Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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The Saskatchewan Roughriders are heading out west to try to quell a roaring B.C. Lions team.
Saskatchewan is coming off a 26-19 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats that saw their record drop to 6-3 and in second place in the CFL’s West Division. Meanwhile, the Lions have weathered the storm of some early-season injuries and are now sitting at 4-5 after winning three games in a row.
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This is the first time the clubs have met since both kicked off their seasons in Week 2 at Mosaic Stadium with Saskatchewan winning 31-27.
“I think they are a better version of who they are as opposed to when we played them earlier in the season. They are rolling right now. They have discovered the run game and still had the pieces that they had. Their defence is playing really well right now, and they have some good, aggressive players on special teams and their specialists have been on point,” Riders head coach Corey Mace said.
“It’s a good team and another test for us. For us, with how things worked out for us last week, guys are itching to get rolling here soon.”
Mace has also noticed the confidence the Lions are playing with right now.
“I think any time you can string together some wins, you feel that confidence. Getting Nathan (Rourke) back certainly helps. Their defence is playing together right now and they are playing some complementary football,” Mace said.
“We’re going into someone’s house — I’m sure they are happy to be playing back in B.C. Place as well. The cards are stacked for us; let’s go see who we are.”
Rourke missed two games after suffering a shoulder injury, but the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player is back healthy. He has 2,074 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions this season.
“With Nathan being back, he’s able to get the ball to all of his guys. They have playmakers all over the field,” defensive back Marcus Sayles said.
“The first couple of games is in the past for them now and they are trying to look better going forward. We have been doing everything we need to do to. We feel like it’s going to be a good game. We just have to continue to not give up explosive plays and we will be fine.”
Running back Zander Horvath’s emergence has been a boon for the Lions in recent weeks. The second-season CFLer has become one of the top rushers in the league with 355 yards and five rushing touchdowns over the team’s past three games. He currently has 11 total touchdowns, tying him with Saskatchewan short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens for the CFL lead.
“Just a breath of juice. You don’t want to take anything away from James (Butler) and what he has been to that team and will continue to be to that team. (Horvath) has just given them a little bit more juice and you can tell the guys are feeding off of it,” Mace said.
While the Lions’ defence has been showing improvement from their early season struggles, they will face a Riders’ offence that will get back one of its top playmakers.
Slotback Sam Emilus returns to the lineup after missing three games. Prior to his injury, the reigning Grey Cup Most Outstanding Canadian had 448 yards and five touchdowns.
The Riders’ offence struggled to get into a rhythm against the Tiger-Cats, with quarterback Trevor Harris throwing for only 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Harris, who is now in fifth place on the Roughriders’ franchise passing yards list with 11,949 yards, said he can tell B.C. feels confident in their play.
“It’s our job to make sure we go out and help them not execute and they are going to try the same to us. This is one where we look forward to in the season series and setting us up in the back half (0f the season) heading into Labour Day when the real football starts to get played and the weather gets a little more chilly,” Harris said.
“We’re really looking forward to this one.”
Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.
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