OTTAWA \u2014 Much of the Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 season has been defined by adversity. The CFL club will look to change that Friday against the B.C. Lions.<\/p>\n
OTTAWA \u2014 Much of the Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 season has been defined by adversity. The CFL club will look to change that Friday against the B.C. Lions. <\/p>\n
The 3-8 Redblacks will try to end a two-game skid when they meet the 5-6 Lions in the Week 14 opener at TD Place. Both teams are coming off bye weeks.<\/p>\n
With incumbent Dru Brown sidelined with a knee injury, Dustin Crum will start at quarterback for the last-place Redblacks. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we would want to be in a much better position,” Crum said. “But at the same time, we\u2019re pretty fortunate starting out the way we have that we\u2019re still kind of in control of our own destiny in a lot of ways.”<\/p>\n
Ottawa is just two points behind Toronto with a game in hand and four points behind second-place Montreal in the East Division standings.<\/p>\n
The Lions, meanwhile, are riding the hot hand of quarterback Nathan Rourke and the play of receiver Keon Hatcher Sr., who has already surpassed 1,000 yards receiving.<\/p>\n
In his last four games, Hatcher has 26 receptions for 435 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
The Redblacks are hoping to get their offence rolling early, something that has eluded them of late. Ottawa has scored just one point in the first quarter over its last five games.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good start is always important, as well obviously a great finish,\u201d said Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce. \u201cWe want to hit the field running and make sure we\u2019re executing through all four quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of Ottawa\u2019s eight losses, five have been decided by less than a touchdown. Close games that seemed to go the Redblacks’ way last year have gone the other way this season.<\/p>\n
Crum knows the margin for error right now is thin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just adds an extra level of focus,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to have a heightened sense of focus, extra level of detail and approach because you never know what play could decide the game or could end up kind of biting you at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other side of the ball, Ottawa\u2019s defence has a tough task in trying to contain Rourke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very mobile quarterback so that\u2019s something we have to be mindful of,\u201d said Ottawa linebacker Lucas Cormier. \u201cHe\u2019s very talented, but with the game plan we have this week I think we\u2019re going to put ourselves in (position) to make plays and win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormier, who has been limited to just five games this season, insists the Redblacks remain positive despite sitting in last place in the four-team East Division.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing is with the CFL, everybody says the season starts on Labour Day,\u201d said Cormier. \u201cI think we have a great opportunity to start stacking games and put ourselves still in a great (position), so we\u2019re obviously grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
LIONS (5-6) at REDBLACKS (3-8)<\/p>\n
JUST THROW IT: Rourke, a Victoria native, will make his 30th career start (17-12). He needs 55 passing yards to pass Don Getty (8,950) for third spot on the all-time Canadian passing list.<\/p>\n
FIND ME: Eugene Lewis needs 30 receiving yards to reach 7,000 for his career.<\/p>\n
RED ZONE WARRIOR: Crum has a four-game streak with at least one TD scored, giving him the longest active streak in the CFL.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.<\/p>\n
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA \u2014 Much of the Ottawa Redblacks\u2019 season has been defined by adversity. The CFL club will look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-121758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}