Notebook: Chad Owens came out flyin’

Chad Owens turned back the clock.

Appearing in his first CFL game in more than a year, the 35-year-old receiver led the Saskatchewan Roughriders in catches (five) and receiving yards (78) during Friday’s 30-7 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders.

Owens looked rejuvenated at McMahon Stadium — and he looked like the player he was in 2010.

“You could see that Chad of the old days coming back, with him running really, really crisp routes,” Roughriders quarterback Kevin Glenn said. “He was really on point.”

Owens had almost 6,000 receiving yards in his first eight seasons in the CFL before signing as a free agent with Saskatchewan in February. But a nagging foot injury — an ailment that ended his 2016 season early with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — sent him to the Roughriders’ injured list for their first 14 regular-season games.

He was on the Roughriders’ 46-man roster for their game Oct. 13 against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks, but was scratched. When he took the field for the contest versus Calgary, he was making his first appearance in a game since Sept. 16, 2016.

“It felt like I never left, like I never missed games,” Owens said. “There was a lot of excitement and a lot of fun. The No. 1 thing is that we got the win and we’re in the playoffs. That’s what made it very special, that I was able to contribute to that win.”

Owens had to wait until the second quarter Friday before making his first catch, a 14-yarder from Brandon Bridge. Owens added a 27-yard reception before the end of the first half, 14- and seven-yarders in the third quarter and a 16-yarder in the fourth.

At no point did he pause to reflect on what his previous 13 months had been like.

“You put things into perspective,” Owens said. “You know how hard you’ve worked and all that, but like anything else, when you have success or when you fail, you move on.

“My focus is on being on the field and not thinking about what I had to go through because, at this point of the season, everyone has got something that they’re dealing with. Everyone’s a little nicked up. I’m just trying to focus on today and being the best I can be today.”

Owens is slated to get his second start of the season Friday, when the Roughriders face the Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium. He’ll again fill in for slotback Naaman Roosevelt, who remains sidelined with a concussion.

Owens looked fresh in Calgary, but that may have been a result of the work that he put in to get back on the field. The excitement derived from playing again also inspired him.

“When something is taken from you and you miss it very much — something that you love and you’re passionate about — when you get an opportunity to do it again, you want to make the most of it,” Owens said.

“In this sport, you never know when your last play is going to be. I just try to take advantage of every play that I’m out there because, if it was to be my last play, I want to make sure that on film I was going 110 and I left everything I had on that field.”

The Roughriders’ coaching staff certainly noticed.

“He’s one of those guys who just wants to keep playing and he’s very passionate about what he does,” said Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones, who was a member of the Toronto Argonauts’ coaching staff during Owens’ stint in Toronto. “It was good to have that out on the field for us.”

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The Roughriders take a 9-7-0 record into Friday’s game against a Montreal team that is 3-13-0 this season. The Als also are riding a nine-game losing streak.

Saskatchewan is going to the playoffs and Montreal is not, so some might consider Friday’s contest to be a prime example of a trap game. But the Roughriders have stressed that they can’t look past the Als no matter their record.

“We can’t worry about anything but ourselves,” said Jones, whose team completes its regular-season slate Nov. 4 against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos. “What we’ve got to guard against is acting like last week (the win in Calgary) is the end of the season. We’ve got two games left.

“We looked at it this morning: The last 10 Grey Cup champions were solid. Sixty or 70 per cent of the time, they ended the year on a really high note. We’ve got an opportunity to be 5-and-1 in the last six and that’s our goal.”

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Roughriders receiver-turned-cornerback Duron Carter was named a CFL top performer of the week Tuesday.

Making his first start at defensive back at any level of football, Carter had two tackles and a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Stampeders.

The pick was Carter’s first of the season. The touchdown was his ninth of the campaign.

Carter is to start at corner again Friday against Montreal and also could get some snaps at receiver.

Tiger-Cats receiver/returner Brandon Banks and Argonauts running back James Wilder Jr., were the other top performers.

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The Roughriders announced Tuesday that they had re-signed linebacker Will Ratelle.

The 24-year-old product of Edina, Minn., dressed for two games earlier this season — Aug. 13 against the B.C. Lions and Sept. 9 versus the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — before being released Sept. 11.

The 6-foot-0, 250-pounder recorded one defensive tackle and one special-teams stop in his previous stint with Saskatchewan.

The Roughriders also placed linebacker Sam Eguavoen on the one-game injured list. Eguavoen was injured in the Calgary game.