Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are ready for a tough test on Saturday afternoon
In Week 11 of the CFL season, West Division-leading Saskatchewan (7-1) will host the East Division-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-3) at Mosaic Stadium with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
The Roughriders, who are coming off a bye week, have rattled off three straight wins while the Tiger-Cats just had their six-game winning streak snapped last week in a 41-38 overtime loss to the B.C. Lions.
“If you’re a CFL fan, you really look forward to watching a game like this,” said Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
Saturday’s game will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams after Saskatchewan won 28-23 on the road in Week 2.
“We know that they’re going to give us looks that we haven’t seen before, but we’ll do the same for them,” said Harris.
For the Tiger-Cats, they’re not only looking for redemption from that earlier meeting, but Hamilton believes this could be a statement game for them as well.
“If we’re going to go where we need to go, we’ve got to be able to beat teams like this,” said Tiger-Cats head coach Scott Milanovich. “They’re 7-1 for a reason.
“It’s going to be a great environment. These are the games that you like to play for. This is why you coach.”
On Friday afternoon, the Roughriders announced the game has been officially sold out.
Quarterback clash
Much of the hype of this matchup is because of the play of the two quarterbacks this season — Harris and Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell.
The 35-year-old Mitchell not only leads the league with 2,856 passing yards in nine games, but he’s thrown 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions — a TD-INT ratio (7:1) which has him on pace for the second best season all-time behind Ricky Ray (21 touchdowns, two interceptions; 10.5:1) in 2013.
Meanwhile Harris, 39, has got off to a strong start this season as he has thrown 13 touchdown passes to four interceptions in his first seven games, while also extending his CFL record of consecutive games (11) having completed at least 70 per cent of his passes.
“In my opinion, he’s playing the best he’s ever played,” said Milanovich. “I don’t think there’s a quarterback in football that gets the ball our quicker.
“His accuracy is as good or better than ever. All those years of experience are enabling him to know exactly where he wants to go with the football quicker.”
Offensive output
So far this season, games across the CFL have averaged 53.9 points this year, which is the highest mark since 2008.
Saturday’s contest will feature the two highest-scoring teams in the league as Hamilton averages a league-high 32.3 points per game while Saskatchewan is second with an average of 29.1 points per game.
The two opposing teams are also first and second in net offence per game with Saskatchewan leading the way with an average of 398.0 yards per game and Hamilton right behind them with an average of 385.4 yards per game.
Up front, the Tiger-Cats are tied with B.C. for the league lead having allowed just nine sacks while the Roughriders have given up just 10.
Noticing Nield
In Saskatchewan’s last game, Roughriders receiver Tommy Nield caught his first touchdown pass as a member of the Green and White since signing with the club this off-season.
After missing the early part of the season with an ankle injured suffered in the first pre-season game, Nield made a second straight start in place of the injured Samuel Emilus against Montreal.
And in his second game, the former Toronto Argonauts receiver caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Harris in the second quarter of Saskatchewan’s 34-6 victory over the Alouettes.
“It like it was a long time coming not having played the first six, seven games of the season,” said Nield, who also had a 26-yard reception in the game. “I was just excited to get back out there, get an opportunity to play, and grateful that it went the way it did.
“Sitting out and not getting those live reps, it’s obviously different from taking the mental reps, but I felt good once I got back out.
“Obviously the physical part of it, you’re doing everything you can to rehab. But the mental part of it is just as tough, making sure you’re staying mentally dialed in so that when you do get your opportunity, when you’re fully back healthy, that you’re ready to go and you didn’t lose a step.
“So I think just taking care of the mental side was the most important thing for me.”
Against the Lawler
Hamilton receiver Kenny Lawler enters the Week 11 contest first in the CFL with eight touchdowns and second in reception yards with 783 this season.
In the first meeting of the season, Lawler had eight catches for 162 yards against the Riders, who have to try and stop the two-time West Division all-star this week.
“We’re talking about one of the best receivers in the league,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. “If we can get the timing off with the pressure, and then cover down, have eyes on No. 89 … even then sometimes (Mitchell is) going to trust his guy and he’s going to put it up there so that’s up to us to capitalize on those opportunities.”
Potential preview
Since the top team in the West Division is facing the top team in the East Division this week, many have tabbed this game as a potential Grey Cup preview.
However, Harris downplayed those thoughts as there’s still half of a season left to be played.
“I’m not sure if we’re thinking about that,” said Harris when asked about the potential of meeting Hamilton in the Grey Cup. “To me, it’s just about us becoming the team we want to be at this point.
“We’re 7-1 but you know that really doesn’t matter at this point. It’s who are we today as a team, and who are we tomorrow as a team, and who are we going to be on Saturday as a team. Are we trending in that right direction? And if the results go well, great. If not, it’s still the same exact goal of focusing on where we need to be as a team.”
tshire@postmedia.com
