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Even though Micah Johnson is in year 12 of his CFL career, he’s still doing new things—like getting a walkoff sack for a victory.
“It’s awesome. That might be my first one like that—a game-winning sack at the end,” Johnson said. “That might be the first walk-off for sure. I need to check up on that.”
The 37-year-old sacked Cody Fajardo on the final play in a 21-18 win over the Edmonton Elks on Friday. That was one of two sacks he had in the game with the Riders, recording eight in total—Malik Carney and Shane Ray also had a pair, while A.J. Allen and C.J. Reavis also had a sack each.
“I think guys rushing together (led to the success). It’s crazy because I think we have been rushing well. I think personally, I have been rushing well but sometimes the sacks don’t come,” Johnson said.
“For it to all come together for us, it was pretty awesome because as D-line, you can have a lot of good rushes and don’t wind up getting a sack. I think it finally came together for us just as a group where it wasn’t just one guy who had a good game, we all had it together.”
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That performance now has the Riders as the league leaders when it comes to sacks, having 20 thus far in the 2025 CFL season. They have four more than the second-place Montreal Alouettes, who the Riders take on at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show will begin at 3 p.m.
The Riders haven’t won in Montreal since 2021, when current Riders quarterback Trevor Harris was a member of the Als and came into the game after Matthew Shiltz struggled. That was a 19-14 win for Saskatchewan.
“Just catching that flight out there and the homefield advantage—the fans are great out there. They are a physical football team, and we feel like we are made up the same way,” Johnson said.
“With Montreal, when you go there, you’re going to get a real physical battle.”
While the Riders returned to practice on Tuesday, there were nine players who did not practice. Mario Alford (hip), Carney (ankle), Dhel Duncan-Busby (shoulder), Sam Emilus (knee), Zack Fry (head), Daniel Johnson (shoulder), Lake Korte-Moore (knee), Aubrey Miller Jr. (knee), and Reavis (foot) didn’t practice on Tuesday.
