Riders' running backs hit with injury bug
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were already without starting running back Jamal Morrow, due to a broken hand and have now lost Frankie Hickson to a fractured wrist.
“Unfortunately he does have a fracture so he’ll be out probably for the rest of the season,” said head coach Craig Dickenson.
Hickson had just begun stepping up as the Riders’ starting running back in the Morrow’s absence. In his four games as a starter, he rushed for 299 yards, with 533 total on the season. Now withMorrow and Hickson out, the team will rely on Kienan LaFrance.
“We feel confident in him. It will either be [LaFrance] or [Shaun] Wilson,” said Dickenson.
The Riders’ head coach shared after practice on Wednesday that Wilson is battling a groin injury and might not see reps in this week’s game against Winnipeg.
The hole left at running back will mean the team has to rely on their receivers even more to fill the void.
“We’ve handed the ball off to Schaffer-Baker a few times and we’ve got Kyran Moore back there too. So we’ll find a way to run the football one way or another. Running the football is important for winning games,” said Dickenson.
“When one position’s lacking you know another position group has to pick up the slack. We’re the position group that can do that,” said wide receiver Shaq Evans.
“We’re the group that put in the work this week to do that because we had a feeling this would happen. So there’s no pressure but it’s just a heightened sense of urgency I would say.”
“We got a solid group of guys in there, we’ve kind of been. A family. Everybody’s been kind of doing their part,” said LaFrance when asked about having to step up as the starter this week.
LaFrance, a Winnipeg product, is excited about the opportunity to show off as the new starter where his football roots began.
“It’s always fun playing in front of friends and family. Being out there in the stadium, it’s a great place to play, so I’m looking forward to this game,” said LaFrance.
Kickoff for Friday’s game against the Blue Bombers is scheduled for 6 p.m. on TSN.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.