Mitchell Blair
The top two running backs in the CFL will be on display Saturday night in Calgary as will the CFL’s top two sack leaders, the top two kickers and arguably the top two teams when the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders renew their heated rivalry with the latest in a long list of huge games between the two over the past few years.
The green-and-white know they can finish no lower than second in the Western Division, but a win over Calgary on their turf will put them in a position to perhaps finish first and host the West Final. It’s a contest where not a lot has to be said to get both teams ready. Quarterback Darian Durant believes it won’t take a lot to have his team fired up when they emerge from the tunnel.
“There’s not much Coach has to say for this one, especially with the veteran team that we have,” Durant said with a twinkle in his eye. “We know what’s at stake. A lot of guys who have been on the other end of that rivalry, they know what’s at stake. There’s not much that needs to be said. Everyone knows what it’s like to go out there and play. We know it’s going to be a great game and we’re looking forward to going out there and having some fun.’’
Corey Chamblin agrees with what his star quarterback has to say. Chamblin believes there is no reason to pull out any inspirational speeches before sending his squad out.
I told the guy this week I don’t have to build up the hype.’ It’s not one where we’ve got to pin up stuff about Calgary and tell them who we’re playing.” Chamblin said. “We know exactly who Calgary is. They know exactly who we are. Once we get on that field, it’s going to be two teams who are going to play good football.’’
Much of the hype going into the game surrounds the battle at running back as the two best in the league go head-to-head with Calgary’s Jon Cornish having a 134 yard lead in the quest to be the league’s best rusher which was a quest Sheets would have won going away had he not missed three weeks of action. A lot of debate has gone on over the past few weeks over what running back is better. Sheets says it will be fun.
“It’s a statement game for us and we want to let them know at the end of the day we will see them again.” Sheets stated. “We don’t know where that game will be, but we are going to let them know we are for real and that slump we had is a thing of the past and that if they’re going to beat us, they will have to earn it.”
While Sheets is trying to have some success, the aim for the Rider defense is to try and control Cornish. Tyron Brackenridge will be one of the twelve men trying to do that.
“It’s a business trip for us, “Brackenridge said.”Our aim is to walk in there and win. We are a hungry group and we know we can take care of business. We also know if we are to do that we have to limit Cornish. He’s a great back, but with the way we have been playing, we are confident we can control him and that offense. “
While Brackenridge feels his unit can control Cornish, he admits the bigger challenge may be to control themselves because of the magnitude of the game,
“You have to focus on the job at hand and just remember you can’t do too much.” Brackenridge said. “If you do your job and put yourself in the right position, everything will be fine. This defense has been playing that kind of football for the last few weeks and you’ve seen how tough it is for team to score points. I don’t see us changing our mentality at all.”
Game time from Calgary will be 5 o’clock with TV coverage coming as always from TSN. 620 CKRM will start the longest and best game-day coverage in the CFL at 230 with Michael Ball and “Roughrider Gameday”. That show will once again be streamed live on www.riderville.com. That will lead the way into the play-by-play with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri as they bring you every touchdown and every tackle while providing the Rider Nation with all the information they need.
GAME NOTES:
- This is the 3rd and final meeting of the regular season between the two teams. Each team has won on their home field by 15 points this season
- The Stamps, Riders and Eskimos go into the second to final week of the season tied for the lead in the big plays category. All three teams have had 52 big plays which are considered runs of over 20 yards or passes over 30 yards.
- The Rider defense has made it tough for the opponent to get into the endzone allowing just five offensive touchdowns in the last four games.
- Tyron Brackenridge goes into the weekend tied for the league lead with several others in forced fumbles with 4. Teammate Weldon Brown is right behind at 3.“
