'Not waving the white flag': Riders look for a win to keep in good standing
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have yet to clinch a playoff spot and will need a win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend to keep in good standing.
“I showed them the standings this morning and I thought it would do what it needed to, and I think it did,” said Craig Dickenson, head coach. “I showed them the East (division), I showed them the West and I told them we have three games left and we’re at six (wins) so where we end up depends a lot on this weekend.”
The Riders sit in fourth in the West division with a 6-9 record. Their playoff hopes come at the expense of an eastern opponent as the green and white look to be the crossover matchup.
The crossover happens if the Riders finish with a better record than the third place eastern team. Right now, the Ti-Cats sit in third in the east with a 4-10 record.
“Guys aren’t hanging their heads, we’re not giving up, we’re not waving the white flag. We’re here to try and clinch a crossover spot and we’re going to give it everything we have,” said quarterback Cody Fajardo at practice on Monday.
The team is off to Hamilton this weekend with the hopes of clinching a win and easing the stress of making it to the post-season.
“This is a win or go home mentality. It’s a must win game for us to try and separate ourselves in the East,” said Fajardo.
“Nothing has ever been handed to me so I definitely know what it’s like. A lot of teams I’ve been on have a lot of ‘have nots’ and everyone understands the assignment (this week),” said linebacker, Larry Dean.
The team will need to battle at the running back position on their quest to a win with Jamal Morrow, Frankie Hickson, and Kienan LaFrance all out due to injures, which lead the Riders to once again signing Shaq Cooper.
“Basically it’s a playoff game this weekend so, you know, just got to go out there and do my job and make it happen,” said Cooper about stakes of this game.
“He’s smart and he’s been here a couple of times so we’re happy to have him back,” said Dickenson.
The Riders opened the season against the Ti-Cats with a 30-13 win. However, Saskatchewan has not won in Hamilton since 2019.
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