tiger-Cats well and they know us well, too, ”said Jones.