REDBLACKS part ways with Head Coach Paul LaPolice

Oct 1st, 2022: The Ottawa REDBLACKS on Saturday announced that Head Coach Paul LaPolice has been relieved of his duties.

Bob Dyce will take on the role of Interim Head Coach through the rest of the season.

“I have enjoyed working with Paul and thank him for his contributions to this team over the past two seasons; today isn’t an easy day,” said REDBLACKS GM Shawn Burke. “In this business, sometimes a change is required to help move a team forward and that’s what we’ve done here. We’re fortunate to have a coach of Bob Dyce’s caliber and experience able to step up and take on this role.”

LaPolice was hired as the second head coach in REDBLACKS history in December 2019, though it would take another year until he would lead the team onto the field following the cancellation of the 2020 campaign. LaPolice has since put up a 6-22 record at the helm of the REDBLACKS.

“Paul is a excellent man who has put everything he has into this job. But, unfortunately, we haven’t won nearly enough games,” said OSEG CEO Mark Goudie. “We are committed to getting back to what RNation deserves which is exciting and winning football.”

Sept. 13th, 1964: "Trojans Still Undefeated, Sooners Win Over Lions"

A few recaps from games played in the early 60s are being added to the IJFL page this morning and the ones displayed below will be linked to it shortly. Being that it is particularly informative, including standings, scoring summaries, etc., I thought is warranted a bit more prominence. It originally appeared in the following day's Ottawa Citizen. 

Dan Dever's name might jump out for some. He played with the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1968 to 1973, winning three Grey Cups along the way.  

The suggestion that injuries might prove costly to the Trojans was prophetic. They lost their two remaining regular season games then were skunked by the Sooners in a two-game playoff series to the tune of 57-13.

Sept 10th, 2022: uOttawa 20 @ McMaster 14

Catching up on recent action with a partial recap from geegees.ca. The photography is by Marisa Settimi. You can check out more of here work here.

A well-balanced affair saw the Gee-Gees' defence consistently get pressure on the quarterback and take the ball away, finishing with four sacks and two interceptions. Offensively, J-P Cimankinda once again eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, finishing with 102 yards on 20 attempts. 

Throughout the first half, the Gee-Gees built a 13-0 lead on a one-yard rush by Cimankinda, followed by a rouge, a field goal, and a conceded safety. 

In the third quarter, McMaster would eventually get on the scoreboard on a nine-yard pass from Andreas Dueck to Jackson Cooling.

Ottawa eventually responded after Harnoor Dhaliwal intercepted Dueck to set up a 4-play, 37-yard drive for a Gee-Gees touchdown. Ben Maracle found Daniel Oladejo for the 17-yard major to extend the Ottawa lead to 20-7.

...

Maracle was 15-27 for 134 yards and a touchdown, while Willy-Pierre Dimbongi led the way receiving with 63 yards on 5 catches. 

Defensively, Dhaliwal registered seven tackles (five solo, four assists) and an interception, while Kevin Victome had the other takeaway. Riley Hildebrandt had 1.5 sacks in the win, while Emmanuel Aboagye-Gyan (one sack), Michael Pezzuto (one sack), Kevin Anderson (half sack) rounded out Gee-Gees that got to the quarterback. 

Aug. 17th, 2004: "Cruisin' For a Bruisin'"

Linebacker Kyries Hebert officially announced his retirement today, and did so as a Montreal Alouette, but he has the distinction of having played with two of Ottawa's franchises, something very few people can claim.

The article below is from his first year in the CFL. It took little time for him to make an impression. 

His playing career would conclude in 2018 with the REDBLACKS, a season in which he would contribute 47 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.  

DB Katley Joseph Included on Redblacks Negotiation List

The CFL released the name of ten players on each team's negotiation list on September 15th. The list is usually mostly populated by American quarterbacks but a local player's name popped off the screen, that of defensive back Katley Joseph.

Joseph is playing with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies after a spell with Maine. We'll copy from the Saskatchewan's press release from when he, and Ted Kubongo, joined the program in late June.

