Rivals ready to rumble in Roughriders’ home opener

It’s a rivalry renewed as the Saskatchewan Roughriders play their home opener Friday.

The Riders will welcome the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to Mosaic Stadium for another chapter in one of the CFL’s more historic rivalries.

Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. The Green Zone Game Day pre-game show starts at 5 p.m.

“We always get jacked up to go out and play Winnipeg, especially at home,” said Riders guard Evan Johnson. “We have the home-field advantage, it’s opening night and we’ve got all the fans coming out.

“We know it’s going to be a competitive game.”

Johnson, who is from Regina, has a lot of memories of going to old Mosaic Stadium to see the Riders in action against the Bombers.

“I grew up watching as much Rider football as I could,” he said. “I just love the rivalry that Winnipeg brings. Whether it’s Labour Day, Banjo Bowl, other regular-season games, you know it gets hostile.”

Another player who knows all about the rivalry is defensive end Nick Dheilly. He too is a Regina product, but he grew up cheering for the Bombers.

“If you’re wearing Winnipeg gear here, you’d better get ready to get yelled at,” Dheilly said. “I grew up a Bombers fan and I got drafted by the Bombers in 2020. I know all about the rivalry from going to Winnipeg and then coming back to Regina.

“My dad grew up in Winnipeg and my whole family is from Manitoba … My dad said screw it and he brought me to games and put a Bomber jersey on me and it’s crazy. You had grown men yelling at a 12-year-old.

“It’s crazy out there. Saskatchewan Rider fans are not the ones to mess with on Bomber day.”

For much of the CFL, the Bombers have been a tough puzzle to solve. Winnipeg has appeared in three straight Grey Cups, winning two of them.

The Riders haven’t posted a win over their West Division rival in three years; their last win over Winnipeg came on Oct. 15, 2019. That’s a seven-game stretch.

“Everyone is trying to beat the Bombers. They are just a well-oiled machine right now, a super veteran group,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said. “I think you have to keep the ball away from (Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros). If you give him too many opportunities, he is going to hurt you.

“The better your offence plays (and) the more you can run the football and keep it away from their offence, I think the better you’re going to be.”

Collaros and the Bombers’ offence rolled in Week 1, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 42-31. Collaros had 354 yards passing and three touchdowns in the win.

But who will be at the helm of the Riders’ offence remains uncertain. Presumed starter Trevor Harris is listed as a game-time decision after suffering a hip injury in a Week 1 17-13 win over the Edmonton Elks.

“I think it’s a mutual (decision). I think it’s more leaning on my feedback,” Harris said. “It sucks but I’ve played through worse so there’s that.”

If Harris is unable to play, Mason Fine appears set to get the start. Fine appeared in the final two games for the Riders last season, throwing for 364 yards and one touchdown.

“I feel very confident. We have just been building chemistry with these guys since the beginning of training camp. I think we have done that well throughout pre-season, and then this week of practice, I feel like I have been playing well and throwing well,” Fine said.

On offence, the Riders will be without receiver Derel Walker, who has been placed on the six-game injured list with a knee injury. Tevin Jones, who had 20 catches for 265 yards and three touchdowns last season, will start in his place.

“It’s just another day in the life of being a Rider. You just take it one day at a time and one man goes down, another man goes up,” Jones said.

The Riders’ offensive line will look for another good showing this week. Against Edmonton, the group only surrendered two sacks.

While the Bombers’ defence still features perennial all-stars in defensive end Willie Jefferson and linebacker Adam Bighill, they will be without defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. He was added to the six-game injured list with a calf injury.

The Riders’ defence will also be missing one of its top players for the showdown. Defensive back Nic Marshall is considered week to week with a shoulder injury.

Deontai Williams, who played four seasons at Nebraska and attended 2022 training camp with the Seattle Seahawks, will make his pro debut.

“I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions right now. I’m just grateful that I get to play football again,” Williams said. “My family is in town and they get to watch me play so I’m just going to enjoy this moment.”

It has been a long journey for Williams to reach this point.

“It started off in Little League and I had to stay with my coach because my mom was struggling. I didn’t get the grades, I was offered by everybody in a (Division 1) college and had to go (to junior college). I tore my ACL in JUCO and had to stay another year,” Williams said.

“I had all my offers dropped before signing day and Nebraska ended up taking me late — at 2 a.m. — and I got injured a couple times at Nebraska. It’s just a whole bunch of trials and tribulations in this game that I’ve gone through.”

A big key for the Riders in Friday’s game could be the play of their defensive line and putting pressure on Collaros as well as stopping Bombers running back Brady Oliveira. He had 113 rushing yards in Week 1.

The Riders’ defensive front had five sacks in Edmonton, with five players each getting to the quarterback once.