Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Micah Teitz is a perpetually pleasant person who smiles easily and often.
But his expression brightens even more than usual when the Calgary Stampeders are introduced as a topic.
You see, Teitz grew up in Calgary, where he also played minor, high school and university football en route to the CFL. And now he is about to oppose his hometown team — the Stampeders — for the second time in a span of three games.
“Gotta love playing Calgary,” Teitz said in advance of Saturday’s Roughriders-Stampeders game (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“We have a real, real great opportunity to put ourselves super-far in front of them and situate ourselves nicely in the West standings right now, so it’s a huge game for us.
“Any West game is huge, but this one feels a little bit more.”
Saturday’s game represents an appetizing opportunity for the Roughriders from several standpoints.
A home-field victory over Calgary, which lost 29-26 to Saskatchewan in double overtime on June 24 at McMahon Stadium, would give the Roughriders a 4-1 record and keep them in the West Division’s upper echelon.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers carry a 4-1 slate into Saturday afternoon’s clash with the host Ottawa REDBLACKS. The B.C. Lions (4-1), who are on a bye week, return to action on July 22 by playing host to Saskatchewan.
Another victory over Calgary would also enable Saskatchewan to win the season series against the Stampeders (1-3).
At this early juncture of the 2023 campaign, Saskatchewan has already secured the season series with the Edmonton Elks (0-6).
The Roughriders are off to a strong start even though their six-game injured list has swelled to 10 names, most of whom are starters.
“It just shows the depth of our team — the idea that no one person is in control of everything and that we can have success with whoever we put out on the field,” Teitz said.
The successes aren’t always aesthetic. Saskatchewan’s three victories to this point have all been of the grind-it-out, down-to-the-wire variety, an example being a 12-11 conquest of Edmonton on July 6 at Mosaic Stadium.
“That’s just the CFL in general,” Teitz noted. “Since I’ve been a kid watching it, it seems like every game comes down to the last three minutes.
“Obviously, we’ve gotten some blowouts (in the CFL) this season, but it’s really important to be able to pull it out when it really is tough and when it counts.
“We don’t apologize for wins. That’s what we were saying after the last game against Edmonton. We got it done in a different kind of way than we normally do, but we’re just happy to take a win, no matter what.”
That mindset is shared by Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
“Every team is going to play tight games in this league,” he said. “Maybe some of ours are now.
“A lot of times, what makes or breaks the season is if teams can win those tight games, because I think it’s something that is learned.
“I think it’s a belief thing. What we can take away is that we’re not the team that we’re going to be right now — not even close — but the fact that we’re able to do that while we’re really banged up and beat-up with a lot of projected starters out has really instilled a lot of belief in the guys in this locker room.”
Belief, yes, but not overconfidence.
“I think it has done a lot of good things for us,” Harris said of the ability to pull out close games, “but it hasn’t made us satisfied in terms of a crocodile getting its meal and now it’s good and we’re fine.
“It has made us more hungry, because we’re not a team that’s looking at it and saying, ‘Oh, look at us. We’re 3-and-1.’ We’re saying we need to be way better to accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
RUNNING START
The ground game will continue to be an emphasis for the Roughriders — as it was when they last collided with Calgary.
Jamal Morrow rushed for 133 yards, the most by any CFL running back this season, to power Saskatchewan to victory at McMahon Stadium.
“I think Jamal’s a known commodity,” Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “I think everybody knows he’s a good football player. I don’t necessarily think that we’ll surprise (the Stampeders) with (utilizing Morrow), but they know that he’s going to get the ball and hopefully run it well.”
That is, after all, a long-standing formula for success.
“Everybody knows that’s the hallmark of all the great teams,” Harris said. “Look at last year with Toronto. When they got hot late (in the season), they ran the ball with Andrew Harris and with A.J. (Ouellette).
“In years past, it was Andrew Harris, once again, in Winnipeg. Winnipeg has been great using Brady Oliveira. You look at the Calgary teams with (Jon) Cornish and Ka’Deem (Carey) and they’ve always had great backs.
“Those are the teams that have always been in it since I’ve been in the league. So, for us to be the team that we want to be, we’ve got to be able to run the football.
“We’ve got to let our offensive line come out and be physical and build our offence from there. Then we can be able to stretch the field horizontally and then shoot it over their head and be able to get into our drop-back game from there.”
Entering this week’s slate of games, Morrow’s 285 rushing yards placed him second in the league, behind Oliveira (400). The Blue Bombers’ featured back has played in one more game than Morrow to this point in the schedule.
“No team can sustain and stop the run for four quarters, so if we can establish that early and continue to dominate the line of scrimmage and let the O-line do their job, it’s tough to stop, especially with our play-action game and all that stuff,” Morrow said.
DEAN DATA
Larry Dean needs just three defensive tackles to reach the 500 milestone for his career.
Although that number is a reflection of excellence, individual accomplishments aren’t even a tertiary consideration for the Roughriders’ middle linebacker.
“Right now, I’m just so in the moment,” he said. “I’m just preparing for Calgary and I’m putting my best foot forward for the team.”
Dean is poised to become the 41st CFL player to be credited with 500 tackles.
Swift Current-born Don Moen, formerly of the Toronto Argonauts, is currently 40th all-time with 503 tackles, followed by Jamall Johnson (498), Ryan Phillips (498) and Dean (497).
Willie Pless is the CFL’s all-time leader, with 1,241. Pless concluded his illustrious career by earning West All-Star honours as a member of the 1999 Roughriders.
Other ex-Roughriders in the 500 club are Alondra Johnson (1,095; third all-time), Barrin Simpson (fifth; 955), Solomon Elimimian (seventh; 833), Eddie Davis (eighth; 801), Greg Battle (ninth; 766), Larry Wruck (15th; 646), Shannon Garrett (17th; 638), Henoc Muamba (18th; 610), Jovon Johnson (23rd; 581), Omarr Morgan (26th; 545), Charleston Hughes (33rd; 526), George White (35th; 525) and Reggie Hunt (36th; 513).
Worth noting: The CFL did not begin publishing defensive tackles until 1987 — ergo the exclusion of prominent players from yesteryear.
