The Saskatchewan Roughriders are steeled for a visit to Hamilton.
“It’s a tough environment,” defensive end Malik Carney said, looking forward to Saturday’s collision with the Tiger-Cats at Hamilton Stadium.
“I know the fans are going to be loud and doing their thing — cheering and booing. That’s what I expect from them.
“I know that they are a physical team up front. We’re a physical team up front, so it’s going to be a physical battle.
“I know that we’re coming after them.”
Just as certainly, the Tiger-Cats will fight back — embracing a hard-nosed style of play that was once exemplified by venerable linemen such as CFL legends Angelo Mosca and John Barrow.
“With their fan base, the mentality they try to portray not only as a city but as a team as well is a blue-collar, hard-nosed kind of deal,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “You love that.
“I like what they’ve got going on over there and I think it’s a great environment for our guys to play in and be Public Enemy #1 for an evening.
“I know the boys are excited. It’s a great atmosphere.”
Trevor Harris had a sneak preview of blue-collar football as a youngster, growing up in the Rust Belt state of Ohio.
“The fans are a little bit meaner than the people in Ohio,” the Roughriders’ No. 1 quarterback noted. “I’ve heard people talk about my wife and kids there (in Hamilton), but they’re a passionate, passionate fan base. They really come out and make it difficult for you.
“It’s a fun environment to play in. I know they have a very, very talented roster, too, so it’s going to be fun. I know the crowd will probably make it tough on us, but we’re excited about the challenge.”
The Roughriders are coming off a season-opening, 31-26 victory over the visiting Ottawa REDBLACKS on July 5th.
The Tiger-Cats are hoping to rebound from a 38-26 loss to the host Calgary Stampeders.
Saturday’s kickoff is set for 5 p.m. (CKRM, TSN).
BATTLING BO
Saturday’s starting quarterbacks sport a combined 72,752 career passing yards.
Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell, with 39,327 yards, is 11th on the league’s All-Time list. Harris (33,425) is 16th.
“There’s not a lot of stuff (Mitchell) hasn’t seen, similar to Trevor,” Mace said when asked about facing the Tiger-Cats’ pivot, describing him as “a walking Hall of Famer.”
Mitchell enters this week’s game with 227 career touchdown passes — the first of which was caught by Mace, a defensive lineman, in a short-yardage situation when they were teammates with the Calgary Stampeders in 2012.
The 227 TD passes place Mitchell 12th on the career list. Harris, who is 19th with 182 payoff pitches, is within striking distance of Sam Etcheverry (186) and Russ Jackson (185).
MICAH MEETS MITCHELL
Like Mace, Micah Johnson is a former Stampeders defensive tackle and an ex-comrade of the current Tiger-Cats signal caller.
Johnson, like Mitchell, boasts a Hall of Fame-calibre resume — as evidenced by four career All-CFL selections and seven divisional nods.
On Saturday, Johnson hopes to fatten his career sack total (65) at Mitchell’s expense. But it won’t be easy, even though the 36-year-old Johnson remains a formidable force in the middle of Saskatchewan’s front four.
“Bo has been holding it against me,” he said with a laugh. “A lot of times, I felt I could have sacked Bo, but if he sees it’s me, he’ll throw it away real quick so I can’t get him. He never lets me get him.
“I have great rushes, but he’ll be hard to get if he won’t let me sack him.”
Mitchell is also poised to face another ex-Stampeders defensive tackle, Mike Rose, who is in his first season as a Roughrider after earning All-CFL recognition three times with Calgary.
“Mike has had a little more success than I’ve had,” Johnson said. “I’ll have great rushes and I’m right there and Bo will just be like, ‘Nope.’ He ain’t going to let it happen.
“I’m going to get him this week.”
HERE’S A SCOOP
Roughriders defensive end Malik (Scoop) Carney is returning to his original CFL home.
Carney played for Hamilton from 2021 to 2023 before signing with the Roughriders as a free agent on Feb. 13th, 2024.
His second season with Saskatchewan began auspiciously when he registered two sacks versus Ottawa. He was the only CFLer to reach multiple sacks in Week 1.
“It’s great, but we’ve just got to get there,” Carney said. “I don’t care if it’s me or the boys (alongside him on the defensive line) or if we’ve got DBs coming.
“As long as we get him down, we’re doing our job as a unit and we get the win. That’s the most important thing.”
Carney made one of the most important plays against Ottawa, sacking Dru Brown for a loss of 16 to put the REDBLACKS in a third-and-26 predicament late in the fourth quarter.
Following Ottawa’s turnover on downs, the Roughriders extinguished the final 39 seconds on the clock and celebrated their fifth consecutive season-opening win.
“Making plays is satisfying,” Carney said. “That’s what we work hard for — to make those big-time plays.
“To do it in that moment was big. It put our team in position to win a game and that’s what we did.”
ROSTER NOTES
Ka’Deem Carey, whose signing was announced earlier this week, is poised to make his debut with the Roughriders.
A two-time 1,000-yard rusher, Carey has been activated in place of fellow running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, who will sit out Saturday’s game with a groin injury.
Carey and A.J. Ouellette, both of whom have earned divisional All-CFL recognition with the Toronto Argonauts, will serve as the Roughriders’ running backs on Saturday.
With Kian Schaffer-Baker sidelined by a foot injury, fellow receiver D’Sean Mimbs has been activated.
His father, Robert Mimbs, was named the West Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 1996 after gaining a league-high 1,403 yards along the ground for Saskatchewan.
D’Sean Mimbs is poised to become the 17th graduate of the University of Regina Rams to play in a regular-season game for Saskatchewan. Including the junior football years, Mimbs will soon become the 55th ex-Ram to suit up for the Roughriders.
Carey and Mimbs will increase to 2,198 the number of players to suit up for the Roughriders or Regina Rugby Club in a regular-season or playoff contest.
RAMS TO RIDERS
Mimbs will be among five ex-Rams in the Roughriders’ lineup on Saturday, joining defensive backs Tevaughn Campbell and Jaxon Ford, long snapper Jorgen Hus and receiver Mitch Picton.
As well, the Roughriders’ coaching staff includes two former Rams quarterbacks — Marc Mueller (Offensive Co-ordinator) and Josh Donnelly (Offensive Assistant).
Donnelly was the Rams’ starting quarterback when Mimbs made his Canada West debut in 2021.
On Oct. 2, 2021 at Mosaic Stadium, Mimbs caught his first two U Sports touchdown passes — eight- and five-yarders from Donnelly.
Both majors were converted by Aldo Galvan, who is now the Roughriders’ Football Operations Intern.
SALUTE TO SASKATCHEWAN
Eight of the Roughriders’ active-roster players for Saturday played junior or university football in Saskatchewan.
Along with the five Rams products, the list of locals consists of offensive lineman Logan Ferland (Regina Thunder), defensive back Nelson Lokombo (Huskies) and linebacker Nick Wiebe (Huskies).
On top of that, the practice roster includes offensive linemen Noah Zerr (Huskies) and Caleb Barajas (Thunder), linebacker Kenten Effa (Thunder) and defensive lineman Johnathan Stevens (Hilltops).
Barajas, Effa and Stevens are practising with the Roughriders as junior-eligible players. Stevens will rejoin the Hilltops once their training camp begins. Barajas and Effa will practise with the Roughriders and play for the Thunder this season.
