REDBLACKS head to Hamilton for season finale

It’s been an eventful week for the Ottawa REDBLACKS.

Over the past few days the club picked up its first win of the season, named Mike Morreale as the new president, revealed the 2026 Team Awards and now are set to take on the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton.

After an emotional first CFL start last Friday, Bryson Barnes is back under centre for the REDBLACKS. The Milford, Utah native completed 27 of 37 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns and added another 62 yards on the ground

“We just want to see him manage the game,” head coach and general manager told TSN 1200’s AJ Jakubec on Friday. “He’s an athletic kid, so when things break down, just go out there and make plays with his legs like he did in our last drive. We’ll have some designed QB runs for him as well. Just take care of the football and make the right throws. It’s not always about the sexy throws it’s about the right throws.”

Ayden Eberhardt, who caught the game winning touchdown in the dying seconds, was named the REDBLACKS Most Outstanding Player earlier this week. The University of Wyoming product has had a career season registering 86 receptions for 1,097 yards and eight touchdowns. All of which are career bests.

“Coming off a win just brings life into people. Practice was smooth and everyone just kinda felt more reenergized,” Eberhardt told TSN 1200’s AJ Jakubec. “I think every body needed that and it was pretty cool to see the joy in everyone’s eyes but it was a great week of a practice. We got the taste of the win and we’re just trying to chase that now.”

There are a few milestones for the REDBLACKS to keep their eyes on this week. Anthony Gosselin is poised to become the REDBLACKS all time leader in games played. Kalil Pimpleton needs just 70 yards to set a new CFL record for kickoff return yards in a single season and Justin Hardy is just 90 yards away from 5,000 on his career. Keelan White is in need of a monster effort to eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, currently sitting on 862. The young Canadian has proved this season that he is certainly capable of monster games so don’t count him out just yet.

Crafty receiver Sam Schnee draws into the lineup for this matchup. Barnes and Schnee can often be seen working together following practices so there is an opportunity for some instant chemistry.

Utah Tech corner Devyn Perkins draws into the lineup at field corner, while a healthy Travian Blaylock slides in beside him at half. Scott Hutter, who was a late scratch from the lineup last week is back in, as is Justin Hardy and returnee Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal.

For Hamilton, Tre Ford gets the start at quarterback. The Niagara Falls native has shown throughout his career an incredible ability to make plays with his legs and get outside of the pocket. Structure and rush integrity will certainly be a major focus for Ottawa to try and make Ford make plays from the pocket.

Kick off is set to get underway at 3 p.m. at Hamilton Stadium and can be seen on TSN and heard on TSN 1200.