Dan Plaster
The Calgary Stampeders (1-0 in pre-season) are coming into town to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-1 in pre-season) in both club’s pres-eason finale.
Catch the action on 620 CKRM and the Rider Radio network beginning with the pre-game show at 4:30pm, with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri calling the game beginning a 7:30pm. You can also watch the game on riderville.com/riderslive and the Rider app with me and Luc Mullinder handling the game.
It’s an unbelievable honour to be able to bring the game to the viewers at home, on their smartphone or tablets. There’s lots of work to do to get ready, and part of it was to meet up with Luc and go over the rosters on both teams in preparation for this game. Here are a few of the highlights:
– With the Rider quarterback rotation locked down, we will see Darian Durant into the third quarter. He needs as much time as possible with his starters and the Jacques Chapdelaine offence.
– The best battle on defence will be for the strong side linebacker spot. Telvion Clark (#13) had a solid game in the Riders loss to the Eskimos last weekend. Jeff Knox Jr. (#49) came in after and also played well. They each need to shine on special teams as well to really carve out a spot on this team. Both have had to overcome some setbacks in college, but have learned from their mistakes in life and have become better people on the field and more importantly, off the field.
– The kicking battle baffles me. I’m glad this is a decision that is up to Special Teams Coordinator Bob Dyce and assistant Cory McDiarmud. There are not many opportunities to kick/punt/kick-off in a game, and to have such a small sample size from this pre-season and practices seems daunting.
– With John Chick away at his brother’s wedding, this gives a great opportunity to Markus White, Robert Singletary and Dylan Ainsworth to get a ton of reps after Alex Hall is done for the night.
– The starting defensive backfield is in place with Marshay Green and Tristan Jackson at corner, Weldon Brown and Terrell Maze at half and Macho Harris at weak-side linebacker. With Tyron Brackenridge out, we get to see former Stampeder, Keenan MacDougall at safety. This will be his chance to really show what he can lay out on the field and possibly create a starting job on defence.
–There will be a lot of names on the field catching balls tonight. Fourteen receivers will be dressed, and this doesn’t count Ryan Smith, who is still recovering from getting his bell rung last week.
That’s just a few things on the Rider side of the ball to check out, now for the Stampeders.
–They picked up a 20-6 win in Vancouver last Friday over the Lions. Dominique Davis played well at quarterback. He came in during the fourth quarter and put together a touchdown drive and finished the game 9-for-10 for 75 yards and then rushed for another 11 yards. Now I know everyone wants a Canadian quarterback in the fold, and University of Calgary pivot Andrew Buckley also had a solid game, but if Davis makes it back to back games, Calgary will not be the team to have a CIS QB product on the roster.
– It will be fun to see Keith Tosten in the Stampeder backfield. I hope he gets a solid shot and produces for Calgary. He did receive a lot of carries (for a pre-season game) last week, with eight carries for 40 yards.
– Whereas the Riders have a pile of receivers to look at, the Stampeders are the same in the backfield. There are eight running backs and full backs on the roster.
– The best battle on defence will be at defensive end. Freddie Bishop III, DeQuin Evans, Brandon Boudreaux, Frank Beltre and CFL all-star Charleston Hughes will be a treat to watch. Hughes already has a spot sealed, but the other four all have CFL experience and there will be a good football player without a job by Sunday.
Random notes:
– A pair of PFC stars will be starting on offensive line tonight. Dan Clark (Regina Thunder) will get the nod for the Riders at centre and Spencer Wilson (Calgary Colts) at guard for the Stampeders.
– Six former University of Regina Rams will be playing tonight. Aaron Picton (G) and Tevaughn Campbell (DB) for the Stampeders, Jorgen Hus (LS), Kyle Patterson (G), Brendon LaBatte (G) and Chris Getzlaf (SB) for the Riders.
– This is the first time Darian Durant will see the Mosaic Stadium turf since last year’s Labour Day Classic.
The final cut down is Saturday at 12am EST. Keep with riderville.com and all of the Rider social media platforms to keep you up to date on the final roster breakdown.
Countdown to Gameday premieres next Thursday afternoon on riderville.com. It’s the best place to get you ready for the regular season opener next Saturday as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers pay a visit to Mosaic Stadium. It’s a 6:00pm kickoff.
See you tonight at Mosaic Stadium or remember to join us for all the action at riderville.com/riderslive at 7:30pm!
