William Stanback suffers food poisoning, won’t play against Ottawa

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

The Montreal Alouettes were already missing their starting quarterback heading into Saturday’s rematch with the Ottawa Redblacks and it now appears Vernon Adams Jr. won’t be the only key player absent from the lineup.

Star running back William Stanback has suffered food poisoning and will be unable to dress for the Week 11 game. The bruising back missed last week’s game with injury and was expected to make an impactful return to assist new starter Matthew Shiltz, but will now miss another contest while undoubtedly getting well-acquainted with the porcelain in his hotel room.

Through seven games this season, Stanback has carried 109 times for a league-leading 677 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 6.2 yards per carry over that span.

The six-foot-one, 233-pound running back was sensational for the team in 2019, helping the Alouettes host a playoff game for the first time in five years. Stanback ran 170 times for 1,048 yards and five touchdowns last CFL season. He also caught 33 passes for 329 yards as a productive part of the team’s passing game.

The 26-year old spent 2020 training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders, but resigned with Montreal after being released.

While the absence of Stanback will be a blow, the Alouettes can be confident that their running game will remain a factor after backup Cameron Artis-Payne posted 21 carries for 122 yards and the game-winning score a week ago.