Riders take on Argos in Touchdown Atlantic game in Nova Scotia

It’s a celebration of football in the Atlantic provinces as the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.

The CFL clubs are taking part in the fifth edition of Touchdown Atlantic. The game will be played at Raymond Field in Wolfville, N.S., the first time a regular-season game will be played in the province. The previous four Touchdown Atlantic events were held in Moncton, N.B.

Kickoff for the game is noon. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 10 a.m.

As the Riders (4-1-0) prepared for the game, one issue overshadowed much of the week leading into it.

Defensive tackle Garrett Marino was suspended for four games — the longest suspension ever handed out by the CFL for on-field behaviour — after two reckless hits as well as inappropriate comments about Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s heritage on July 8.

Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said the off-field stuff did have an impact on practice.

“(Tuesday) was terrible. (Wednesday) was better. It just feels good to get out here and work, but this is hovering over us,” Dickenson said before the team travelled east. “Hopefully we can focus on football and we want to make sure Jeremiah heals up.”

“It’s a distraction, of course,” Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo added. “We have a great opportunity to get away as a team and go to a wonderful venue and opportunity to go across to the east coast and play some football so I know everyone is looking forward to that.

“I’m looking forward to the lobster and getting some good fish.”

Fajardo has had a lot of success against the Argos since becoming the Riders’ starting quarterback.

Toronto is one of three CFL clubs that Fajardo has yet to lose to; he sports a 3-0 record against the East Division team. Fajardo is also unbeaten against the Edmonton Elks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

One of the keys for the Riders’ offence the past few weeks has been a strong run game.

The Riders entered the week leading the CFL with 657 rushing yards. Running back Jamal Morrow was leading the league with 335 yards while teammate Frankie Hickson has 216 yards.

“It’s been great. We’re just taking it one play at a time and when we have our number called, it’s time to take advantage of those opportunities,” Morrow said. “We just want the ball and when we have it in our hands, we want to be as explosive as we can with it.”

The Riders’ defence has been one of the league’s best this season, never surrendering more than one touchdown in a game thus far.

A major part of the unit’s dominance has been the pass rush, with the Riders at the top of the sack list with 23 so far.

“(It’s a case of) coming together and everyone has a different tool that they bring to the table,” defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas said. “(We’re) just putting it all together and letting it loose when it’s time to let it loose.”

Christmas’ role is expected to be expanded for the next few weeks due to some absences along the defensive line.

The team will be without Marino due to the suspension and also defensive end Pete Robertson, who entered the week as the CFL sack leader with seven. He’s to miss the next few weeks due to an ankle injury suffered against Ottawa.

Argos quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson will make his 34th career CFL start on Saturday but only his second against the Riders. His first came in a 30-29 Riders win on Sept. 22, 2018.

Toronto will also feature running back Andrew Harris, who gave Saskatchewan defences trouble for five seasons as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Argos also will come into the game as the fresher team, already having had two bye weeks this season. The Riders’ first bye doesn’t come until the first week of August.

“(Toronto) is a good team and they are very physical. That’s the one thing we’ve seen on film. They’ve had two byes, and I’m sure they wish they didn’t but they will be well-rested,” Dickenson said.

“I think it’s very similar to the game we saw in Montreal where we went in against a team that was hungry, desperate and well-rested. We’re going to have to bring our A game and play as well as we can to try and win this game.”