REGINA — As the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Calgary Stampeders for their final home game of the regular season, the Riders will need a win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Despite their loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 18, the Riders still have an opportunity to earn a spot in the post-season. Saskatchewan will need to win both of their next two games against the Stampeders and would need the Ottawa REDBLACKS to earn a win over Hamilton in either of their final two meetings.
The Stampeders clinch a playoff berth for the 17th consecutive season with a victory in Week 16 and have an opportunity to finish second in the West with a sweep over Saskatchewan. However, a win by the BC Lions Friday from Edmonton would guarantee that they would host the Western Semi-Final, forcing the Stampeders to travel to BC Place for the playoff game on November 6.
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The Green and White are in the midst of a five game losing streak and have scored 14 points or less in two consecutive games. In attempt to reignite their offence as they make their final playoff push, the team announced earlier in the week that quarterback Mason Fine would be given the opportunity to start.
Saturday’s contest will mark the first start of Fine’s 2022 season, though the Riders pivot has seen limited action and has dressed in 15 games for the team this season.
Fine’s most significant reps of the season came in Week 11 against BC, a game which saw him takeover under centre just before the end of the first half. In the loss to the Lions, Fine completed 16 of his 26 passing attempts, throwing for 210 yards and a touchdown. Through the 2022 season Fine has attempted 42 passes and has thrown for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite the lack of gameday reps from his newly appointed starter, Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson told team media that he feels confident in what he has seen from the second-year quarterback and said that the decision was made in attempts to spark his team.
“We need a spark,” Dickenson told Riderville.com. “We thought long and hard over the bye about what we were going to do. We feel like Mason has done a good job getting ready and staying ready. Both will play. We just need to be better on offence. We’re going to need all 45 guys to win the game.”
Helping to ease some of the pressure in the passing game will be receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker. The second-year wideout leads all Riders receivers with 874 yards and five touchdowns, he also led all Riders receivers in their Week 18 loss to Hamilton with 93 yards and a touchdown.
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In addition to Schaffer-Baker, the return of running back Jamal Morrow should provide a breath of fresh air for Fine and the Riders offence. For the first time since suffering an injury in Week 11, Morrow has been listed as the team’s No.1 back on the depth chart. The CFL sophomore rushed 110 times for 556 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games, while adding 305 yards and a score through the air.
Defensively the Riders will be looking to replicate the pressure that was inflicted upon the Stampeders in their Week 19 loss. Under the duress of a relentless Hamilton front-seven, Calgary’s Jake Maier was sacked twice and threw a season-worst three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Saskatchewan defensive lineman Pete Robertson leads the team with nine sacks and ranks fourth league-wide in the category. His ability to put pressure on the Stampeders pivot will be critical to the Riders’ success.
Despite throwing the three interceptions, Maier finished the game completing nearly 75 per cent of his passes as he threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns on 26 completions, proving his ability to maintain a calm demeanor and battle through the adversity of difficult defensive situations.
The Calgary offence will be without star receiver Malik Henry for the second straight week, providing an opportunity for Reggie Begelton and Jalen Philpot to continue to see an increase in targets.
Begelton is second in receiving yards with 869 for the Calgary offence and has caught 76 of his 106 targets this season, scoring five touchdowns. Over his last two games Begelton has caught 11 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.
In Week 19 against the Ticats, Philpot had one of his best statistical performances of the season as he surpassed 100 all-purpose yards in the game. The Stampeders first-round pick from 2022 caught five passes for 56 yards and added another 35 yards on the ground, Philpot also helped in the battle for field positioning as he returned three Hamilton kickoffs for 87 yards.
While star running back Ka’Deem Carey missed practice earlier in the week with illness, he is listed as the No.1 back on the Calgary depth chart ahead of Saturday.
Carey is the league leading rusher with 1,013 yards, and the only running back with 1,000 yards, the Stampeders back should have an opportunity to find success on the ground against a Riders unit that allows 100.3 yards per game to opposing ball-carriers.
Defensively, the Stamps have struggled this season defending the pass, allowing a league-high 281.9 passing yards per game. However, the team has excelled when defending the run, allowing 90.6 yards per game, the third fewest of any team.
With Morrow back in the lineup for the Riders, limiting his opportunities to find creases in the defence will be crucial for the Stampeders front-seven, as will their ability to disrupt the game-flow and offensive rhythm of the young Saskatchewan pivot.
Calgary defensive lineman Shawn Lemon leads the team in sacks with 13, and needs only two more to tie Ottawa’s Lorenzo Mauldin for the league-lead. As a team, Calgary leads the league with 45 sacks this, while the Riders have surrendered the most with 66, meaning their should be opportunity for Lemon to create havoc in the backfield.
In speaking to team media earlier this week, Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson did admit that theirs an aura of uncertainty surrounding Fine, but acknowledge that his team needs to be prepared for the Riders as an entire team.
“I don’t know a ton,” Dickenson told Stampeders.com. “I know he’s a professional quarterback and obviously they have some confidence that he’s played in some games. It’s a team, it’s a system, they’re going to try to establish the game in all three phases and we have to be prepared for that.”
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