Riders ready to roll against roaring Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will try to quell the roaring B.C. Lions with a new quarterback at the helm.

Saskatchewan (3-2-0) is turning to Mason Fine after a knee injury put veteran starter Trevor Harris on the injured list. Fine’s first start of the 2023 regular season comes Saturday against the Lions (4-1-0). Kickoff for the game in Vancouver is set for 5 p.m.

“Everybody that has had success at one point or another has had to come in when people weren’t quite sure about him and show that they could do the job,” Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said. “This is Mason’s chance to shine and he’s going to get a lot of games to do it.

“I think he’s ready.”

The 26-year-old pivot is in his third CFL season with the Riders. He started two games last season after the coaching staff elected to replace Cody Fajardo. In those games – both losses to the Calgary Stampeders – Fine threw for 364 yards and one touchdown.

When Fine came in for Harris in last week’s 33-31 loss to the Stamps, he threw for 116 yards and two touchdowns – though 69 of those yards came on a Hail Mary touchdown that a Stamps defender hit up into the air and was caught by Tevin Jones.

Ahead of his first start of the year, Fine said he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on himself.

“Go in there and be confident – lead the offence and be who I am,” Fine said. “Don’t try to mould yourself into someone you’re not – be the quarterback you are.

“I just have to go out there and execute. Don’t try to do too much and get the ball out of my hand and put it in my playmakers’ hands and let them make the play.”

His teammates believe the young pivot will be up to the task now that he is being given the chance.

“(I see) a lot of poise and I think he is ready for the moment,” said wide receiver Sam Emilus. “We’re going to help him.

“I think as a receiver group we need to make the plays when they come our way. Put confidence in him and let him know that we are here for him and whatever he throws our way, we’re going to catch it.”

Emilus has been one of the breakout wide receivers for the team so far this season, hauling in 17 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

But it will be a tall task ahead of the offence this week facing a hungry Lions defence.

The Lions have given up a league-low 17 points per game while also only giving up 256 yards of offence. The next-lowest is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who entered the week giving up 317.3 yards per game.

A big key to the Lions’ defence has been the play of Mathieu Betts, with the Canadian defensive end bringing down quarterbacks a CFL-high nine times so far in 2023.

“He’s awesome. I have always been a big fan of his,” Dickenson said of Betts. “You could see there’s a different level of effort and energy from that guy. He plays so hard and he’s so physical and so fast.”

The Riders’ offensive linemen could have their hands full as the team tries to bounce back from surrendering seven sacks to the Stamps last week.

“It’s how you take it. It’s sacks, but who do you really count that on? We’re a team and at the end of the day, the offence is responsible for it,” offensive tackle Brandon Council said. “We’re going to bounce back.”

Meanwhile the Riders’ defence will try to stop one of the premier offences in the league. Entering the week, the Lions trailed only the undefeated Toronto Argonauts in points per game (27.2) and net offence per game (384.2 yards).

A big reason for that has been the play of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. The 30-year-old has thrown for 1,540 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions – six of those coming in a single game against the Argos.

“They have one of the best receiving corps in the league, if not the best receiver corps in the league, besides our guys,” linebacker Derrick Moncrief said. “They can beat you in many ways – not just one guy but they spread the ball around.

“All five guys (in the secondary) have to be ready.”

With the way the Lions’ offence has been rolling, field position could prove to be a key decider in the showdown.

That could fall on the shoulders of CFL rookie Adam Korsak, who entered the week with the league lead with an average of 51.1 yards per punt.

“It’s a different style of punting for me. I’m enjoying it – I’m trying to take each punt as it comes and I’m not really looking at the stats,” the first-year Rider said. “There are different punts with different hashes and different winds. This week playing in the dome, it should be fine regarding the wind – there shouldn’t be any.

“I’m just trying to do the best I can to put our defence in the best situation possible.”

Despite a new quarterback and the Lions proving they are one of the CFL’s top teams, Dickenson and the Riders are looking forward to the challenge.

“This will tell us where we are at. We want to have a good outing, we want to be competitive and have a chance to win at the end,” Dickenson said. “We will see what happens. We’ve had a good week (of practice) and we expect to be in this game and we expect to win it.”