By Canadian Press

Harris expects players to step up as injury-riddled Riders host Elks

Jul 5, 2023 | 3:39 PM

REGINA — Trevor Harris sees an opportunity for players to step up as the injury-riddled Saskatchewan Roughriders prepare to host the Edmonton Elks.

The Riders currently have 13 players on their injured lists, including starting centre Peter Godber and receivers Jake Weineke, Derel Walker, Brayden Lenius, Juwan Brescacin and Kian Schaffer-Baker.

Saskatchewan’s roster depth will be tested Thursday against the Elks, but Harris believes the game is a golden opportunity for players to show their talents.

“A lot of times people say adversity builds character, but it also reveals character,” Harris said. “When you hit adversity where you got to take from your practice roster, it’s their chance to show what they can do.

“There’s never been one conversation about like, ‘Oh man, so and so’s down. What are we going to do?’ It’s more about let’s reload ammunition and let’s go so we’re excited about tomorrow.”

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The Riders are coming off a 29-26 victory over the Calgary Stampeders on June 26 where Harris passed for 413 yards while tailback Jamal Morrow rushed for 133 yards.

Harris, who signed with the Riders in the off-season, is off to a strong start with his new team. The 37-year-old has completed 69 of 104 passes for 867 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions.

He’s excited to see what receivers Tevin Jones, Samuel Emilus, Shawn Bane, Kendall Watson, and Mitchell Picton add to the Saskatchewan offence.

“We love the guys we have so tomorrow we’re going to play hard, trust the game plan and go out there and let it rip,” said Harris. “That’s one of the ways you find out what you have, right?”

Given the inexperience of the Saskatchewan receiving corps, head coach Craig Dickenson said the Riders will need to run the ball successfully against the Elks.

“The running game will be super important,” he said. “You don’t want to lean too heavily on the passing game if you don’t have to so we’re going to really try hard to establish a run.

“And when they over commit, which we hope they do to the run, we’re going to try and take some shots on them. It’ll be a combination of both, but the running game certainly plays a big role in success.”

The Elks will be playing their fifth game in 25 days and are still searching for their first victory of the season. Starting quarterback Taylor Cornelius was pulled in the third quarter of Edmonton’s 43-21 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on June 30, with Jarret Doege going the distance in at 26-7 setback to the Ottawa Redblacks on June 30.

Cornelius returns to the starting role this week and while the Elks dropped the season opener 17-13 to the Riders on June 11, he played well in Edmonton’s last trip to Regina. On Sept. 16, 2022, Cornelius led the Elks to a 26-24 comeback victory with Sergio Castillo kicking a game-winning 47-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Cornelius finished that game 13 of 24 passing for 237 yards and one touchdown. He also added 93 yards rushing on eight carries.

The Riders are aware of what the six-foot-five, 230-pound quarterback is capable of.

“When it’s clicking, he’s a handful. There’s no doubt about that,” said Dickenson. “He’s very athletic, he’s tough as nails and I think guys really rally around him. When he’s playing well, he can make it a long day, so we hope to confuse them a little bit to try to keep him from having a big day.

“But he’s very talented football player and when he’s clicking, he gives them a chance.”

EDMONTON (0-4) AT SASKATCHEWAN (2-1)

Thursday, July 6

Mosaic Stadium

PROTECTION PROBLEMS: The Elks have given up 15 sacks in four games this season. Stephen Sorrells, the Elks offensive line coach, is in his first season with Edmonton after serving as Saskatchewan’s OL coach from 2017 to 2022. In his final season with the Riders, the team allowed a CFL record 77 sacks.

KICKING CONFIDENCE: Brett Lauther has been struggling this season, but Dickenson has no hesitation about keeping the veteran kicker in the lineup. “If we didn’t have faith in him, he wouldn’t be here . . . I wouldn’t want anybody else kicking for us,” said Dickenson. Lauther has a career success rate of 89.7 per cent, making 175 of 195 field goals. He is 8-for-11 this season.

HOME FIELD STRUGGLES: The Riders are closing in on a calendar year since their last regular season victory at home. Saskatchewan has lost seven straight games at Mosaic Stadium since beating Ottawa 28-13 on July 8, 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2023.

Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press