Jaxon Ford comes back into lineup as Riders meet Lions in CFL West Semifinal

Jaxon Ford will once again be called upon in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ biggest game of the season.

The safety will make his 10th start at the position after Nelson Lokombo was ruled out of the CFL West Semifinal with a hip injury.

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The former University of Regina Ram is excited to have playoff football starting again.

“Absolutely pumped. We are super excited. We are doing the extra work and we are ready to go. It’s a new season for us and looking forward to it,” Ford said.

In 17 games this season, which also featured a couple of starts at linebacker, Ford has 55 tackles and an interception.

This will be the fourth time the Riders and Lions have met this season, with the Riders winning back in Week 2 at Mosaic Stadium.

But the Lions have bested the Green and White both times at B.C. Place this season — a 30-16 win on Aug. 23 and then a 31-24 win on Sept. 25.

Ford said the Riders are looking forward to another matchup with the Lions.

“We’re excited to play them. We have to have a get-back this game and show out,” Ford said. “I don’t want to say rivalry but we are super competitive and match up well. We are looking forward to it and it’s going to be a good battle.”

One of the things Ford and the Riders’ defence will look to do is limit the big plays from Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. In the last game, the star quarterback was able to extend plays and find a number of deep passes.

“We have to keep him in the pocket here,” Ford said. “Last couple of games, he was scrambling on us and throwing those deep shots against us. We have to be top-down here and limit the explosives.”

On offence, one of the changes is that Zack Fry will once again start at guard after the team recently elected to go with four Americans along the line the past couple of games.

After being given last week off, starters such as quarterback Trevor Harris, slotback KeeSean Johnson, offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, running back A.J. Ouellette and halfback DaMarcus Fields are back on the depth chart for the Riders.

For the Lions, they will be without standout rookie linebacker Parker McKenna. He had 81 total tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery this season as he was a big part of the Lions’ defensive turnaround this season. B.C. will also be without Stantley Thomas-Oliver III in the secondary. Veteran Garry Peters will start at defensive back after playing just two games in the regular season.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 2:30 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m.