Four REDBLACKS named CFL East All-Stars

OTTAWA - The Canadian Football League announced, today, that four Ottawa REDBLACKS players have been named among the 2023 East Division All-Stars.

Receiver Justin Hardy, Defensive lineman Bryce Carter, defensive back Brandin Dandridge, and punter Richie Leone have been recognized for their outstanding performances during the season, and have been named to this year's All-Star squad.

Hardy, 31, earns his first All-Star nod, in just his second CFL season. The Washington, D.C. product broke the 1,000-yard plateau for the first time, hauling in 85 passes for 1,009 yards, and three touchdowns. He posted two games of 100+ yards through the air, and made a career-long 54-yard touchdown catch in Week 19 at Toronto.

Carter, 25, broke out with 12 sacks in his sophomore season, finishing tied for second in the CFL. A native of Steelton, Pennsylvania, Carter also ended the year with 31 defensive tackles, and two forced fumbles. He set a new single-game career high in the REDBLACKS' Week 16 win over Saskatchewan, getting to the quarterback three times.

Dandridge, 27, enjoyed an outstanding defensive season; with five interceptions, a pick six, a forced fumble, and 24 defensive tackles. He also made equally significant contributions in the return game, as when DeVonte Dedmon went down with an early-season injury, Dandridge immediately stepped in, and the Lee's Summit, Missouri native returned a punt 79 yards to the endzone in Week 2 vs Calgary. Dandridge racked up a total of 867 return yards, in just 13 games.

Leone, 31, is now a six-time divisional All-Star, and four-time East All-Star, having earned the honour with the REDBLACKS in 2018, 2019, 2021, and now 2023. The Roswell, Georgia native appeared in all 18 games, totalling 5,567 punt yards, including a a pair of 74-yarders.

REDBLACKS Signings For The Week of Dec. 5th to 9th

Catching up to the week's events. The REDBLACKS have a massive free agent list but they trimmed it down a bit during the week. All graphics lifted from the team's Twitter account and far superior to anything I could create. 

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced, today, that they have re-signed four-time CFL All-Star American punter Richie Leone.

“I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to continue playing for the REDBLACKS,” said Leone.  “This will be my fifth season in the nation’s capital, and RNation should expect big things from us; there will be a lot to cheer for on the banks of the Rideau Canal come 2023.”

Leone, 30, is a veteran of six CFL seasons, and has spent the last four with the REDBLACKS. The Roswell, Georgia native racked up 4,315 net yards, last season, averaging 40.7 yards per punt: the second-highest marker of his CFL career.

A critical component of Ottawa's perennial standouts on special teams, Leone has earned Divisional All-Star honours five times (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021) and league All-Star recognition four times (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021). Before arriving in Ottawa, he made his CFL debut with the BC Lions in 2015, where he played for two seasons.

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS have re-signed national defensive back Ty Cranston, the team announced today.

“I’m very excited to be re-signing with Ottawa, and continuing my career with the REDBLACKS. Ottawa has become my home over the past 10 years and I’m excited to work to rebuild the strong REDBLACKS legacy that I’ve witnessed throughout my time in Ottawa,” Cranston said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Coach Dyce, and reuniting with Khari Jones and Barron Miles. All three are coaches I greatly respect, and have lots to offer this team and the city moving forward.”

Cranston, 28, arrived to Ottawa during the 2022 offseason, after having spent three seasons with the Montreal Alouettes. In his first campaign with the REDBLACKS, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native suited up in 17 games, finishing tied for fifth in the CFL with 17 special teams tackles, and adding three more on defence.

A product of the University of Ottawa, Cranston was selected in the seventh round, 56th overall, by the Als in the 2017 CFL Draft.

Those 17 special teams tackles were a team best.

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced, today, that they have reached an agreement with Lewis Ward, keeping the record-setting kicker in the nation's capital through the 2024 CFL season.

"I'm extremely excited to be back in Ottawa for another two years, to help us get back to the level that we expect," said Ward. "We have great people in this building, we have a lot of talent here, and we have the leadership of Coach Dyce. I’ve been blessed to have him as my special teams coach, and I’m excited to be here for the next couple of years."

Ward, 30, signed with the REDBLACKS on January 3, 2018, after going undrafted the year prior. Following a first season that saw him named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie, Ward went on to set the professional football record for consecutive field goals made (69), and also holds the CFL single-season record with a 98.1 made field goal percentage in 2018.

Born in England, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Ward matched the second-best field goal percentage of his career in 2022, converting 49 kicks on 57 attempts. 

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS have re-signed national fullback Marco Dubois through the 2023 CFL season, the team announced today.

"Coming back to Ottawa was an easy choice for me; the city, the fans and the whole organization has been great to me since I got drafted in 2018," said Dubois. "It is an honour to play for the REDBLACKS and to continue playing for Bob Dyce. We will give everything we've got to bring back the winning culture that RNation deserves. Can't wait to be back home on Bank Street!"

