Winnipegger LaFrance next man up at running back for Riders

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This article was published 29/09/2022 (1073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A familiar face will be starting at running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders tonight.

With Jamal Morrow and Frankie Hickson out with injuries, Winnipegger Kienan LaFrance will carry the rock for Riders.

The 31-year-old LaFrance is in his seventh CFL season out of the University of Manitoba.

“That’s why we play ball, it’s to get out there, to get an opportunity to play, and do what we do,” LaFrance said earlier in the week. “I’m excited to get out there and contribute to the guys. We put in a good week of practice so it will be good to be part of it.”

LaFrance, who primarily plays special teams, has three carries for 15 yards this season. Since entering the league in 2015 as a sixth-round draft pick by the Ottawa Redblacks, LaFrance has taken 159 carries for 657 yards (4.1 yards per carry average) and four touchdowns.

LaFrance spent two seasons with the Redblacks before his first stint with the Riders in 2017. He signed with the Bombers in 2018 before returning to Saskatchewan in 2019 and has been there ever since.

“I know he has the capabilities to be a starter in this league,” said Bombers receiver and fellow Winnipeg native Nic Demski. LaFrance and Demski were teammates at the U of M, in Saskatchewan in 2017, and again in Winnipeg in 2018.

“It’s definitely an exciting opportunity for him.”

Although they’re no longer teammates, LaFrance, a Sturgeon Heights product, and Demski, an Oak Park grad, still train together in the off-season.

“We both got recruited to Bisons as running backs and I had no idea he was getting recruited here and he had no idea that I was getting recruited here, too,” Demski said. “So, you know, it’s kind of funny, we both played the exact same position, kind of came in to mold into the same role. It was a relationship where we easily could’ve turned enemies, but honestly, we ended up becoming best friends. So, yeah, I have a lot of respect for him.”

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea has a lot of respect for LaFrance as well. LaFrance doesn’t have big career numbers, but O’Shea was quick to remind everyone on Thursday about his clutch performance in the 2016 East Division final where he rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries to help Ottawa to a 35-23 victory over the Toronto Argonauts. LaFrance was an injury replacement for starting tailback Mossis Madu.

The Redblacks went on to win the Grey Cup that season.

“He’s a good football player,” said O’Shea. “It’s just that he was stacked behind other good football players. They wouldn’t have him on the roster if they didn’t think he could help them win the football game.”

NO JEFFCOAT FOR BOMBERS

The only roster change for the Bombers this week is defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat is out due to a lingering hip issue. Jeffcoat, who has already missed three games this season, has been placed on the one-game injured list. He’ll be replaced by rookie American Cedric Wilcots II. Wilcots II, a 25-year-old out of New Mexico State, has two defensive tackles in nine games this season.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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