Huskies head coach Scott Flory had long pursued Katley Joseph and Ted Kubongo on the recruiting trails when they were both potential recruits following their high school careers — but each eventually chose different paths.

Joseph and Kubongo each elected to go south of the border, joining the Maine Black Bears — an FCS Division I school that competes in the Colonial Athletic Association. 

But now, at long last, Flory got his guys — Joseph and Kubongo are members of the Huskies.

...

Joseph, who hails from Ottawa, is a five-foot-11, 175 lbs defensive back appeared in 24 games over the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Black Bears. Joseph accumulated 54 total tackles, 14 passes deflections and one interception in his time with the program, before deciding to sit out the spring 2021 season, after the University of Maine's 2020 campaign was wiped out due to COVID-19.

With the Colonial Athletic Association back for the fall in 2021, Joseph was set to get back on the field for the Black Bears, but an injury derailed said plans. He ultimately decided on declaring for the CFL and NFL Drafts, but when no team called his name — he called up Flory about coming to Saskatoon. 

...

Meanwhile, Kubongo is a Calgary product who attended Notre Dame High School in Calgary, before moving to Ottawa to go to school at the St. Matthews High School...which led him to an offer to play with Maine. After one year with the Black Bears, the running back transferred to UBC, which is where he spent the last four years.

The University of Saskatchewan is currently 3-0. Katley has contributed 12 tackles, an assist, two pass breakups and a forced fumble during this run. The forced fumble is displayed below.

The Huskies were 🤏 this close from taking over deep in Rams territory.

Tremendous play from Katley Joseph to force the fumble.#HuskiePride | #PowerOfThePack pic.twitter.com/05CzHuWW0w

— USask Huskie Football (@skhuskies) September 18, 2022

It appears safe to say that he has recovered from his injury so securing his rights could pay off in 2023. Nice, quiet move by Redblacks GM Shawn Burke.

The rest of the players revealed on September 15th are listed on the "Redblacks Negotiation List" page above. 

Sept 10th, 2022: York Lions 14 @ Carleton Ravens 45

Game summary from goravens.ca. Photo credit unavailable. 

York got the scoring started in the opening quarter. After taking an early 1-0 lead, Alfred Olay (Courtice, Ont.) returned a missed Carleton field goal 109 yards for a touchdown. The Lions would miss the extra point but held the lead.

The Ravens answered before the end of the quarter with some impressive special teams of their own. After the Lions fumbled a punt return, Shaiheem Charles-Brown pounced on and recovered the loose ball in the endzone for a touchdown and extra point to tie the game 7-7 at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

Carleton began to put this game out of reach in the 2nd quarter outscoring the Lions 28-0 in the frame. The Ravens’ passing attack began finding holes in the Lions’ secondary racking up 106 yards through the air just in the second quarter. Quarterback Tanner DeJong (Brockville, Ont.) first found Kasseem Ferdinand (Ottawa, Ont.) in the endzone for a 25-yard touchdown to put Carleton in front. DeJong went back to work later in the quarter finding Frederick Hachey (Laval, Que.) for a 75-yard score.

Special teams and defence both got involved in the scoring for Carleton as well. Eljames Aiguomudu (Montreal, Que.) returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown, and Denny Ferdinand (Ottawa, Ont.) returned a punt 57 yards as Carleton carried a commanding 35-7 lead into the half. With the touchdowns by Denny and Kasseem, the Ferdinand brothers became the first ever Carleton brothers to score a touchdown in the same game.

In the second half, the Ravens protected their lead with solid pass defence which hindered the Lions’ offence. Ben Huckabone (Pembroke, Ont.) blocked a second punt for the Ravens and returned it to the endzone which put the Ravens ahead 45-14, continuing what was a field day for Carleton’s Special Teams.

 

Sooners' Keyshawn Upshaw-Tynes is an OFC Special Teams Player of the Week

As we look forward to a Sooners game at the GTA Grizzlies today, let's look back at one of the award recipients following last week's action. The text and graphic are from the Ontario Football Conference's Instagram account.

