Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
Moments like this are exactly what Trevor Harris plays for.
This weekend, the 38-year-old veteran quarterback is set for his ninth career playoff start as the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday (5:30 p.m., TSN) in the CFL’s West final with the winner advancing to the Grey Cup in Vancouver.
“It’s a blessing to be in the second bonus week of football,” Harris, a veteran of 16 career playoff games as a starter and backup, said this week. “The only thing better than that is getting to the bonus third week of football.
“We’re going to go out there and tee it up and do everything we can to get to next week.”
The Bombers are looking for their fifth straight trip to the Grey Cup while the Roughriders are looking for their first appearance since 2013.
How they got here
After an 11-7-0 regular season record, the Blue Bombers clinched top spot in the West Division for a fourth straight year, earning a bye and the right to host the West final.
The Roughriders, meanwhile, finished second in the division with a 9-8-1 record and beat the B.C. Lions 28-19 last week in the Western semifinal.
Roster changes
After hurting his knee against the Lions, Roughriders left tackle Trevor Reid is out of the lineup this week as Trevon Tate will move from right tackle to left tackle, with Logan Ferland taking over at right tackle.
Peter Godber, who was pressed into action last week after Reid was injured, will make his first start at centre since suffering an ankle injury in the Labour Day Classic while Ryan Sceviour returns to the lineup as the backup offensive lineman.
Defensively, Anthony Lanier II returns to the lineup as a backup defensive tackle after being a healthy scratch last week. The Riders will also be without backup safety Jaxon Ford (knee) with linebacker Melique Straker coming onto the roster.
Running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon will also be out this week.
Turnover time
In their Western semifinal win over the Lions last week, the Roughriders intercepted Vernon Adams Jr. three times.
The numbers are similar to what Saskatchewan produced in the regular season as the Green and White led the CFL with 49 turnovers forced.
And if they want to beat Winnipeg this week, taking the ball away will be a priority.
“We’re making sure that the communication is on-point in the backend,” said safety Nelson Lokombo, who registered his first career interception against the Lions. “There’s something special with this group and being able to add another week to it, it’s what you want.”
High stakes
While Saturday’s game will be the biggest game of the season for both teams, the Roughriders are just trying to approach it as they’ve done all year — going 1-0.
“You try to make it a regular week as much as possible,” said veteran long snapper Jorgen Hus. “You don’t want to change what you’ve been doing and what’s made you successful.
“I feel like if you have to add a lot to what you’re doing then you probably weren’t doing enough before.”
And while the players and coaches know what’s at stake, Riders’ head coach Corey Mace said it’s important to stay even keeled as much as possible on Saturday.
“I don’t think anybody is hiding from what it is,” said Mace. “But at the end of the day, the ball is going to be whistled in and it’s going to be kicked off and you’ve got to go execute your job; that does not change.
“The intensity might be a little different (and) the crowd might be different but it does come down to getting your job executed and trying to win.
“We don’t want to stray too far from that, but we know what’s at stake. You’ve just got to make sure to find that balance as a player when you’re out there, and as coaches, just to managing those personalities.
“You can’t get too high, you can’t get too low; you’ve got to stay focused.”
Road trip
In the last nine West finals, the home team has won eight times.
Since 1972, the host of the West final is 30-20 and 15-6 since 2002, according to the CFL.
As the home team in the playoffs, Winnipeg is 43-19-2 (.688) all-time while the Roughriders are 21-35-1 (.377) on the road.
For the Roughriders, playing on the road is just fine as long as they can deal with the crowd at a sold-out Princess Auto Stadium this weekend.
“I think we’ll overcome the noise,” said Tate. “We’ve been there before.
“We communicate well without even having to use words up front so as an O-line, I can look at our centre and know what he’s thinking already so that helps a lot just the chemistry and the bond that we’ve got as a unit.”
Season series
It’s the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams with Winnipeg holding a 2-1 record.
While the Riders won 19-9 on July 19, Winnipeg swept the September home-and-home series against Saskatchewan with a 35-33 win in the Labour Day Classic followed by a 26-21 win the next week in the Banjo Bowl.
“Certainly, we know each other well,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “It just so happens that the team we’re seeing for a fourth time is also probably the best rivalry going.
“This time of the year, everybody knows each other fairly well. It’s going to be a hard-fought battle and everybody understands the consequences of this game.”
“They’re playing some really good football right now and this is why both of us are in this game coming up on Saturday,” added Bombers running back Brady Oliveira. “We’ve both earned the right to play in the West final.
“We’re two of the best teams in the West and we’re going to go out there and fight it out and see who gets top spot and moves on to the Grey Cup.”
