Rider Trevor Harris grateful for West final opportunity
8h ago
Quarterback reflects on success in 2024 after an injury ended his 2023 season.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have no excuses this week in the rematch against the Montreal Alouettes.
The Riders faced the Als on the road last Thursday, after a short week of practice. The Alouettes started off strong, returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown to set the stage for a dominant 37-13 win.
“Rest is good. Any time the guys can get off their feet and get a good night’s rest, it helps,” head coach Craig Dickenson said. “We don’t have any excuses this week. It’s a character game for us, and let’s see what we’ve got.”
The Riders host the Als for the rematch Saturday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 3 p.m.
While special-teams is always a focal point for Dickenson, who was a special teams co-ordinator from 2005 before becoming a head coach in 2019, it got some extra attention this week.
Montreal Alouettes returner Chandler Worthy ran back the opening kickoff for an 88-yard touchdown in last week’s game. Worthy averaged 56 yards per kick return and 18.6 on five punt returns.
He returned a punt 71 yards that would have been a touchdown late in the third quarter as well, but the big play was negated due to an illegal block penalty.
“We got it handed to us pretty good. I challenged the group to come out and play better, I challenged myself and (special teams co-ordinator Kent Maugeri) to coach it better,” Dickenson said.
“We can’t play like that and expect to win. The guys know we need to have a bounce-back game on special-teams across the board.”
On the offensive side, quarterback Cody Fajardo will be hoping for a better performance. Last week, he threw for 191 yards and two interceptions before getting taken out of the game in the fourth quarter when Montreal’s lead was 33-6.
“No excuses. We’ve had a full week to prepare and execute a game plan and get the reps on it,” Fajardo said.
“You’ve got to stare (at last week’s) film in the face, and you’ve got to learn from it. It’s easier said than done, but the good news is we’ve got a chance to play them right away.”
Fajardo will have a familiar target in a new spot this week. Mitch Picton will start at wide receiver in place of the injured Shaq Evans. While Picton can play every spot along with the receiving group, the role of outside receiver isn’t one he gets a lot of practice for.
“I haven’t been able to get too comfortable. They keep me on my toes. I just keep doing what I’m doing, and just keep trying to make plays when they come my way,” Picton said.
Picton has caught seven passes for 93 yards and a touchdown so far this season.
The full week of practice will be a welcome change for centre Logan Bandy. Bandy made his first CFL start last week due to a leg injury to Dan Clark, entering the game with only one full practice to get ready.
“It’s super tough to hop in there after only one day of practice for sure, when you haven’t really taken as many reps as you would have liked,” Bandy said. “It’s a bit different than university ball, so it was tough, but I felt good about the challenge and I am excited about this week for sure.”
The Riders’ offence will look to improve after the Als’ defence sacked Saskatchewan’s quarterbacks eight times – Fajardo seven times and backup Mason Fine once.
The Alouettes will be playing without one of their top pass rushers, with Almondo Sewell slated to miss the game due to a personal issue. Sewell had two sacks last week.
The Saskatchewan defence will look to find their own way to get to Alouettes quarterback Trevor Harris. Harris threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns in the Montreal win.
The Riders, who lead the league with 15 sacks, only had two last week.
“You’ve got to give Montreal credit; they do the same film work as we do,” defensive tackle Anthony Lanier II said.
“What they did was basically put their offence around the defensive line and go to the quick throws and get the ball out of their quarterback’s hands, because they could feel the pressure.”
The Riders will have a new face in Saturday’s game, with Amari Henderson making his CFL debut.
He’ll play at halfback, with Jeremy Clark moving to cornerback in place of the injured Nelson Lokombo (hamstring).
Henderson played five seasons at Wake Forest University, completing his time there with 169 tackles and seven interceptions. He was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice roster for 2020, then signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, appearing in a pre-season game.
Henderson signed with the Riders on Jan. 20.
“It’s been a long journey, but I just keep my hand down and continue to work every single day,” Henderson said. “I bring a lot. I bring great coverage and just making plays.”
Henderson will have a tough task ahead of him in the form of Eugene Lewis and Jake Wieneke. Lewis leads the CFL with 307 receiving yards, and Wieneke was the league leader with 11 touchdown catches in 2021.
The Riders will also try to reduce their penalties in this game. Last time out, the Riders were penalized 11 times for 106 yards.