Huskies and Rams ready to battle to final whistle in Hardy Cup
1h ago
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
It was a one-man show for the Saskatchewan Roughriders at quarterback Thursday.
Jake Dolegala was the only one of the three pivots to participate in the first practice at Mosaic Stadium since a myriad of positive COVID tests forced the cancellation of two sessions earlier in the week. Cody Fajardo (knee/illness) and Mason Fine (illness) were both absent.
“It was strange. Just individuals and warming up by myself, usually we’re chatting amongst the (quarterbacks). It was different,” Dolegala said. “Usually you’ve got at least one or two guys with you no matter where you are. It was unique today.”
Dolegala could be in line for the first start of his CFL career with no other quarterbacks available at this time. The Riders are hosting the Toronto Argonauts on Sunday. The game was set to be played Saturday but was postponed due to the Riders’ COVID situation.
Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 3 p.m.
When asked if Dolegala would get the start, Riders head coach Craig Dickenson at first said the 25-year-old would be the choice but then backtracked on that.
“We will decide on game day who we want to be the backup; it will either be Mason or Cody … We expect Dolegala to start,” Dickenson said. “We could play Mason or Cody as well. I don’t mean to sound vague but it’s the truth. We have all three of them if we want them.
“I’m not going to handcuff our offence. I guess I’ll backtrack a little bit and say the offence can start who they want. It was Dolegala (Thursday). We will see who it is (Friday).
“I’m not going say we’re going to start Jake. The plan (Thursday) was to play Jake because there were no other quarterbacks available.”
Dolegala appeared in both pre-season games for the Riders, throwing for 147 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He has spent most of the season as the team’s third quarterback, being a healthy scratch for the first six games of the year.
“It’d be awesome (to start). It’s kind of a dream to start at a professional level. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity. If I’m able to start, that would be pretty darn cool,” Dolegala said.
And on a scale from one to 10, how confident is Dolegala in his ability to go out and perform?
“A 10,” he said. “Why not?”
The quarterbacks weren’t the only ones missing Thursday. According to the Riders’ injury report, 10 players missed practice due to illness, including defensive back Nick Marshall, linebacker Darnell Sankey, slotback Justin McInnis, defensive back Rolan Milligan, and offensive tackle Terran Vaughn.
Slotback Duke Williams has been suspended for throwing a helmet at an Argos player in the 30-24 loss in Wolfville, N.S., during the Touchdown Atlantic game.
The Riders also announced three national signings on Thursday: Defensive lineman Alain Cimankinda, defensive back Vincent Dethier and linebacker Jared Beeksma.
“It’s been a wild couple of day. We expected that Halifax trip to be memorable and it’s been more memorable than I ever expected,” Dickenson said. “We have a lot of new faces out there and you’re going to see guys play that haven’t played yet this year.
“We’re going to put a team out there and we expect to play well and do what we do. We’re playing to win the game, just like we would if we had everybody that was a so-called starter out there.”