Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
A trip to the Grey Cup is on the line on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium as the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the B.C. Lions in the CFL’s West final.
It will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two clubs with the Roughriders — who finished first place in the division at 12-6 — holding a 2-1 record against the Lions, who finished second at 11-7.
And while these two teams met in Western semifinal last year, with the Roughriders winning 28-19 before losing to host Winnipeg 38-22 in the West final, Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris was asked what’s different this year for the Green and White, who are playing at home in the West final for the first time since 2019.
“We’re the big dogs,” he stated.
This will be the first time since 2007 that Saskatchewan and B.C. are meeting in the West final. That year, the Riders won 26-17 in Vancouver to advance to the Grey Cup. Saskatchewan has never hosted B.C. in a single-game West final. And even though the Roughriders haven’t been in a Grey Cup since they won in 2013, the team is not putting too much pressure on themselves.
“I think you understand there’s more eyeballs on the game, but I was raised by a guy that never let me get a moment too big and so just take each moment for what it is,” said Harris. “Tomorrow’s 12 on 12; the rules are still the same. Defences are defences, and so just go out and play; play our game to the best of our ability.”
At home, Saskatchewan’s all-time playoff record is 24-18-1 while the Lions are 11-27 all-time on the road. According to CFL stats, since 1972 the host of the West final is 31-20.
“It’s a privilege,” said Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette. “A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to have the pressure put on them so you’ve just got to tell the guys it’s a privilege when people are watching.
“When it’s win or go home, it’s a privilege. So go out there and show the world what you’re made of.”
“For me personally, it’s another regular game,” added Riders linebacker Jameer Thurman. “I understand that everyone, all the outside noise, they hype this game up to what it’s supposed to be and everything.
“But you just treat it like another regular game. You don’t need to add any other pressure on yourself; just go out there and do what you’ve been doing all season.”
Rest versus rust
Since clinching top spot in the division on Oct. 10 in a victory over the Toronto Argonauts, the Roughriders opted to rest some starting players for their final two regular season games before enjoying a bye in the first round of the playoffs, as they watched B.C. beat the Calgary Stampeders in the Western semifinal.
Despite the time off between meaningful games, the Roughriders have still tried to remain locked in achieving their goal.
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“It’s never made sense to me to take the foot off the gas at all,” said Harris. “Stay in rhythm, be who you are, execute. If you take your foot off the gas at all, then I feel like that becomes a habit.
“And you are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is a habit; just like if you’re going to be a lazy player. We have a culture here that (head coach Corey) Mace has set, and we just come out here and play hard every day, no matter what.”
Lineup notes
Thanks to the time off, the Roughriders are as healthy as they have been heading into the West final as Saskatchewan will have a few key pieces back into the lineup just in time.
Among those additions is all-CFL halfback Rolan Milligan Jr., who missed the final three games of the season after suffering an injury against Ottawa in Week 18.
“It wasn’t a guarantee,” said Milligan about his pending return to the lineup. “It was just depending on how my body recovered and how I felt throughout that process of going through the treatments and all the different protocols they have for me, but I’m able to be back out there and it feels great.”
Receiver KeeSean Johnson has been ruled out this week as he hasn’t recovered from his knee injury while Dohnte Meyers makes his return to the lineup after recovering from an ankle injury. Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens also makes his return to the lineup from a knee injury while Trevon Tate will start at left guard for the first time since Week 4.
“Very close,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace when asked how close Johnson was to returning this week. “Tough decisions.
“But ultimately, we have Joe Robustelli, who’s healthy. For us, I understand the allure (of playing Johnson) but we want to put together the best team that we feel gives us the option to win this game. And KeeSean, while he’s close, he’s just not quite close enough I think.”
C.J. Reavis will continue to man the safety position with Antoine Brooks Jr. staying at strongside linebacker. Canadian Ali Saad will start ahead of Mike Rose to make up for the ratio change, although Rose will be used on a rotational basis.
Along with Johnson, defensive end Shane Ray is the only other Roughrider who started substantial games for the Green and White this season who is off the roster this week due to injury.
Taming the Lions
While the Roughriders have had nearly a month off between meaningful games, the Lions enter Saturday’s action on a seven-game winning streak dating back to Sept. 12.
“I know that we feel pretty good where we’re at,” said Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. “We feel like we still haven’t peaked as an offence and maybe as a team, and we feel good with the progress that we’re making week to week.
“And I think it’s certainly good to be able to be in situations where, down the stretch, the games matter and you’re kind of seeing where you’re at as a team when you come to face adversity.”
Limiting Rourke will be the biggest challenge for the Roughriders on Saturday as the 27-year-old — who was named the all-CFL quarterback — can get it done through the air with his arm and along the ground with his legs.
“You just keep him uncomfortable,” said Milligan. “He’s a person, so he’ll make mistakes if you keep him uncomfortable.
“Nobody’s perfect, so just throwing different things at him and just trying to keep him off his game as much as we can.
“Being able to keep him in the pocket and make him just throw the ball the whole game makes it a little easier, because then we can throw different looks at him in secondary.”
This season, Rourke threw for 5,290 yards and 31 touchdowns while also adding 564 yards and 10 touchdowns along the ground.
In their 33-30 West semifinal win against Calgary, while the Stampeders limited Rourke to 223 passing yards, he led his team with 68 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“I think Calgary did a good job against him,” said Milligan. “The D-line was going crazy getting in the backfield, so he really couldn’t get comfortable and just air out like he wanted to.
“But they were still able to make the plays in the game to win.”
Quarterback quips
While Saskatchewan’s defence has fielded many questions about game planning for Rourke all week, Harris didn’t want to concern himself too much with how the opposing quarterback plays Saturday.
“I’m just trying to just be the best version of myself I can be for my team, and that’s kind of where I’m at with it,” said Harris. “I’ve never really concerned myself too much with the other quarterbacks.
“I do get it, and Nathan’s a great player, but I feel like it’s our time.”
Later in his media availability, Harris was then asked about his role running Saskatchewan’s offence in order to keep Rourke off the field.
“I’m not here to talk about Nathan Rourke,” he replied. “I think it’s our time.”
As for Rourke, he shares a similar mindset of respecting the opposing quarterback but not occupying himself with what he may be doing.
“As much as I watch all the quarterbacks in this league and respect them and follow them and try to learn something from them, we never have the chance to play (against each other on the field) as we’re not on the field at the same time,” said Rourke. “This is a really good Saskatchewan defence and that’s what I’m worried about right now.”
tshire@postmedia.com
