'They've got our full attention': Riders prepare for re-match with Calgary

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, 3-1, will take on the Calgary Stampeders, 1-3, on Saturday night for their second of three meetings this season.

The Riders came out on top in Week 3 in an overtime victory and given the tight nature of that game, Saskatchewan is not sleeping on what their opponent brings to the table.

“They’re well coached, they’re very sound. They have good football players. I really like their line-backing core and I think they do a good job in the defensive backfield. Their defensive line doesn’t get a lot of notoriety in teams of names but they’re sure to wreak some havoc and they’ve got our full attention,” said quarterback, Trevor Harris.

“They have a lot of pride and they’ve had a lot of success here. We haven’t played them as well here as we have on the road so they’re going to come out firing and we’re going to give it out best shot,” said head coach, Craig Dickenson.

From week to week, it’s been the offence that has seen the most changes due to injuries but this week, the defence took a hit.

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Defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II and defensive backs Rolan Milligan and Kosi Onyeka are all out this week. The changes are forcing some shuffling including dealing with the Canadian-American ratio, something that Dickenson says can cause some confusion when telling the players who is in the lineup this week.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow. So we really try between J-O (Jeremy O’Day), Kyle, and I to explain here’s how the ratio works, it changes from week to week. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve played poorly, that just may mean you can’t play because we have to switch the ratio,” he explained.

“It’s pretty much part of what we do, especially in the CFL. You know you always have to have people ready to go with the limited roster,” said defensive coordinator, Jason Shivers.

However, veteran players like linebacker Derrick Moncrief embrace the challenge.

“It’s going to be great. It’s good for guys to come out here and get their first opportunity. It’s great for guys to raise their level of play. Maybe a first year guy, a second year guy, we are all on the field together and we just have to one out and produce because we need this win,” said Moncrief.

Defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas, defensive back Jeremy Clark, linebacker Lukas Ruoss, and offensive lineman Eric Lofton are in this week. Lofton is the only change on offence. However, running back, Frankie Hickson, is listed as a game time decision. This is the first time the receiving corps will look the same as the previous week.

“Continuity is always good and I love our wide receiving corps and their job is to make it difficult when everybody’s back and healthy. I think it’s a testament to JO, Craig Reynolds, Kyle and what they’ve done with the depth of this team,” said Harris.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is 5 p.m. CST on TSN.