Although the 103rd annual Grey Cup game was played in Winnipeg, their was still a little bit Rochester represented on the field thanks to Ottawa Redblacks’ defensive lineman Keith Shologan.
The 34-year-old native of Rochester made his fourth Grey Cup appearance during his seventh season of his career, but was unable to add another ring to his finger following a heartbreaking 26-20 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
“It was a good game,” said Shologan. “Our defence and our offense did really well in the first half, then we just couldn’t get it done at the very end.”
Despite having three previous Grey Cup appearances, he has only won once. Those past experiences helped him grow a thicker skin when coping with a loss, but this year was a bit different when the game was over.
“This year it was kind of a shocking because they did well and they deserved to win, but at the very end of the game they won with two big penalties. That’s what got then into scoring position. It was tough and kind of shocking because that’s how the game ended, the whole season had to end on two big penalties.
“That’s what was hard to get over. It went from being (depressed) to a couple days of just being shocked.
“But you got to move on and congratulate a really good football team in Edmonton.”
Even though they didn’t get the storybook ending they wanted, the Ottawa Redblacks had and incredible turnaround from last season. The team had no where to go but up after winning only two of their regular season games in 2014.
“It was something else,” he said. “Realistically, we knew last year that we were a decent team, but we just didn’t have the pieces to kind of get it done.
“When we went 2-16, we kind of had the feeling that we could have been a lot better of a football team. We just didn’t have that last edge to win the football games. We were in a lot of close games last season and we just couldn’t find ways to pull off a win.
“This year during camp the feeling was a lot different. We built a good culture from the year before and we still had that good culture coming into camp. They brought in some real high-powered offensive weapons and they really put us over the edge.”
As a soon-to-be free agent, Shologan hasn’t had any contract extension talks just yet, but that’s expected to change in a few weeks. He’s not worried at the moment knowing he has until February to get it all figured out.
“I’ve been a part of the two best football organizations in the CFL,” said Shologan. “I’ve been blessed that way. They treat us really well they have a great stadium, management treats us well and they’re fans are top notch. I’d definitely love to go back their but it all comes down to a GM and a agent to figure it out.”
Shologan will be spending his offseason closer to his hometown after just selling his old home in Saskatchewan. He and his wife are moving back to Athabasca County with their two kids and a third one on the way.
