Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca
EDMONTON — A.J. Ouellette is not used to not having to fight his way into the end zone.
The veteran running back was barely touched as he scored three times in the Toronto Argonauts win 43-31 win over the Edmonton Elks on Sunday.
Toronto’s offensive line won the battle at the line of scrimmage against Edmonton’s defence and made life easy on Ouellette and his teammates.
“Kind of got lost out there not getting touched on some of the runs,” said the rusher to TSN after the game. “Especially inside zone (runs), those aren’t normally as perfect as it looked today.”
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Ouellette had three majors in the 43-31 Argos win over the Elks (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
Ouellette has worked his way into being in a position to score without having to break several tackles. The veteran had 18 carries for 84 yards as the Argos kept going back to the running game throughout the evening.
Quarterback Chad Kelly knows the value of having a running back that always gives everything he has in the tank.
“Every day he comes to work,” said Toronto’s pivot to TSN. “He works hard, doesn’t take a snap off. It’s a testament to who he is.”
The Double Blue rushed for 194 total yards between Ouellette, Kelly, veteran Andrew Harris and running back Daniel Adeboboye.
Despite all the hard work, Ouellette always remembers to praise his offensive line for the Argos’ success with the ground game.
“A huge shout out to the offensive line,” said the rusher. “Made my life easy.”
Toronto scored 43 points a week after putting forth 32 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in their home opener at BMO Field.
Now they’ll look to top that when an imposing BC Lions’ defence rolls to town on Monday, June 3, in a battle between two undefeated squads.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” said Kelly. “They have a lot of veteran guys back there. Offence, defence and special teams are an electric group.
“We just got to be ready.”
