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BATTER UP

Kwaku Boateng rose to a starting role in his second year with the Eskimos last season, in no small part to two games where he earned three sacks apiece.

And while the 24-year-old Wilfrid Laurier University product, who was a steal in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, wasn’t able to replicate that career-best feat against the Montreal Alouettes this season, he will get another chance against the other team he ‘struck out’, when he faces the Redblacks on Saturday.

“To be honest with you, I don’t really look at it per game,” said Boateng, who has contributed four sacks to Edmonton’s league-leading tally of 26 on the year. “Obviously, it’s nice to have three sacks, but the goal is to have three sacks against every team.”

At this point in his budding career, Boateng said he doesn’t have a favourite team to play against.

“Not right now, I just like to play football,” he said. “Any time I get an opportunity to get out there and play the game, I’m happy.”

This week’s opportunity comes against an opponent with a new right tackle in six-foot-seven, 318-pound Colorado product Stephane Nembot, who will make his first CFL start.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Boateng said. “All I know is he’s a professional, that’s why he’s here and I’m sure Ottawa thinks that he’s adequate enough to be out there and perform for them, so I’m not going to take him different from any other player.”

FIGHT FOR FIRST

Any grinding you may have heard as the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers fought over first place in the West Division on Thursday night likely came from the teeth of an Eskimos squad that lost last week’s Battle of Alberta, despite surrendering just 220 net yards of offence and one offensive touchdown.

“We can’t do anything about last week, we’ve moved on from that,” Boateng said of the 24-18 loss that went down to a last-second jump ball in the end zone. “It was a tight game. Obviously, if we cleaned some things up, it shouldn’t have been a tight game.

“We took the loss there and there’s no point in looking back at it.”

Email: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge