"We just get to play an extra game now": A.J. Ouellette pumped for playoffs
10/29/2024 05:07 PM
A.J. Ouellette has adopted a never-say-dye attitude for the CFL playoffs.
The blonde mullet, normally a trademark, is now its natural colour — brown.
"I woke up today and it was dark," the 29-year-old Saskatchewan Roughriders running back said after Tuesday's practice at Mosaic Stadium. "I don't know what happened.
"Naah … I just wanted to change some stuff up and bring a little energy to playoffs. My hair was dark when I won the Cup, right? So bring it back."
Ouellette rushed for two touchdowns to help the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23 in the 109th Grey Cup Game, which was played at Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 20, 2022.
The championship-game win capped Ouellette's first of two consecutive seasons as the East Division's All-Star running back. He signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent on Feb. 13.
In eight games with the Roughriders, he rushed for 550 yards and three touchdowns.
He returned to the lineup on Oct. 12, after missing six games with a hip injury, and rushed for 84 yards on 16 carries to help Saskatchewan defeat the visiting B.C. Lions 39-8.
The victory clinched a home playoff game for Saskatchewan, which is to meet B.C. on Saturday, 4:30 p.m., in the West Division semi-final (Tickets are available HERE.)
Ouellette was a healthy scratch for the Roughriders' regular-season finale, which did not have a bearing on the final placings.
Winnipeg clinched first place by defeating the host Montreal Alouettes 28-27 in a down-to-the-wire game on Saturday.
Had Montreal won, the Roughriders would have been playing for first place (with Ouellette in the lineup) against Calgary in the final regular-season game of the CFL season.
It looked promising for Montreal — and, by extension, Saskatchewan — after Winnipeg's Sergio Castillo was wide on a 61-yard field-goal attempt with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
However, Castillo made the most of a second chance, connecting on a 51-yard game-winner as time expired.
"You see him miss that (61-yard) kick and you start throwing the eye-black on and all that," Ouellette said. "It just didn't turn out that way.
"We just get to play an extra game now."
