Taylor Shire, Regina Leader-Post
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are ready to wrap up the regular season on Saturday evening with an eye toward the playoffs.
With first place in the West Division already secured, the Roughriders (12-5) will host the B.C. Lions (10-7) on Saturday (5 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium in Week 21 of the CFL season.
While there could be playoff seeding on the line for the Lions, the Roughriders are hoping to use their final regular season game as tune-up for the West final on Nov. 8.
“Every week is an opportunity to make a statement, not necessarily versus the opponent, but just for ourselves to just remind us that we are who we think we are,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace.
Lineup news
After resting several starters last week in a 17-16 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Roughriders are expected to deploy most of their regular lineup this week against B.C.
However, some veterans will sit this week including kicker Brett Lauther, defensive back/linebacker C.J Reavis and defensive tackle Mike Rose. American Michael Hughes will make his CFL debut handling kicking duties this week while Nelson Lokombo returns from the injured list to get the start at safety for Reavis. Defensive tackle Micah Johnson makes his way back onto the lineup after resting last week.
As for quarterback Trevor Harris and running back A.J. Ouellette, they are both back on the roster this week after getting last week off. However, the amount of playing time they get on Saturday hasn’t been revealed by Mace.
Instead, those players will focus on the playing time they do get, knowing they’ll need to be ready to go for Nov. 8.
Any time we get an opportunity to play, it’s always important,” said Harris. “The more reps, the better.
“I’ve told you guys in pre-season (and) I’ve told Mace, let me play three-and-a-half quarters, and if it’s close, leave me in. That’s how I feel now.”
Centre Logan Ferland and right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick are also listed back in the starting lineup alongside Darius Washington, who will start at left guard this week after
Meanwhile, receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker is listed as a starter this week after spectating most of the game last week while other receivers including Samuel Emilus, KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers will sit again while Joe Robustelli has also been ruled out.
Regardless of who is in the lineup and who is sitting this week, the expectation for Mace and company doesn’t change
“Play winning football,” said the head coach. “I can tell you after last week, guys were a little bit upset, man. We didn’t get the job done.
“And truthfully, whoever was out there wears the same jersey. It’s the same expectation and we fell short. So for us this week, narrow focus again.
“We have a really good team coming into to our building, and we’ve got an opportunity to go out there and fix some of the things that we need to get better at and go out there try to get the win.”
Taming the Lions
Saturday’s game will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams after the Riders beat B.C. 37-18 in Week 4 before Saskatchewan won 33-27 three weeks later to secure the season series.
Given that the Lions enter Saturday’s game on a five-game winning streak, they very well could be the favourites to advance to the West final against the Riders, which would set up a fourth meeting of the season between the clubs.
However, Harris isn’t worried about sending any particular message to the Lions this week if in fact these two teams meet again in a few weeks.
“We want to send a message to ourselves and our fans that we’re in the right spot and we’re building toward what we want to get to,” said Harris. “As coach Mace told us, we’re on the clock, and here we are at the end of the year in a good spot, so let’s not waste the opportunity.”
Playoff picture
The Lions currently sit in second place in the West Division with a 10-7 record and will stay in second place with a win on Saturday.
However, there are other playoff scenarios to be determined in the final week of the season preceding Saskatchewan taking on B.C., which is the final game of the year. On Friday, the Calgary Stampeders (10-7) visit the playoff-eliminated Edmonton Elks (7-10) before the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) host the Montreal Alouettes (10-7) on Saturday afternoon.
For the Lions to finish in second and host Calgary in the Western semifinal, which means Winnipeg would cross over to the East, there are four scenarios this week which would make that happen:
- B.C. win
- B.C. tie and Calgary tie
- B.C. tie and Calgary loss and Winnipeg win
- B.C. tie or loss and Calgary loss and Winnipeg loss
For Calgary to finish in second place and host B.C. in the Western semifinal, with Winnipeg crossing over, there are four scenarios, all involving a B.C. loss, that would need to play out:
- Calgary win and Winnipeg win and B.C. tie or loss
- Calgary win and Winnipeg loss and B.C. tie or loss
- Calgary tie and Winnipeg loss and B.C. loss
- Calgary loss and Winnipeg win and B.C. loss
There’s also a chance that the Lions could actually finish in fourth place and cross over to the east with one scenario at play which would leave Calgary hosting Winnipeg in the Western semifinal:
- B.C. loss and Calgary win or tie and Winnipeg win
