Argos defence preparing to face Alouettes ground game even without Stanback

Shawn Oakman isn't breathing a huge sigh of relief because the Toronto Argonauts defence won't have to contend with William Stanback on Thursday night.

The Montreal running back suffered an ankle injury in the club's season-opening 30-27 loss to the Calgary Stampeders. Stanback, who ran for a CFL-high 1,176 yards last season, is currently on the six-game injured list and won't play when the Alouettes visit Toronto in the Argonauts' season opener.

Watch the Argonauts open their season against the Alouettes LIVE on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET/ 10:30 p.m. PT on TSN5, the TSN App, and TSN Direct.

The six-foot-nine, 287-pound Oakman, starting his second season on Toronto's defensive line, said Montreal's offence tries to establish the run and doesn't expect that to change without Stanback.

"It's hard to get away from your gameplan," Oakman said. "They've been running that system for a long time (and) just because he's out doesn't mean they're not going to run their plays.

"I'm pretty sure they've got someone else back there."

Sophomore Canadian Jeshrun Antwi rushed for 98 yards on seven carries against Calgary. That included a 70-yard scamper, the longest in the CFL since Stanback had a 72-yard run against Toronto in October 2018.

Toronto had its issues stopping Stanback last year. The burly running back ran for 336 yards on 43 carries in two games versus the Argos, including 203 yards on 24 attempts in Montreal's 37-16 victory Oct, 22, 2021.

And even without Stanback, Montreal didn't abandon the run versus Calgary. The Alouettes rolled up 140 rushing yards on 19 carries (7.4-yard average) with two touchdowns.

"Once (Stanback) went down last week, then they started to run the ball a little bit more," said Toronto head coach Ryan