Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
A rivalry will be renewed on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.
The 4-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are coming off their first loss of the season last week at the hands of the B.C. Lions, are set to host the 2-4 Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who come into Week 7 having won two straight contests after starting the year 0-4.
“Losses are lessons,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. “We’ve had a good week in preparation and we spoke about it again today, we want to hunt hungry right now.”
“We want to see how we respond to adversity,” added Roughriders right guard Logan Ferland. “We’ve been playing hard every single game and I think it’s showed.
“I think we have to continue to build on that and build as a team.”
It’s the first of three meetings of the year between the two teams as they will also meet in the September’s Labour Day Classic followed by the Banjo Bowl one week later in Winnipeg.
Next man up
With right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick heading to the six-game injured list with a quad injury, it’s next man up for the Roughriders along the offensive line as rookie Jacob Brammer will get his first career start.
“It’s going to be a lot of emotions running through,” said Brammer, whose last game was for Vanderbilt University in 2022. “Haven’t been an actual starter in a couple years so just want to get back out there and show what I can do.”
Ferland, who will line up beside Brammer, also says the 25-year-old has shown he’s more than capable to fill the void.
“Brammer does a great job knowing what he has to do already,” said Ferland. “He doesn’t need much help.
“He’s a very good football player and it’s going to be seamless him making that transition and I’m just excited for him to play.”
Emergency lineman
After Hardrick went down last week against the Lions, Ferland shifted to right tackle and Zack Fry came into the game at guard.
Then in the last minute of the game when left tackle Trevor Reid went down, defensive lineman Miles Brown had to come into the game and play offensive line for the final few snaps.
“It was a little unexpected,” said Brown. “It was an opportunity for me to show that I’m versatile and available.”
So how did he grade his performance?
“I think I did well,” chuckled Brown. “Put the mitts on the guys as best as I could and kept them from getting a sack.”
Roster notes
Only one other roster change for the Riders this week as defensive end Malik Carney is back in the lineup this week after missing one game with a knee injury. Rookie linebacker Zakoby McClain heads back to the practice squad.
Run stopper
While the Riders rank last in the CFL having given up an average of 340 passing yards per game, their run defence is best in the league as Saskatchewan has given up just 237 rushing yards in five games — an average of 47.4 yards per game.
“Our job is to be gap sound,” said Brown. “I think we have a really good defensive line.
“We have a lot of good guys in the room who know how to be gap sound and who know how to play with technique, who are really strong and confident in their position and I think that helps us.”
This week, they’ll have another tough test as they will try to stop Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira, who is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games.
“He’s not afraid to fight for the extra yards,” said Mace. “He’s down the for the aggressive game; he kind of wants that.
“So defensively you have to match that intensity and understand that it’s not only going to be one guy.”
Turnover time
While Saskatchewan is tied with the Montreal Alouettes for fewest turnovers committed with eight, the Riders lead the CFL with most turnovers forced.
Through five games, the Riders have 16 total turnovers, including a league-leading 11 interceptions.
“They’re just numbers,” said Mace. “You’ve got to go out and prove it each week and certainly that’s something that we always preach is ‘obsession for possession’ so to speak.
“Take care of it when you have it and go get it when you don’t.”
tshire@postmedia.com
