Riders' Shaq Cooper to start at running back ahead of Ti-Cats matchup
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will start Shaq Cooper at running back on Friday’s matchup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“[Cooper has] had a good week at practice and then Mario (Alford) will back him up if we need to,” said Craig Dickenson, head coach. “We just want [Cooper] to take care of the football, do a good job in pass protections, and then run like he’s capable of. He’s still in pretty good shape, and looks like he’s ready to go.”
Cooper is back for his third sting with the Riders this season since being released after training camp then brought back during the team’s COVID-19 outbreak, and then released once again in August.
“Crazy man. Crazy journey. You know they say, things happen for a reason,” Cooper said. “I was blessed to get another opportunity to come and play ball.”
The team has been hit with injuries at running back when star Jamal Morrow went down, followed by Frankie Hickson, which left the Riders with starting third-string back-up, Kienan LaFrance in last week’s matchup against the Bombers.
However, LaFrance was injured in the first half and did not finish the game.
“It couldn’t have got any worse at the second half, where we didn’t have a running back,” said quarterback, Cody Fajardo. “But they’ve brought some guys in and looks like they’ve got some juice. Having Shaq Cooper back- he’s a guy who understands this offence and it’s not like he’s going to struggle with the playbook.”
However, Dickenson noted Cooper will not have to carry the entire load at running back as they will look to Mario Alford and players like Kian Schaffer-Baker to hopefully get some carries in Friday’s matchup.
“I can bring a little speed to the table and a lot of different schemes to make the defence think a little more,” said Alford.
“It’s something I take on every single day. Something the coaches trust me with, so it makes me want to work that much harder,” said Schaffer-Baker.
The team will travel to Hamilton on Thursday ahead of Friday’s game. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. on TSN.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.