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Preview: Als host Redblacks in 2023 regular season opener

Game day has finally arrived…for real this time!

The preseason is over, training camp is done, and the wins and losses count now.

The Als will open their regular season at home for the first time since 2017, when they hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Als won that game, 17-16, with Darian Durant as their starting quarterback.

Purchase your tickets for the Alouettes home opener against the Ottawa Redblacks on June 10th. Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace will be performing at halftime. TICKETS: https://bit.ly/3MTQR9O

It’s only the first game of the season, but this is an important clash against a division rival, the Ottawa Redblacks.

This is the first of four meetings between these two sides. In 2022, the Als won both games in Ottawa, while the Redblacks won both games in Montreal.

Injuries:

The Alouettes are expected to be without a pair of receivers for this game, as Greg Ellingson (knee) and Tyson Philpot (hip) did not practice this week. Offensive lineman Patrick Davis (lower leg) and defensive end Brock Gowanlock (shoulder) will also miss Saturday’s opener.

As for Ottawa, they’ll be without several key starters including quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (knee), cornerback Money Hunter (pectoral), defensive back Sherrod Baltimore (knee), linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox (hamstring), receiver Shaq Evans (hand), and 2023 first overall pick Dontae Bull (leg).

Avery Williams plays against his former team:

Alouettes middle linebacker Avery Williams will be suiting up for his new team for the first time. He’ll get to do that against the only CFL team he’s ever played for.

Williams was with the Redblacks from 2018 to 2022 before he and Ottawa parted ways last winter. The Als scooped him up, and he quickly became a leader on defence.

“I’m excited to play with these boys,” Williams said after Thursday’s practice. “I can’t really explain how excited I am to strap up with a new team.

“Just to be able to play against my former brothers, with my new brothers, is going to be something special.”

The 28-year-old was among the league leaders in tackles in 2021 and 2022, as he finished with 89 tackles in just 13 games in 2021 and 92 tackles last season. Don’t be surprised if you hear his name a lot when the Als are on defence.

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A first look at Cody Fajardo:

Cody Fajardo didn’t play in the preseason opener in Ottawa, but he looked sharp during last week’s exhibition win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Molson Stadium.

The 31-year-old showed off his arm and mobility on the opening drive of the game. He finished off that offensive sequence with a touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant.

“The tricky thing about preseason is that you want to do well, so you can get off the field early, but in a game, if you do well, you want to do well for four quarters,” Fajardo said. “The good thing about that is that if you don’t start off hot, you have four quarters to redeem yourself. There were a couple of drives I wanted to get back in the preseason game that I didn’t get back because I didn’t get to finish the game. Getting to finish the game helps you with the ebbs and flows (of the game). There are going to be ups and down on Saturday night. There is going to be some good and some bad with every football game. It’s all about how we handle adversity.”

Fajardo will be working with receivers he’s never worked with before, but it will be interesting to see how things work out with the rookies in the receiving corps. Austin Mack and Keshunn Abram will both be in the starting lineup, while Cole Spieker has just three games of CFL experience under his belt. Canadians Julien-Grant and Hergy Mayala will be the veterans going into this game.

The Redblacks:

As was mentioned above, the Redblacks won’t have Masoli in their lineup, which means they’ll be starting CFL veteran Nick Arbuckle at quarterback. Arbuckle beat the Als last year, so he has shown the ability to win at Percival Molson Stadium.

The defence will need to make life difficult for the Redblacks quarterback by putting pressure on him and punishing him physically whenever they can.

“He’s a good quarterback,” Als safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy said. “He’s someone that can make incredible passes, but he can also make mistakes. With time, he’s improved a lot. He’s corrected a lot of things in his game. He’s a quarterback that can pass the ball and he’s mobile, too…We need to be ready because he can make impressive throws.”

There are so many activities scheduled before and during Saturday’s game. To check out the full schedule of tailgate concerts and games, click here: https://en.montrealalouettes.com/2023/06/04/5-reasons-to-come-to-the-game/