Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca
OTTAWA — The Ottawa REDBLACKS lost their eleventh straight home game 34-30 to the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
The REDBLACKS offence scored 24 of their 30 points in the first half, but were unable to hold on as Trevor Harris and the Alouettes came back and clinched their spot in the playoffs.
With the team moving to 0-8 on the season at TD Place, they will need to win back-to-back games against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats if they have any hopes at making the postseason. Interim head coach Bob Dyce spoke with TSN 1200 postgame about their playoff aspirations.
“We control our own destiny,” said Dyce. “We’ve got to make sure we are right and ready to go for Hamilton.”
“We worry about our focus and what we can control.”
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While the REDBLACKS struggled to put up points in the second half, quarterback Nick Arbuckle and first year receiver Siaosi Mariner were able to spark the team early on.
Mariner’s first career catch and touchdown put Ottawa up 7-0 on their first drive. After his early impact, the Alouettes tightened up defensively limiting Ottawa to two field goals in the second half.
“Credit to them, they made adjustments to slow what we had going on,” said Mariner. “I still feel like we left some points on the field.”
A pivotal moment in the game was an Ottawa decision to kick a field goal on third down. Coach Dyce praised how the team was playing at the time as a reason for not attempting to convert the downs.
“We really felt like the way our defence was playing, we wanted to make sure we got the points,” said Dyce.
For Dyce and the REDBLACKS, they will head to the opposite end of the province next week for a match against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before returning home to finish the regular season.
