‘This whole team has a chip on their shoulder’: Riders look for home playoff win over Stamps in CFL West semifinal

Sunday presents a chance at redemption for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The team saw their 2019 season come to an end after quarterback Cody Fajardo’s pass hit the crossbar of the north end zone goalposts, losing to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20-13.

“I thought going 9-5 and hosting a (semifinal) playoff game would help but to the fans and in that locker room, playoffs mean everything,” Fajardo said. “For me to right all my wrongs of the 2019 season and having to sit on that has been very tough mentally.

“I’m going to leave everything out there on the field and I know when I go back to my locker, no matter the outcome I’ll know I gave it everything I’ve got.”

For some, the sting of losing at home goes deeper than just the 2019 season.

In 2018, the Riders saw their season come to an end at Mosaic Stadium at the hands of the Bombers in a 23-18 loss.

“This is the biggest game of my life so far,” said wide receiver Shaq Evans, who was on both of those teams that lost to Winnipeg. “There’s pressure and I want everyone to feel pressure because I feel like pressure makes diamonds and I live for pressure. I haven’t had too many opportunities like this in my lifetime. I didn’t make the playoffs in high school and I didn’t win any championships in college, so this game is super important to me and I think everyone in this locker room feels the way I do.”

Evans said the team has shown a good focus and intensity in practices leading up to Sunday’s West semifinal game against the Calgary Stampeders. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Playoff success has been easier to find for the Stamps than for the Riders in recent years. Calgary played in 12 playoff games between 2010-19, winning seven of them.

Meanwhile, the Riders only made the playoff five times during that span, appearing in 10 games and winning five of them.

While the Riders finished with a 9-5 record – good for the second-best in the league – head coach Craig Dickenson knows that means nothing now that it’s playoffs.

“If we don’t win this game, it’s going to be a disappointing year. They don’t ask you when you go home for Christmas what you finished in the regular season. They want to know who won the Grey Cup and were you in that game,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said. “I said the pressure is on us to do well and win this game.”

The Riders also feel like they are being viewed by a number of people as the underdogs in the game despite having a home-field advantage.

“(The Stamps) are a good team and they are really hot right now and everyone wants to talk about them and we’re kind of in this underdog role even though we are at home. Guys feel it in that locker room and we want to go out there and show this league why we’re a nine-win team,” Fajardo said.

“Especially on offence, people have been kind of dragging our name through the mud all year and we’re a nine-win team but everyone wants to talk about the deep ball.”

The Riders offence is averaging 20.7 points a game (seventh in the CFL), 307.6 yards a game (eighth) and only had 12 pass plays all year go for more than 30-yards (eighth).

“I think this whole team has a chip on their shoulder because of what happened with the whole all-star ballot thing and I think there are some guys who think they got snubbed,” Fajardo said.

Despite all the wins the Riders accumulated this season, only defensive tackle Micah Johnson and defensive back Nick Marshall were named West CFL all-stars.

The Stamps won the season series 2-1 winning the first two matchups – 23-17 on Oct.2 and 22-19 on Oct. 9.

The Riders won the third regular season meeting between the two clubs 20-17 on Oct. 23.

Saskatchewan is coming in as winners of four of their last five games while the Stamps have won six of their last seven – two of those victories at the expense of the Riders.

While Duke Williams only played in one of the games against the Stamps after being signed in October and going through the mandatory COVID-19 quarantine period, he knows the importance and emotion behind this game.

“It’s either you win or you go home. There’s no in-between that,” Williams said. “(The Stamps) don’t like us and we don’t like them. It’s going to be a physical game and if they think they are going to come in here and run over us, they may as well put that in the trash can. They are going to have to come in and take it from us.”

And Williams said he knows how Calgary is going to attack their offence.

“They will drop back and play zone. They aren’t going to play us man-to-man. They can’t cover us man-to-man.”

One of the biggest challenges facing the Riders on the defensive side of the ball is stopping Stamps running back Ka’Deem Carey. Carey, who was the Stamps nominee for most outstanding player, rushed for 249 yards in three games against the Riders this year.

Running room hasn’t been easy for opposing teams to find against the Riders. Saskatchewan’s defence only gave up 1,155 yards on the ground all season – good for second-fewest in the league.

“Everyone’s going to need to have that want-to to tackle this week,” linebacker Micah Teitz said. “Everybody is going to have to come to the ball. It’s hard to miss when you’ve got seven or eight guys putting hats on the football.”

The Riders’ defence is only giving up 20.3 points a game (fourth), 334 yards (fifth), has 47 sacks (second) and 17 interceptions (tied for first).

While Bo Levi Mitchell has played many games in Saskatchewan, this will be his first playoff start against the Riders. This is the first time Calgary has played a playoff game in Regina since 2009 – a 27-17 win for the Riders.

“When I enter this building the Sask. atmosphere is always the same – the stadium is full and everyone here hates me,” Mitchell said. “I think it will be pretty similar (to other games).”

Mitchell has an 11-4 regular-season record against the Riders.

The winner of the game will face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final on Dec. 4.

And this game means a lot for players like defensive back Ed Gainey, who has been on the losing side of playoff games against the Bombers and Stamps in his nine-year CFL career, five of them with the Riders.

“I’m going to speak for myself and I’ve been here for four or five years so I can’t stand Calgary or Winnipeg,” defensive back Ed Gainey said. “I wouldn’t have the playoff picture any other way.”