REGINA - The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in prime position to put some distance between themselves and the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL standings on Saturday.
The Roughriders host the Stampeders this evening at Mosaic Stadium, for the second contest this season between the two clubs. It again promises to be another rivalry game with Riders head coach Craig Dickenson facing off against his brother, Calgary coach Dave Dickenson. This time, it is brother Dave who is feeling the heat.
The Roughriders enter the game with a 3-1 record with the Stamps languishing at 1-3. A win would put the Roughriders three games clear of the Stampeders and they would win the season series, with the Riders in a position to potentially put Calgary firmly in the rear view mirror for the rest of the season.
A loss, though, would put the Stamps right back in the hunt and surely raise the blood pressure of fans throughout Rider Nation, who are already on edge after three absolute nail-biter wins. One of those was the 29-26 double-overtime win against Calgary at McMahon Stadium, won on a Nic Marshall interception. The other Riders wins have been against the terrible Edmonton Elks who this week dropped to 0-6 after a brutal 37-29 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. That ties the North America record for a home losing streak of 20 losses in a row.
One issue going into Saturday’s game at Mosaic Stadium is whether the smoke conditions will be a factor. Smoke conditions in Edmonton almost scuttled Thursday night’s game between the Elks and the Tiger-Cats. Meanwhile, those same conditions made their way to Saskatchewan in the past couple of days. Regina suffered from major smoke conditions on Friday, forcing the Roughriders to take their practice indoors to AffinityPlex.
If the air quality gets much worse it might result in today’s contest being pushed back, but at this point signs point to the game getting under way on time with kickoff at 5 p.m. this evening.
The other issue going into Saturday’s game for the Roughriders is, once more, the mounting injury situation. The Roughriders announced defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., defensive back Kosi Onyeka, defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II and offensive lineman Brandon Council are out for this game; in Milligan's case he is on the six-game injured list. In are DeMarcus Christmas on the defensive line, Jeremy Clark at halfback, Lukas Ruoss at linebacker and Eric Lofton on the offensive line.
Trevor Harris again starts for the Riders with Mason Fine and Shea Patterson as backups.
Roughriders celebrate Indigenous culture
This week’s Riders game is the kisiskâciwan Game, presented by SIGA, as the Roughriders celebrate Indigenous culture. There will be Indigenous performers and talented artists at the game activities.
Phyllis Littletent and the Kawacatoose Boys Singers and Dance Troupe will be performing on the field during the pregame.
This week, the Roughriders are giving out t-shirts designed by Indigenous artist Christine Marie with help from Nicole Sheetka, available to the first 5,000 fans.
Coors Light Party in the Park begins at 2 p.m. and will include local cover band DETOUR on stage. In the house for Party in the Park will be will be two legendary Roughrider Plaza of Honour signing autographs: Roughriders all-time receiving yards and touchdowns leader Ray Elgaard, and the Roughriders single- season receiving yards record holder Joey Walters. Both Elgaard and Walters spoke to the Riders players at walk-thru Friday.
Good news for those getting to the game
Traffic to Saturday’s game should be considerably better this week for those taking Lewvan Drive. The City of Regina has announced that as of around 7 a.m., on July 15, all traffic restrictions on Lewvan Drive are completely removed. The city reports the Lewvan project was completed five weeks ahead of schedule.
