Welcome distraction for Montreal QB
Rakeem Cato dealing with shooting death of friend, testiness with receivers
HAMILTON — Football will be a welcome distraction for Rakeem Cato tonight.
The sophomore quarterback leads the Montreal Alouettes (3-8) into an important meeting with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (5-6) at Tim Hortons Field. The Als have dropped three straight and stand last in the East Division but are just four points behind second-place Hamilton and Toronto and trail first-place Ottawa (5-4-1) by five points.
Cato, 24, made headlines earlier this week when he got into an altercation with receivers Duron Carter and Kenny Stafford during practice. The trio declared a truce but Cato and Carter told reporters Thursday they haven’t spoken to each other.
Cato and Carter were part of a small group of Alouettes players who were horsing around with the football after Thursday’s walkthrough.
Following the workout, though, Cato divulged that a close friend was shot to death Wednesday in his hometown of Miami.
“I lost a great friend . . . to gun violence,” Cato said. “Got shot 15 times. Life is bigger. This is the game I love. This is the game where I want to have fun.”
After speaking with a group of reporters, Cato got snippy with another member of the media in a one-on-one interview.
When asked what was going on with his quarterback, Montreal head coach/GM Jim Popp said: “At the end of the day these are personal things and there’s nothing I can really comment (on).” Cato’s frame of mind is crucial for the Alouettes, considering they dealt veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn to Winnipeg on Sunday. Yet despite the mounting losses and off-field drama, Montreal remains very much alive in the East Division and Popp said his club would get a huge boost from winning this contest.
“We can get right back in the thick of things with a win and take care of our own business,” he said. “If we can get a road win here and get back home for a couple of games it can set things in the right motion.”
The Ticats have their own issues as they’re just 2-3 since the return of starter Zach Collaros (knee). Despite the record, Collaros is averaging 362 yards passing with 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
Hamilton is second overall in scoring (30.3 points per game) but also leads the league in turnovers (31). The Ticats’ defence has forced 27 turnovers (third overall) while Montreal’s offence has committed 27 turnovers (third-most) and allowed a CFL-high 35 sacks.
The Ticats beat the Alouettes 31-7 on July 15 in Montreal with Cato at quarterback. Hamilton registered nine sacks in that game, but Ticats’ head coach Kent Austin is still wary about Cato’s mobility.
“He’s a pretty elusive player and he can get out of trouble and move the sticks with his feet,” said Austin. “He can extend plays.
“We’re going to have to be really sound in how we rush and not give him open lanes, especially early in the game, to allow him to extend drives and those types of things so it’s a challenge for us up front.”