Dubois, 27, was drafted in the second round, 13th overall by the REDBLACKS in 2018. The Lasalle, Quebec native saw one of the best seasons of his CFL career during 2022, making four catches for 70 yards, including a career-long 54 yard reception in the season opener at Winnipeg.

On special teams, Dubois also chipped nine tackles through 18 games.

Dubois is actually 28 years old, for what that's worth. Or if he's 27, his date of birth is wrong on the website.

The team also locked in 2022 draft pick Daniel Valente from Western Ontario but I don't believe they included him in an announcement. Valente earned the Ontario Conference's President's Award this past season as the outstanding stand up defensive player. He had 16 tackles, five interceptions and a sack for Western in 2022.

Two other draft picks from earlier this year were signed up for 2023 as well in linebacker Subomi Oyesoro (Calgary) and fullback Connor Ross (St. Francis Xavier). This took place on November 21st. I assumed it would be announced at some point but that has yet to happen.

Two other 2022 camp attendees are going to give it another shot in 2023. They are Guelph's Eric Starczala on the offensive line and Shaiheem Charles-Brown on the defensive line. I suspect that entire bunch will get a generic "group" announcement at some point down the road. Maybe.

Oct 21st, 2017: "Ward makes history, Gee-Gees secure fourth-seed in OUA Playoffs"

Following today's announcement that the Ottawa REDBLACKS were bringing back kicker Lewis Ward for the 2022 season, the team ran a contest in which they asked fans to name their favourite Ward moment.

One gentleman brought up Ward's record-setting performances with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and so this post will copy partial recaps of the two games at the end of the 2017 season in which Ward made a little OUA and team history. Thank you, Steven Drover, if you happen to drop by, for the post inspiration. Excellent choice of Ward moment(s) on your part.

October 14th, 2017

The Gee-Gees football team moved to 5-2 and will finish no lower than fourth in the OUA standings, clinching a home playoff game thanks to a 40-30 victory over the Waterloo Warriors (4-4) on Saturday afternoon. Playing at Gee-Gees Field, Ottawa got another game-changing play late in the fourth quarter from Jackson Bennett, while fifth-year kicker Lewis Ward added an OUA record to his historic career points and field goals made totals.

Ward began the game for Ottawa with three field goals in the opening eleven minutes of play from distances of 15, 37, and 32 yards. The first set Ward atop the OUA All-Time record books for most field goals in a career, and he finished the day four-for four with a career total of 88.

"It was different, and it made me excited about how the day was going to go," said Ward of the busy start to the day. "We've had a good strong tradition of kicking and I hope that it continues. We're here to win football games and kicking is a big part of it if we do our jobs," continued Ward. "Matt [Falvo] was a big influence for me when I first started here in terms of how he went about things."

Ward now ranks second in U SPORTS history for field goals made in a career and sits three back of record-holder Johnny Mark from the Calgary Dinos, 2011-15. He also inched up the U SPORTS all-time rankings in points and now sits fourth, two points behind Gee-Gees record holder Neil Lumsden.

October 21st, 2017

A long road-trip to London, Ont. to close the regular season resulted in a tough 63-10 loss to the nationally fourth-ranked Western Mustangs.

With more than a handful of starters not suiting up, Ottawa struggled to get rhythm on offence, with the defence left on the field to deal with a Mustangs' potent attack.

The lone Gee-Gees touchdown came on a 60-yard interception return by Jamie Harry, who has been a star in the secondary this season. The interception was Harry's fifth of the year, which tops the OUA and is second overall in the nation.

One week removed from breaking the all-time OUA record in field goals made, fifth-year kicker Lewis Ward took aim at the school record for most points in a career.

The mark to beat of 410 points was set by CFL and Gee-Gees Hall of Famer Neil Lumsden, who racked up points as both a running back and a kicker from 1972-75.

With an extra point and a field goal on Saturday, Ward etched his name in the history books, becoming the owner of the new school record of 412 career points.

"REDBLACKS Kicker Lewis Ward Returning for 2022"

Preparation for 2022 continued Wednesday as the Ottawa REDBLACKS announced the signing of record-setting kicker Lewis Ward to a contract extension.

“Lewis Ward exemplifies what it means to be a REDBLACK,” said interim general manager Jeremy Snyder, “He works tirelessly at his craft and performs when called upon. We are excited to have Lewis in the fold for the 2022 season.”

After a record-breaking five-season career with the University of Ottawa GeeGees, Ward signed with the REDBLACKS in January of 2018. Not only did he break the single-game field goals record in his rookie season (seven), but Ward also set the professional football record for consecutive field goals made, with 69, and became the first kicker to ever win the Most Outstanding Rookie award in 2018, finishing the season with an all-time best field goal accuracy record of 98.1%.

The Kingston, Ontario product has converted on 90% of his field goal attempts thus far in 2021, making good on 27 of 30. Through 12 games, Ward has produced a total of 93 points for the REDBLACKS.