on Sunday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m smiling out here,\u201d the two-time 1,000-yard rusher said after Friday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just get to play football. It\u2019s the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Roughriders are poised to meet a team Ouellette regarded as an arch-rival during his first stop in the CFL. He was a member of the Toronto Argonauts from 2019 to 2023 before signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy how some Hamilton fans are now fans of mine,\u201d Ouellette noted. \u201cThey reach out to me and stuff like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still want to be mean to them, but \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
That is not in his nature, so the exchanges are cordial.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the COVID schedule, they had to see me four times (during a 2021 regular season that was shortened to 14 games per team),\u201d Ouellette continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just happy that they don\u2019t have to do that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
TEXTIN\u2019 SEXTON<\/p>\n
An explosive play by Mathew Sexton blew up his phone.<\/p>\n
The torrent of text messages followed the 101-yard punt-return touchdown he scored for the Roughriders in last Friday\u2019s 27-22 CFL victory over the host Ottawa REDBLACKS.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hearing from a lot of people back home,\u201d a smiling Sexton said. \u201cThere was a lot of love.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole family, my whole hometown, watches every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sexton is proud to hail from the small Michigan community of Clinton (population: 2,500).<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the only professional athlete currently playing right now from my hometown,\u201d the former Clinton Redwolves and Eastern Michigan Eagles standout said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the first from my hometown to get a Division 1 full-ride scholarship and then go play in the NFL as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s trailblazing type of stuff. It\u2019s one of those things that you don\u2019t really think about, but it\u2019s something that drives me and keeps me moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sexton\u2019s professional football journey included time spent with five NFL teams. Canada entered the equation when he attended the REDBLACKS\u2019 rookie camp this past May. After a short stint in the nation\u2019s capital, he was signed by Saskatchewan during Coors Light Training Camp.<\/p>\n
He instantly made a positive impression, excelling in the pre-season and earning a practice-roster spot.<\/p>\n
The 5-foot-10, 176-pounder was elevated to the active roster after James Letcher Jr. suffered an elbow injury in the team\u2019s third game.<\/p>\n
Sexton soon became the first player to score on a punt, kickoff or missed field goal return in his regular-season debut with the Roughriders.<\/p>\n
In fact, he was the first returner to score in his introductory CFL game since Yonus Davis fielded a kickoff and went 88 yards for B.C. at Edmonton on July 30, 2010.<\/p>\n
DEALING WITH DOLEGALA<\/p>\n
Jake Dolegala is to start at quarterback for Hamilton on Sunday in place of the injured Bo Levi Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Roughriders linebacker Josh Woods has a familiarity with Dolegala. They were teammates with the B.C. Lions in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good guy and he brings good energy,\u201d Woods said of the 6-foot-7 passer. \u201cHe\u2019s a tall quarterback, so he can see over the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a strong arm and he can whip it, so it will be exciting to play him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dolegala, a Roughrider in 2022 and 2023, started 10 games during his time in Saskatchewan. In 2023, he threw for 2,641 yards and 11 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
DISPENSING SOUND ADVICE<\/p>\n
Hydration in Rider Nation is a must.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith warm temperatures expected on Sunday, fans are encouraged to stay hydrated throughout the game,\u201d read a portion of Game Day at a Glance, prepared by Roughriders Communications Intern Hannah Rugg.<\/p>\n
\u201cFans are welcome to bring one empty or sealed reusable water bottle up to one litre in size. Complimentary water-bottle-filling stations are available throughout Mosaic Stadium at all water fountains, including the east concourse, upper east 500 level, upper west 500 level, southwest concourse, two locations on the south concourse, and inside the SportsCage Lounge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll water fountains throughout the stadium are equipped with water-bottle-filling stations. Additional water dispensers have been brought in for this game to keep fans hydrated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AVAILABLE. The one-word designation beside A.J. Ouellette\u2019s name speaks volumes. After missing 2\u00bc games with an ankle injury,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-793962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793962","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=793962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}