Riders look to earn key West Division win over Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will look to claw their way up the CFL’s West Division standings with a win against the B.C. Lions Friday.

The Riders (4-3) find themselves in fourth place in the divisional standings behind the Lions (4-1), though the Lions have played two fewer games. Kickoff for the game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 7 p.m, and the Green Zone pre-game show begins at 5 p.m.

“It’s going to be fun to play a western team,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson, whose team has only faced one division rival (Edmonton Elks) in its first seven games.

“B.C. is well-coached, they’ve won some games this year and they’ve got a good team top to bottom so they will be a big challenge.”

This will start a stretch where the Roughriders play 10 of 11 games against the West and three of their next four against the Lions.

“I think there’s excitement because the only way you can catch teams in the West is by playing teams in the West,” quarterback Cody Fajardo said. “It’s not a must-win game because it is still early in the season, but it is one of those games that can set you on the right path.

“We’re on a two-game skid and you win one here at home going into the bye week feeling good about yourselves and come back into a West-heavy schedule.”

Fajardo is back in the lineup after missing last week due to being in COVID protocol.

The 30-year-old pivot has been dealing with a medial collateral ligament injury in his left knee since Week 2. As of now, he said the knee is feeling “pretty good.”

“You don’t really know until you go out there and start getting hit,” Fajardo said. “You don’t really know until guys are trying to take your head off in a game so we will see how it goes (Friday) but as the week (went on) it feels pretty good.”

One player on the Lions’ defence who will be looking to get after Fajardo is linebacker Loucheiz Purifoy.

Purifoy was with Saskatchewan from 2018 through ’21 before signing with the Lions this past off-season. He played his first two CFL seasons with B.C.

“(Purifoy) is a baller and he knows it. I know he’s going to be coming after me. He’s always talked about how he wanted to hit me in practice so he has his chance (Friday),” Fajardo said.

Saskatchewan’s passing game will get a boost this week with Duke Williams returning from a one-game suspension and Justin McInnis no longer being in COVID protocol.

Tevin Jones will also start in his second straight game.

“It feels pretty good. I’m more comfortable with my plays today than I was two weeks ago so I’m ready to make something happen,” Jones said.

The group in charge of protecting Fajardo from hits from Lions defenders will have some moving parts this week.

Left tackle Terran Vaughn is back after missing four games due to a shoulder injury. Centre Logan Bandy and tackle Andrew Lauderdale are missing this week due to being in COVID protocol.

As a result, Logan Ferland will move to centre while Josiah St. John starts at guard.

Ferland started one game at centre last year for the Riders and he said that gives him some extra confidence heading into this start.

“(It helps me) being in there and being comfortable and stay calm,” Ferland said. “Especially for the run game, we’ve got to clear that A-gap highway to the Danger Zone and that’s what my focus is this week.”

While the Riders lead the league with 797 yards per game – an average of 113.9 yards per contest – they managed only 140 over two games against the Toronto Argonauts.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Riders will need to stop a high-powered Lions offence.

B.C. is led by Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke, who is third in the league with 1,605 passing yards and has a league-leading 14 touchdown passes.

“He’s gotten better (since 2021). You can tell he’s learned from a great quarterback in Mike Reilly when he was there. But this year, (Rourke) has taken the reins and he’s run with it and he’s executing that offence at a high level,” safety Mike Edem said. “Right now he’s the best quarterback in the league and the ball jumps out of his arm. He goes through his reads and he knows where his checkdown is, so we’re going to have to be real diligent in our assignments.”

The Lions also feature a talented receiving group that includes Lucky Whitehead.

Whitehead and Riders defensive back Rolan Milligan played each other while in college – Whitehead at Florida Atlantic and Milligan at the University of Alabama at Birmingham – and were teammates on the Dallas Cowboys in 2016.

“(Whitehead) is an energetic guy; he’s always smiling,” Milligan said.

But while they know each other, Milligan said he won’t do too much trash talking.

“I don’t talk a lot unless someone says something to me and I’ve got to hold my own,” Milligan said.

The Riders’ defence will also try to add to its CFL-high 26 sacks but the Lions have only given up four sacks all season.