Murray Wood: How young is too young to bring kids to sports games
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The Saskatchewan Roughriders will see some familiar faces on the Montreal Alouettes’ sideline on Friday.
The Green and White will take on former starting quarterback Cody Fajardo and former offensive co-ordinator – and now Als head coach – Jason Maas for the first time since Saskatchewan moved on from the pair. Kickoff for the game in Montreal is set for 5:30 p.m.
“We weren’t good enough on offence last year and there was a multitude of reasons,” Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said following Wednesday’s practice. “We felt like we needed to make changes and needed some fresh ideas and new faces and that’s why we did it.
“If we would have been successful, they would still be here.”
Fajardo emerged as the Riders’ starting pivot in 2019 after an injury to Zach Collaros. Fajardo went on to throw for 4,302 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions while adding 611 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground en route to being named the CFL West Division’s most outstanding player.
The Riders lost to the Collaros-led Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division final.
Maas was Saskatchewan’s offensive co-ordinator for the 2021 campaign, another season that ended in a West Division playoff loss to the Bombers.
It was a disaster for the Riders in 2022 as the team surrendered a league-high 77 sacks and lost its final seven games to finish 6-12-0 and on the outside of the playoffs.
In the final two games of the season, the Riders benched Fajardo in place for Mason Fine — who is now the Riders’ starter after Trevor Harris suffered a knee injury.
“Cody is awesome. He’s a great person and a great teammate and a great family man,” Fine said. “He taught me a lot and I was always under his wing. About the situation last year, he was always supportive and a great teammate.”
Fine won his first professional game as a starter last week in a 26-24 decision over the Ottawa Redblacks. In his three starts in 2023, Fine has thrown for 876 yards and one touchdown.
There are some question marks around if and how much Fajardo will play in this week’s matchup as the quarterback deals with a shoulder injury.
Even as the two are on different teams, Fine said he and Fajardo continue to text each other and keep in touch as the season has gone on.
“We’re still pretty close. We’ve been joking around about this week and it’s going to be a fun time,” Fine said. “I’m excited to see him (and) excited to talk to him. Cody has been, and still is, a good friend to me.”
