CFL.CA STAFF
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders look for their first ever win at new Mosaic Stadium when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats come to town on Saturday night to cap off CFL Week 3 action.
The Ticats are coming off of a bye and are anxious to redeem themselves after falling 32-15 at the hands of the Toronto Argonauts in Week 1. Hamilton’s only touchdown was scored on special teams when Will Hill blocked a Toronto field goal attempt that was taken back to the house by Richard Leonard for an 84-yard major.
The Black and Gold’s defence gave up 506 yards in the air to Ricky Ray and company; a career-high for the 37-year-old veteran. Zach Collaros was sacked six times in the loss.
After a rocky start to the season, there will be some noticeable changes on the Ticats depth chart against the Riders. The Tabbies will start running back Ross Scheuerman over C.J. Gable, who posted just nine yards on five carries in Week 1.
Cameron Marshall (32) during the game between the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Percival-Molson Stadium in Montreal, QC, Thursday, June 22, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras / CFL)
Scheuerman rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries and added another 40 yards on five catches in his one and only start last season against the Montreal Alouettes back in September. He broke his wrist during the game and was out for the rest of the season.
Ticats head coach Kent Austin spoke with Ticats.ca:
“Ross is the kind of back that we like. He catches the ball really well out of the backfield. He’s a good runner. He protects the quarterback. He’s very proficient in all three phases. He brings some explosiveness out of the backfield for us and some big play capability.”
Scheurman isn’t the only change in the Ticats’ offence from Week 1. Rookie Jalen Saunders will be making his first career start at slotback. Veteran Junior Collins has also been tabbed to start with Kevin Elliott ruled out of Week 3’s matchup.
The Ticats’ secondary, meanwhile, could pose a problem for Kent Austin’s team, with Demond Washington out of the lineup along with halfbacks Abdul Kanneh and Emanuel Davis. Without the latter two in Week 1, the Ticats allowed Ricky Ray to throw for a career-high 506 passing yards in a Toronto victory.
Photo: Canadian Press
Suffice to say the Ticats, while eager to get in the ‘W’ column, are not in for any easy task against the Riders and their vivacious hometown crowd.
Saskatchewan has lost its first two games by a combined total of four points, including a nail-biting 43-40 overtime contest to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week at the new Mosaic Stadium home opener. Justin Medlock kicked the game winning field goal in the second overtime to seal the deal for Saskatchewan’s prairie rivals after Tyler Crapigna hit the post on a 33-yard attempt.
Kevin Glenn led the offence, completing 36 of 49 passes for 377 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He connected with four different receivers for majors, including Nic Demski, who had a team-high 82 receiving yards.
Riders head coach Chris Jones spoke with Riderville.com and said that morale is still high around the team despite the two losses.
“We just have to keep it positive in our rooms, which we have, and I think we’ve done a good job of that this week. We’ve got a young group that bounces back. It’s one of the better groups I’ve been around character wise so I look forward to seeing exactly where we are.”
Glenn has been particularly impressive through two weeks of play. The 38-year-old is tied at the top of the league with five touchdown passes and was third in passing yards heading into Week 3 behind only Ray and Trevor Harris.
However, he also leads the league in interceptions with three so far this year.
The Riders and Ticats are still looking to secure their first win of the 2017 season, setting up what should be an intense Saturday night showdown in Regina.
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