Ideally, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be clicking on and off the field.
As in: “Click, click, boom!”
Such is the chant after the Roughriders register a victory — as they aspire to do on Saturday against the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“Click, click, boom! — and every boom! is for the win,” quarterback Trevor Harris explained.
“Hopefully we can rattle off nine this week after the game.”
Eight such explosions followed last week’s 28-24 victory over the host Edmonton Elks. That win nailed down a CFL playoff berth for the Roughriders.
A victory over B.C. would secure a home post-season game.
“I’ve been waiting on a game like this for two years,” said receiver Samuel Emilus, who made his debut with the Roughriders in 2022.
“When a game like this happens, I just know we’ve got to make the most of it. I know the significance behind it.
“That’s what we play for, really — those big games.”
The Roughriders carry an 8-7-1 record, good for second place in the West Division, into a looming matchup with the third-seeded Lions (8-8-0).
A victory would put Saskatchewan three points ahead of B.C. with one game remaining in each team’s regular-season schedule.
The Roughriders also have a chance of overtaking the first-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-6-0).
To claim top spot, Saskatchewan would have to post home-field victories over B.C. (on Saturday) and the Calgary Stampeders (Oct. 26) and Winnipeg would have to lose to the visiting Toronto Argonauts (Friday) and the host Montreal Alouettes (Oct. 26).
“This time of year, you want to be playing some of your best football,” Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said, “and I think we’re trending in that direction.”
But the trajectory cannot change, especially with the games gaining in importance.
“This group is not satisfied with just making the playoffs,” Harris said. “It’s not something where we’ve taken a large exhale (after clinching a playoff spot) and said, ‘Whoo! OK …’
“We’ve won three in a row. We haven’t done anything. We haven’t accomplished anything yet in terms of what our bigger goals are.”
The ultimate goal: To celebrate a Grey Cup victory on Nov. 17 in Vancouver.
“Our focus is on continual improvement,” Harris reiterated.
“There’s no ‘we’ve had a meal and we’re satisfied.’ We’re not the belly-is-full alligator where we’re not going to be aggressive.
“We’re still coming at people.”
HOME SWEET HOME
If the Roughriders win on Saturday, it will be the seventh time they have clinched a home playoff game by winning at home since the CFL adopted an all-sudden-death playoff format in 1972.
Here is a list of the previous clinchers in friendly confines:
Oct. 21, 1973: The Roughriders beat Calgary 34-7 behind 161 rushing yards from George Reed.
Oct. 27, 1974: Saskatchewan registered six interceptions in a 17-2 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
Oct. 16, 1988: A 28-25 victory over B.C. snapped the Roughriders’ 11-year playoff drought.
Oct. 19, 2013: Saskatchewan got big games from Kory Sheets (25 carries for 148 yards) and Weston Dressler (three catches for 103 yards) in a 35-14 victory over B.C.
Oct. 27, 2018: In a virtual carbon copy of 2013, the Roughriders defeated the Lions 35-16. Ed Gainey (42-yard interception-return TD) and Cameron Marshall (134 rushing yards) led the way.
Nov. 13, 2021: Cody Fajardo (three TD passes) and Duke Williams (eight catches for 146 yards) were the premier performers in a 29-24 victory over Edmonton.
A road victory has been the Roughriders’ ticket to a home playoff game on two occasions.
Oct. 12, 1975: Reed’s 34-carry, 150-yard performance propelled Saskatchewan to a 20-14 victory over Winnipeg.
Oct. 26, 2019: The Roughriders shook off an early 14-0 deficit and won 27-24 in Edmonton. Brett Lauther kicked a 43-yard, game-winning field goal on the final play. (Meanwhile, back in Regina, the Winnipeg Jets posted a 2-1 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames at Mosaic Stadium.)
Five other home playoff games — those of 1976, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 — became a reality due to the result of a game that did not involve the Roughriders.
Calgary victories in 1976 (Oct. 31), 2008 (Nov. 1) and 2009 (Oct. 31) punched the Roughriders’ home playoff game ticket.
The Green and White also sent thanks to the Blue Bombers in 2007 (Oct. 17) and 2010 (Oct. 11) for their efforts toward ensuring a post-season game at historic Mosaic Stadium.
Before 1972, at least one round of the Western Conference playoffs included a best-of-three series.
EXTRA POINTS
• Emilus needs 30 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the second consecutive year. He has already established a career high for receptions (81) with two games remaining. Last year, he caught 70 passes for 1,097 yards.
• With 45 field goals, Lauther boasts the ninth-best total in franchise history. The 50 mark has been hit only five times — by Dave Ridgway (59 in 1990, 55 in 1988, 54 in 1989 and 52 in 1991) and Lauther (54 in 2018).
• Harris is seven passing yards shy of hitting 3,000 for the seventh time.
• Defensive lineman Benoit Marion is to make his debut with the Roughriders on Saturday. He is poised to become the team’s 71st roster player this season — and the 2,183rd All-Time.
