'It's a motivating factor': Riders looking for redemption from 2019 West Final loss
It’s a game that has been 628 days in the making, the Saskatchewan Roughriders return to Mosaic Stadium to host the B.C. Lions on Friday night.
"628 days without a game definitely puts things in perspective, so I’ll definitely just be appreciative to be out there in front of Mosaic Stadium with 30,000 plus fans," Riders receiver Shaq Evans told the media on Thursday.
The Riders’ 2019 season ended in heartbreak when Cody Fajardo’s pass sailed into the crossbar, ending the Western Final. That turned out to be the last play at Mosaic Stadium after the pandemic washed away the 2020 season.
Fajardo said having to sit on that play for almost two years was difficult, but made the team more hungry heading into this season.
"It's a motivating factor," the Riders' quarterback said.
"There's a lot of mental aspect of just sitting on that for two years and not having an opportunity to redeem yourself or go out there and wash that bad taste out of your mouth."
The excitement of returning to game action is mutual in the Lions’ locker room.
"Because of the COVID cancellation and having been so long since we were on the field, definitely excited to go and start this new year off," B.C. quarterback Mike Reilly said.
Reilly has been limited in practice this week, but expects to play in Regina on Friday.
The Lions are entering this season with a new head coach. Rick Campbell said his team is establishing its identity, but he expects the Lions to be resilient.
"They’ve really just been focused on football," he said.
Adrenaline will be pumping for the Riders when they run out of the tunnel for the first time in 20 months.
Despite having won a Grey Cup, Fajardo said this will be one of the biggest games of his life, but the team also needs to keep in mind, it’s still the first game.
"Just making sure that the guys and including myself, I’ve got to check myself sometimes and just be like, 'Look, it’s not the Grey Cup, it’s not we lose and we’re going home, there’s a lot of football, a lot of meaningful football to be played,' and so we need to settle in and just learn from our mistakes," he said.
"I’m going to try to keep the guys calm as much as I can," Craig Dickenson, head coach of the Riders, said. "The crowd is going to fire them up, so I don’t think there’s anything we can do to try to prevent that and we want that."
With so much time between games, and no preseason, rust is likely to be a factor for both teams, but not something either side is worried about.
"The main thing [this week] was just focusing on ourselves and just make sure that we play fast and physical, and the rest will take care of itself," Evans said.
The Riders moved Thursday’s walkthrough indoors to avoid the poor air quality as a result of smoke from forrest fires. The players said they don’t expect it be an issue for them come game time.
Saskatchewan and B.C. meet at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Mosaic Stadium.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.