The Alouettes will be heading to Toronto on Wednesday for their first pre-season game. They will land in a city that is vibrating to the rythm of its basketball team as the Raptors begin the NBA finals against the Golden State Warriors a few hours after the Alouettes‘ game against the Argonauts.
If the whole country seems to be behind the only Canadian NBA team, some Alouettes players have even more reasons to support the Raptors. Running back Jeremiah Johnson is one of them, because as a former University of Oregon Duck, he wants to see Montrealer Chris Boucher win top honours.
“When I saw that there was a former Duck on the team, I thought it was an opportunity for another Duckie to become a bigger star. I hope he wins and I will support the Raptors in the finals, ” said Johnson, who has remained close to his alma mater.
Offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone, who attended the University of Oregon at the same time as Boucher, is also in the Raptors camp. He did not see Boucher play, but he remembers that he was a popular player on campus.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who also played for Oregon, is in the Warriors’ camp because of center Jordan Bell, who is also a former Duck.
Transactions
The Alouettes announced that the club added international defensive linemen Antonio Simmons (Georgia Tech) and Justin Stewart (Central Oklahoma), as well as international defensive back Jarnor Jones (Iowa State). The club also announced that international offensive lineman Andrew Erbes (UNLV), international defensive end Elijah Norris (Shepherd College) and national linebacker Philippe Dion (Western) have been released.
Rapid Fire
Receiver Malcolm Carter constantly keeps warm during practice, even when he is not involved in a play he does push-ups on the sidelines to stay warm… Slotback Jake Wieneke caught the ball from Matt Shiltz and never looked away from the ball, a play of more than 35 yards … Defensive back Jarnor Jones jumped and knocked down a pass to muzzle the offence. He used all of his six feet, three inches to beat the receiver… Receiver Stephen Adekolu ran good routs today. He was able to run and to dodge his shadow by using his speed… Rookie Zach Wilkinson is anxious to play his first game with the Alouettes and has been working extremely hard during practices.
He said it
“It’s great to see familiar faces around you, it helps smooth things down especially at training camp where there is a lot of stress on the players. It certainly helps me and I feel like I have taken over where I left last year while progressing in my game. We have a real chemistry between the players. We want to use this energy to grow as a team and to perform well in games. The excitement for Thursday’s match is notable. We have been working so hard for the past ten days that this game is a kind of a reward for us. Everything is tenfold: the emotions, the atmosphere and the energy. We want to prove that we are able to perform outside of practices.”
– Jean-Gabriel Poulin
Schedule
Thursday, May 30
11:00 a.m. – The Montreal Alouettes face the Toronto Argonauts at Varsity Stadium in Toronto (TSN 690)
