Riders looking to get Banjo Bowl win over Bombers

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to flip the script on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Saskatchewan is travelling to IG Field for Saturday’s Banjo Bowl, the second half of the annual home-and-home series between the CFL teams.

Kickoff for the game is set for 3 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 1 p.m.

Saskatchewan (6-6) will look to make amends after losing a second straight Labour Day Classic in front of a home crowd last Sunday by a score of 20-18.

The Riders haven’t beaten the Bombers since a 21-6 win on Oct. 5, 2019. The last time the Riders won the Banjo Bowl was a 32-27 win in 2018.

“It’s tough when you’re always on the wrong side of it. It hurts a little bit more,” said Saskatchewan quarterback Cody Fajardo, who had a fourth-quarter pass in Bombers territory deflect off the hands of tailback Frankie Hickson and into the arms of Bombers safety Nick Hallett to seal Sunday’s win for the Bombers (11-1).

“At some point, hopefully something breaks and we catch an advantage.”

One of the key areas the Riders will look to improve on is penalties. The Riders have taken 121 penalties this season – about 10.1 a game – which is the worst in the league. They were flagged 12 times for 99 yards in the Labour Day Classic.

“Winnipeg averages two penalties less a game than their opponents for 25 yards, basically. That tells you they do a good job of playing clean and it also tells you that when they do hold, they are pretty sneaky about it – that’s a compliment,” Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said.

Fajardo said he spoke to the players who have been taking penalties.

“They feel bad about it. It’s one thing to learn from it and just move on and we’re there to support those guys. When you play a great football team like Winnipeg, you can’t give them any reasons to pull off a win,” Fajardo said. “I think we gave them a lot of reasons in (Sunday’s) game to kind of sway it in their advantage.

“We were so close. We went toe to toe with a team that no one gave us a chance (against). I think confidence-wise, this team knows what we are capable of.”

One of the players who was penalized Sunday is Duke Williams, who was flagged while on the sidelines with an injury. He once again isn’t playing due to an ankle/hip injury.

The receiving corps will get a bit of a boost with slotback Justin McInnis back on the roster. Otherwise, the group will look similar to last week’s lineup.

“Playing Winnipeg is always exciting just because of the rivalry and the games that we’ve had in the past,” said slotback Kyran Moore, who will be playing in his third game back since suffering a torn ACL on Oct. 30, 2021.

“I feel good. I feel amazing. Just getting back into the groove of things and getting my wind back up, I feel like I’m back where I’m supposed to be at.”

Saskatchewan’s offence will need to try and hold off the Winnipeg pass rush with some more changes to the offensive line.

The Riders will be without tackle Terran Vaughn (hamstring/tooth) and guard Logan Ferland (back). Josiah St. John will move to left guard with Kooper Richardson getting his first CFL start at right tackle.

“I think (Richardson) is ready and I’m excited to see him,” Dickenson said. “He’s a good young player that is very athletic.”

Richardson will have his hands full trying to stop Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson, who has five sacks in 2022.

Pass protection has been an issue for the Riders all season; they’ve given up 47 sacks, the most in the league and nine more than the second-place Edmonton Elks entering the week. The Riders were able to hold off the pass rush for the most part in the Labour Day Classic, only giving up three sacks.

Meanwhile, the Riders’ defence will look to continue its success when it comes to getting to opposing pivots; Saskatchewan enters the week with a league-high 35 sacks. The Riders sacked Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros just once in their last meeting.

“I think it’s important for us to just go into this week understanding our assignments (and) understanding what we need to do to win,” said defensive tackle Miles Brown. “I think we did a great job this last week displaying how good we are in comparison to their O-line and we will continue to do that.”

Brown, along with Demarcus Christmas and Charbel Dabire, are expected to see their roles increase after the team announced the release of Garrett Marino earlier in the week.

Saskatchewan’s run defence has been stout this season, giving up an average of only 83.3 yards per game — behind only the 76.5 yards per game allowed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats entering the week. The Bombers come into the game with the CFL’s top rusher in Brady Oliveira.

“We’re a really good group and we take pride in that,” Brown said. “We take pride in how hard we work, we take pride in our technique, we take pride in our execution and we take pride in how we step out onto the field.

“We believe that we are the best group in this league so we’ve got to act like it.”

Prior to kickoff, the Bombers and Riders will hold a moment of silence for those who were killed in the mass murders on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon. The teams will also wear stickers on their helmets that will say ‘JSCN’ in red lettering.