Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo. (Photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

By Britton Gray

Ready for redemption

Upbeat Riders set for Redblacks

Aug 24, 2019 | 8:58 AM

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are riding a wave of confidence heading into their second meeting of 2019 with the Ottawa Redblacks.

The recent run of success seemed like a glimmer in the distance following a 44-41 loss to the Redblacks on June 20. But since that first meeting, the CFL teams have gone in completely opposite directions.

The Roughriders have won four straight and are 5-1 since the loss in Ottawa. Meanwhile, the Redblacks have gone 1-6, scoring more than 20 points only once in that span.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 5 p.m.

Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo’s first career start came against the Redblacks in the first meeting.

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He has emerged as a starting-calibre quarterback since taking over from Zach Collaros, throwing for 1,871 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions. He also has rushed for six touchdowns, one back of the league lead.

“No matter who the opponent is, we’re going to have confidence,” Fajardo said. “You’ve got to have confidence in professional football or you’re going to get embarrassed.”

The offence has flourished under Fajardo and offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo in 2019. Receivers Kyran Moore (492) and Shaq Evans (607) are both on pace to exceed 1,000 receiving yards in their second seasons with the team. In 2018, no Saskatchewan receiver eclipsed that mark.

Running back William Powell finds himself on pace for more than 1,000 yards rushing and is currently tied for the league lead with seven rushing touchdowns.

But the success has come with a few speed bumps along the way.

The team’s passing attack has struggled to find the end zone over the past two games, with Fajardo failing to throw a touchdown pass in either of the past two victories.

If Fajardo finds a way to win a third straight game without tossing a TD pass, he would be the first quarterback to turn the trick since then-Edmonton Eskimos pivot Mike Reilly in 2014. The last Roughrider quarterback to accomplish the feat was Ron Lancaster in 1968.

Despite the recent run the team has been on, Fajardo mentioned the message in the locker room is that there’s still room for improvement.

“We haven’t played our best football yet,” Fajardo said. “In terms of an overall performance of all three phases (offence, defence and special teams), we haven’t got there yet. We’ve gotten away with some wins and not playing our best football.”

The defence has been rounding into form over the past three games. The group has held each of its past three opponents to under 20 points.

“The group is now playing together,” defensive co-ordinator Jason Shivers said earlier in the week. “When you have some individuals come in from different teams and (they’ve) been coached a different way and having to adjust (to our game plan), I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve seen and that has paid dividends for us.”

On Aug. 9 against the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan’s defence scored a pair of touchdowns for the first time in 2019 after leading the league with 11 majors in 2018.

Redblacks quarterback Dominique Davis had his best game of the season in the first meeting between the teams, throwing for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Since then, he has struggled, throwing only two touchdown passes against seven interceptions in five games since. He missed two games due to an injury.

Shivers said there were a lot of 50/50 balls that went in favour of Ottawa in the first meeting.

“We’ve honed in on (technique) so I’m looking forward to us having a chance with those 50/50 balls to make a play,” Shivers said.

Defensive end A.C. Leonard is to return to the lineup Saturday after missing the game in Montreal with a shoulder injury. Defensive tackle Micah Johnson is to miss the game as he continues to deal with an ankle injury.

The special teams could also see a boost with the return of kicker Brett Lauther, who missed five games due to a groin injury.

“It’s nice to get him back,” head coach Craig Dickenson said. “He’s a touch stronger than (Gabriel Ferraro) so he gives us a little more distance on kickoffs.”

Dickenson also mentioned the kickoff team as a whole will see more changes this week.

“We’ve rolled some people in, (so) our kickoff team is going to look a little different,” Dickenson said. “On (the punt team) we’re going to be a little more rotational in terms of who plays there.

“We just want to stay fresh and if a guy’s getting tired and he’s on the punt team, we’re going to try and get a sub in there.”

The Roughriders will also need to try and contain Ottawa return man Stefan Logan. The 38-year-old joined Ottawa after playing four games earlier in the season with the Alouettes.

Logan racked up 121 yards on 11 returns on Aug. 17 in a 21-7 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

This season is also turning into the year of the returner, with 16 returns for touchdowns across the league so far this season. There were only 14 all of last season.

“I do think you’re seeing a real high-calibre returner up here,” Dickenson said. “The return game has been de-emphasized (in the NFL), especially kick return. I think you’re seeing a few more guys coming up north that in other years would be down in the NFL.”

Dickenson also said the rules in the CFL were made to help the return game, so that also has led to an increase.

You can listen to live play-by-play of the game on CKBI in P.A. and La Ronge areas, CJNB in the Battlefords and Meadow Lake, and on CJVR in the Melfort area.

Kick off has been scheduled for 5p.m.