ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
With Files From TSN Radio 1050
WINNIPEG — With jobs on the line and the Toronto Argonauts less than 24 hours from making their final cuts of training camp, RB Chad Kackert and WR Brandon Rideau took it upon themselves to make sure that the club’s brass paid extra close attention to them before they settle on their roster.
Kackert, a 5-foot-8 import, had been competing in camp with Dwayne Wright and Gerald Riggs for the number two tailback spot behind Cory Boyd.
After a two-touchdown performance last week against Hamilton, Kackert spent the majority of the Argos’ Thursday night win in Winnipeg playing special teams until moving into the halfback spot in the fourth quarter. His impact was immediate and after the Argos surrendered a commanding 23-9 lead, he helped dig the Boatmen break the tie game when he took a handoff and turned up field for a 73-yard game-winning touchdown with just 47 seconds left on the clock.
“It was a pretty standard inside zone that just opened up and after that, I had a great block by Jason Harmon on the left side…then I realized that this field was much wider than what I was used to so just went up field”, Kackert explained to TSN Radio 1050 following the game.
Kackert amassed 150 yards on 12 carries and scampered for three touchdowns in his two pre-season games with the Argos. Perhaps more impressive was his yards per carry which sits at 12.5.
Despite his success, Kackert knows that there is a clear #1 lining up at running back come opening day next week and the work he puts in is going to have to start with special teams if he hopes on retaining a spot with the club.
“If I’m gonna make this team, [special teams] is where I am going to have to make an impact so I am working hard on that”, he said. Although he has only been in Toronto three weeks, the back who many have compared to former Ottawa Renegade Josh Ranek, is already feeling comfortable in his new surroundings.
“It feels like a good fit and it just feels right here.”
Rideau, on the other hand, had somewhat of a different point to prove Thursday night – he had already earned a roster spot in his rookie CFL season but was in a close battle with up to three other import receivers to prove that he should stay.
He responded with his best game as an Argonaut, compiling 162 yards and a touchdown on four receptions. His major came on the Argos second play from scrimmage when QB Cleo Lemon aired out a pass down the sideline and Rideau made an athletic catch-and-run to the endzone.
“We got man-to-man and they wanted to come up and challenge it so, I got a good release, got outside the guy, located the ball and headed for the endzone”, Rideau described to Argos post-game show host Mike Hogan.
The touchdown seemed to set the tone for the Boatmen who have now put together two straight games where scoring early has been key to setting up the flow of their offence and giving confidence to not only Lemon but the receivers around him.
Rideau gave all the credit to rookie QB BJ Hall for his other big reception where he fought to come back to the ball and get open after Hall scrambled to by himself some time and space.
“BJ is an athletic guy. I actually came from the other side of the field and I took a little bit of time to see where he was going and I made a break and he saw me down field and threw me a good one”
Final cuts are expected to be made Friday afternoon – something both Kackert and Rideau hope they have done enough to avoid.