REGINA — Both teams may have clinched a playoff spot with wins in Week 18, but there’s still plenty to play for when the Saskatchewan Roughriders host to the BC Lions on Saturday.
Separated by just one point in the West Division standings, Saskatchewan can guarantee themselves second place and a home playoff game with a victory.
A win for BC would vault them into second with one game remaining on each team’s schedule.
In the lone meeting between the two this season back in Week 6, it was the Lions who came away with a convincing 35-20 win.
Quarterback Trevor Harris has helped his team make their seven-game winless streak a distant memory thanks to three straight victories. Harris is playing some of his best football of the season with consecutive 300-plus passing yard games, including 358 against Edmonton last week, and now takes aim at a Lions defence giving up 288 yards per contest.
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Harris will continue to try to spread the targets around as he has no shortage of options. Samuel Emilus is closing in on 1,000 yards for the second straight season as he currently sits with 970, while rookie KeeSean Johnson has been among the elite freshman this year. If they find themselves covered, Kian Schaffer-Baker and Jerreth Sterns will see the ball thrown their way.
Lions’ defensive back Garry Peters leads a secondary that features playmaker Ronald Kent Jr. and his 41 defensive tackles.
Harris isn’t concerned about his team being content with a playoff position, in fact, it’s the opposite.
“This group is not satisfied with just making the playoffs,” Harris told reporters. “It’s not something that we’ve taken some large exhale. We’ve won three in a row but we haven’t accomplished anything yet in terms of what our bigger goals were. We’re just one week at a time.”
Watch live. BC Lions @ Saskatchewan Roughriders, Oct. 13, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm Oct. 12 EDT)
Head coach Corey Mace will see the return of his starting running back as AJ Ouellette checks back in to play in his first game since Week 11. He’s rushed for 466 yards on 114 carries over seven games and is certainly a welcomed addition as the playoffs near.
His biggest obstacle at the line of scrimmage will be Sione Teuhema and Mathieu Betts. Harris will also need to be aware of Teuhema bearing down on him as he has seven sacks.
Under centre for the Lions, Nathan Rourke is searching for the game changing ability that his team needs from him. Facing a defence that’s eighth against the pass might help.
At wideout, Justin McInnis retook the league lead in receiving yards heading into the week thanks to 37 against Calgary in their latest win and now sits with 1,244 on the season. Add in Alexander Hollins and Keon Hatcher, who put up 97 yards a week ago, and Rick Campbell’s offence possesses more than enough weapons.
The Riders secondary may struggle to keep yards to a minimum, but it does have one of the league’s best defenders in Rolan Milligan Jr.. One of his eight interceptions came in his team’s July 13 matchup against the Lions. The Riders secondary also features Marcus Sayles, who has four picks of his own.
People shouldn’t expect Mace or the defence to sleep on Rourke knowing what he can do when he’s at his best.
“You see a lot of the same things, quick decision making, obviously comfortable in the system,” Mace told reporters of what he’s seen from the Lions’ pivot since his return. “He’s still Nathan Rourke. I know some people are trying to change the narrative a bit and it’s not the case.”
When Rourke hands the ball off, he’ll feel good about it going to William Stanback. If the tailback can manage 65 yards, he’ll surpass his previous career high of 1,176 that he set in 2021 with Montreal.
He’s going to have to earn it, though, as the Riders front seven is the stabilizer of the defence. The Lions have to look no further than Week 18 to see what the likes of defensive linemen Bryan Cox Jr., Micah Johnson and Anthony Lanier II can do. With the help of linebackers C.J. Avery and C.J. Reavis, they held the potent Elks run game to 30 yards.
Four wins in a row would secure Saskatchewan a second place finish in the West Division.
BC can make it interesting right down to the final game if they come away victorious this week.