Notebook: Caleb Holley makes his mark

TORONTO — Caleb Holley is eager to shoulder more of a load for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The 26-year-old receiver, who missed two games earlier this season with a shoulder injury and then was a healthy scratch for three other contests, hasn’t approached the numbers he had as a CFL rookie in 2016.

After catching 56 passes for 655 yards over 11 games last season, Holley has 29 receptions for 444 yards through the nine games he has played in 2017.

But he had his most productive game of the season Saturday — in terms of both yards and impact — during Saskatchewan’s 27-24 victory over the Toronto Argonauts, catching two passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

“Once you get hurt at the beginning of a season, it’s kind of hard to shake it,” Holley said after the game at BMO Field. “I had a shoulder injury and it kept happening over and over again, so it took time to heal.

“Now that it’s healed, you see what happens: Plays are made.”

Holley made his first reception Saturday in the second quarter, catching an 11-yard pass from Brandon Bridge on a third-and-three situation from the Toronto 37-yard line. Three plays later, Bridge found Naaman Roosevelt for an eight-yard touchdown that, when converted, cut the Argos’ lead to 16-10.

Holley recorded his second catch on the final play of the third quarter, snaring a 10-yard pass over the middle and racing 65 yards after the catch to complete a 75-yard scoring play. Bridge then hit Bakari Grant for a two-point convert that gave Saskatchewan a 24-17 lead.

That one play matched Holley’s season high for receiving yards in a game; he had 75 yards on four catches against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 9.

“(Contributing like he did Saturday) lets me know that my teammates and my coaches feel they can depend on me,” he said. “They were looking for me to make a play and I did. I’d do it all over again if I could.”

Holley credited his mates in the Roughriders’ receiving crew for helping him get over the frustration he felt earlier this season. Now he’s hoping his showing Saturday leads to more productive outings down the stretch.

“When you get hurt so many times, you take a step back and then you’ve got to play catch-up,” Holley said. “But I’m cool with that. I’m always going to keep working hard.”

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Another Roughriders receiver had his own cheering section in Toronto.

Duron Carter’s dad — former NFLer Cris Carter, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013 — was among those on hand at BMO Field to watch Saturday’s contest.

“The last time he was up here was in Montreal and I was hurt, so it has been about three years,” said Duron Carter, a former member of the Alouettes. “It’s good to have him up.”

Cris Carter saw his son catch five passes for 71 yards. The younger Carter and Roosevelt were targeted a game-high 10 times apiece during the contest.

Having Cris in the crowd was special for Duron, but it wasn’t unique.

“He was my coach in Little League and in high school, so this is the same thing,” Duron said. “I’m used to having him around. To me, he’s just a dad.”

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The victory Saturday gave the Roughriders a sweep of their two-game, 10-day road trip through Ontario — they beat the Ottawa Redblacks 18-17 on Sept. 29 — but it also allowed them to go 3-for-3 in that province this season.

Saskatchewan defeated the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats 27-19 on Sept. 15, meaning the Roughriders were able to grind out three road wins in Ontario this season by a total of 12 points.

“Like I told you all the other day — and people looked at me like I was crazy — Hamilton’s a good football team,” Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “They’ve gone to B.C. and won (24-23 on Sept. 22) and they’ve gone now over to Winnipeg and won (30-13 on Friday). They’re a good football team. And we went to their place and we pulled out a tight win.

“Same thing with Ottawa, who happened to win the Grey Cup last year, and the No. 1 team in the East, which is Toronto. All of them are very well-coached. They’ve got really good players and we’re very fortunate to come over here and play just good enough to come out with a win.”

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The Argos rushed for 110 yards against the Roughriders, marking the fourth time in the past five games that a Saskatchewan opponent exceeded 100 yards along the ground.

Tailback James Wilder Jr., had 72 yards on 13 carries, but the Roughriders were OK with that. Wilder wasn’t as productive along the ground as the Calgary Stampeders’ Jerome Messam (127 yards on Sept. 24) or Ottawa’s William Powell (187 yards on Sept. 29) had been.

“It’s a mindset,” Saskatchewan middle linebacker Henoc Muamba said when asked to explain the difference between the games. “It’s a mentality and Coach Jones has realized that as well. He has been stressing it at every practice and we have an extra period now dedicated to the run.

“Offensively, we want to be able to run the ball better and defensively, we want to be able to stop the ball better. We feel like we’re a good defence in the passing game and we’ve got to get better at our left hand (as a right-handed basketball player would try to do).”

Wilder was more dangerous in the passing game Saturday, catching seven passes for 89 yards. Argos quarterback Ricky Ray threw for 341 yards in the contest.