Riders head to Montreal hoping for a win after short practice week

A short week isn’t the only obstacle the Saskatchewan Roughriders have to overcome against the Montreal Alouettes, but it’s a big one.

The Riders had only two days of practice — a full one on Tuesday and a walkthrough on Wednesday — to prepare for the Thursday road game. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 3 p.m.

Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said part of the reason he gave the players an extra rest day following their 26-16 win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday was because they didn’t get back into Regina until after 2 a.m.

“The coaches, to be able to properly evaluate the previous game and prepare for the next game, you need more than one day,” Dickenson said. “We feel like we want to go to Montreal fresh.”

The Riders will need Logan Bandy to fill a hole left by the longest-serving member of the team.

Centre Dan Clark suffered a broken fibula and a shifted ankle bone in the win over Edmonton.

The 23-year-old Bandy, who has been the team’s sixth offensive lineman, will make his first CFL start against Montreal. He was selected in the fifth round (38th overall) of the 2021 CFL draft out of the University of Calgary.

“It’s super-exciting for me. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment,” Bandy said. “You only have your first start once, so I’m going to go out and play for (Clark) and communicate with the guys and do my best.”

While Bandy only got one full practice this week as the team’s starter, quarterback Cody Fajardo says the offensive players have a lot of confidence in him.

“He had a great camp and watching him as a young guy, there’s a reason why we drafted him, a reason why he stayed in the building and a reason why we kept him through training camp. It’s because we have faith in him,” Fajardo said.

Jamal Campbell will come onto the roster as the team’s sixth lineman this week.

Fajardo said it’s always hard to head out east and get a win.

“The last two times we’ve gone out (there) — in 2019 and 2021 — we didn’t play very good offensively, at least in Montreal. It’s just tough to travel and play well there,” Fajardo said.

“We’ve got the chips stacked against us but I think this team is a lot better than the teams of the past and we are excited for this opportunity.”

The Riders’ offence will get slotback Duke Williams back in the starting lineup this week. He missed the game in Edmonton after suffering an ankle injury in practice.

“Duke looks fine. He feels good,” Dickenson said. “Do I think Duke’s 100 per cent? No, but he’s 90 per cent. Duke at 90 is still pretty good.”

Williams’ return will help boost what has been a passing attack that is ranking among the league’s best, despite not finding the end zone until the fourth quarter in both games.

Fajardo’s 72.4 completion percentage and 114 quarterback rating are behind only those of B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke (89.7 completion per cent, 151.8 quarterback rating). Fajardo has yet to throw an interception this season.

Fajardo also ranks first in deep passing efficiency, connecting on eight of 14 attempts of more than 20 yards.

“(I love) when the chips are stacked against us and the underdog mentality. Like I’ve said, my whole life I’ve been an underdog and I love winning more than anything,” Fajardo said when asked about why the offence finds so much success late in games.

Fajardo got a little nicked up against Edmonton and was sporting a knee brace on his left leg in practice.

Jamal Morrow has been a dual threat for the Riders’ offence, recording 140 yards on the ground and 89 yards receiving. He leads the league in rushing after a 126-yard outing against the Elks.

The Riders’ defence will be without Charleston Hughes this week, as the defensive end deals with shoulder and elbow injuries.

The Riders’ pass rush is the league’s best, with 13 sacks in two games — nine more than any other CFL team.

Trevor Harris will start at quarterback for the Alouettes after Vernon Adams Jr. tested positive for COVID.

“I think they are a good ball club. They’ve been in each one of their games they’ve been in thus far and I think they will be ready to play,” said Riders linebacker Larry Dean, who has two sacks this season.

“(Harris) is a veteran so it’s muscle memory for him. He gets the ball out pretty quick.”

Another aspect the Riders will try to clean up is their penalties. They were penalized 14 times against the Elks.

“I told them we’re not going to go where we want to if we can’t control ourselves. We’ve got to be mentally a lot tougher and we’ve got to resist the urge to talk when we know what’s coming and we’ve got to understand when the refs have had enough,” Dickenson said.

“I think the other thing that will help us is we’ve got to clean up our technique. Our technique is getting us in a lot of trouble where we are getting a lot of holding penalties because we’re not moving our feet.

“We’re going to keep working at it. We know when the games matter most, the team that plays the hardest and the cleanest usually wins.”