Upshaw-Tynes provided more than enough scoring all by himself for the win as he returned two kicks for touchdowns.  The Ottawa rookie returned 1 kickoff for 88 yards and a touchdown and then later, adding insult to injury, he returned a missed field goal 115 yards for a touchdown. Upshaw-Tynes also returned a punt for a measly 10 yards. For the game Keyshawn returned 3 kicks for a combined 213 yards and 2 touchdowns.

St. Patrick's College's 1965 Season

It can be argued that St. Patrick's College could have a more prominent place in Ottawa football history if only they'd had that one defining moment. In 1965, they came very close to making that loud statement.

The Ottawa-St. Lawrence football conference, in which St. Pat's played, was split into two divisions. St. Patrick's College was fairly dominant in theirs, but Carleton and uOttawa were in the other division and were each 5-0 going into that year's Panda Game. As a result, most of the eyeballs were aimed in the direction of those two schools while St. Pat's was quietly putting together a solid season of their own.

Here are St. Patrick's results in their four-team division.

Oct  2nd: @ Macdonald College W 33-14
Oct  9th: College Militaire Royale W 45-07

Oct 16th: Bishop's W 16-00
Oct 23rd: @ Bishop's L 07-25
Oct 30th: @ College Militaire Royale W 39-00
Nov 6th: Macdonald  College W 32-09

The final game above secured the Eastern division for St. Pat's, the reward for which would be to meet the 7-0 uOttawa Gee-Gees for the Conference Crown. 

In the championship game, uOttawa would overcome a  23-14 deficit and score 25 unanswered points to win 39-23. To have held on to their early lead to conquer an undefeated, perennial championship contender, perhaps St. Patrick's presence in local football history would be a little more commonly known.

They placed a few players on the conference all-star team. That list, and the team picture below, are both lifted from the school's1967 yearbook. 

St. Patrick's College merged with Carleton University in 1967, effectively terminating the football program, but they were not shy about taking credit for bolstering the Ravens roster. The following is from St. Patrick's 1968 yearbook.

The summaries for the division-clinching game against Macdonald above make mention of a past St. Patrick's championship. Unfortunately, one newspaper states that it was in 1957 while the other claims it was in 1958. I believe the former to be accurate but we'll do a little research there and shine a spotlight on it soon. 

Sept 5th, 2022: "REDBLACKS sign American DB Dandridge, QB Crum"

Very glad to see Brandin Dandridge return to the team. The image below is from his Instagram account and Jon Halpenny was tagged on it, presumably because Jon took the picture. 

The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced a pair of American signings, today, with defensive back Brandin Dandridge, and quarterback Dustin Crum officially joining the team.

Dandridge, 26, returns to the REDBLACKS, following an NFL stint with the Kansas City Chiefs. A veteran of two seasons, the Lee's Summit, Missouri native appeared in eight games last season, recording 12 total tackles and four interceptions.

Crum, 23, also spent the 2022 Training Camp with Kansas City, and enters the CFL for the first time. Hailing from Grafton, Ohio, Crum played college football for Kent State, where he completed 576 passes for 7,420 yards, and 55 touchdowns.

Sept 4th, 2022: REDBLACKS acquire draft picks from Lions for WR/KR Terry Williams

Catching up a bit after a few days at the cottage. 

This one's too bad. The young man was one of very few productive players as the team floundered through the first half of the season.  I hate to see him leave for an unknown like a third round pick but it's probably better for his career. I just find it hard to believe there was no way to squeeze him onto the game day roster even with Devonte Dedmon having returned. Ah well.

The photo below was lifted from Williams' Instagram account. The post did not include photo credit. 

The Ottawa REDBLACKS completed a trade, Sunday, sending American receiver/kick returner Terry Williams to the BC Lions. In return, Ottawa receives a third-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft, and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2024.

A native of Greenwood, Mississippi, Williams signed with the REDBLACKS in 2021, and has since gone on to appear in 11 games across two seasons. The 26 year-old has posted 1,479 combined punt and kick return yards, as well as 71 receiving yards, and 26 rushing yards on offence.