‘A revenge season’: Riders ready to finally face Bombers in regular season

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been calling 2022 “a revenge season” and there’s one team that has been the catalyst for that.

The Riders are to meet the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the first time in the 2022 CFL regular season Sunday in the Labour Day Classic. Kickoff for the game is set for 4 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 2 p.m.

“There’s a little extra added when you’re playing a team like Winnipeg, who is considered the best team in the league and they’ve proven it with the last couple years by winning championships and being 10-and-1 this year,” Riders receiver Shaq Evans said Wednesday.

The Riders haven’t fared well against the Bombers in the past two seasons, posting a 2-3 regular-season record against their rivals and losing the past two CFL West Division finals to them as well. The last time the Riders beat the Bombers was Oct. 5, 2019, when Saskatchewan won 21-6.

“It’s a revenge season and that’s still the case. We have to win and we have to protect home field,” Evans said. “I know those guys are going to come in here with a lot of confidence and feel like they can beat us easily and we like it like that. I can’t wait for Sunday.”

The Labour Day Classic always adds intrigue to the season for the Riders and Bombers, with the annual home-and-home often being a tossup between the two.

The Bombers’ 23-8 win in the 2021 edition of the Classic was only the second time in the past 16 meetings that Saskatchewan lost the home game. The Bombers hold a 10-7 edge in the rematch the following week.

“(Labour Day) is crazy. This is going to be my fourth one I’ve been a part of and the third one I’ve played in,” Evans said. “I know the intensity is just different and it’s always an antsy week because you just want to get to game day because you know how it’s going to be with the packed crowd.”

Evans said he expects to play this week after coming close to returning for Saskatchewan’s 23-16 victory last Friday over the B.C. Lions. Evans hasn’t played since June 23, when he suffered an ankle injury against the Montreal Alouettes.

“I feel really good, I feel better than last week so I’m out there for Labour Day,” Evans said. “I knew last week I was close but I just felt like I needed one more game to just get back to feeling closer to 100 per cent.”

While the Riders (6-5-0) have dealt with highs and lows this season, a win against the league-leading Bombers (10-1-0) could help flip the switch and get the Riders back on track. Saskatchewan had gone 1-4-0 in its previous five games before downing B.C.

“We know what we have in that building and we know what’s been going on — we’ve had COVID and we’ve had injuries – and I feel like people around the league, and even some of our own fans, fail to realize that we’re still a good team. We haven’t had all of our guys,” Evans said.

“I feel like we’re coming together at the right time and it’s a perfect time for a team like Winnipeg, against a team that thinks it can beat us easily, and we will shock the world and show we can contend.”

Notes: Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson was absent from practice Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19, so special-teams co-ordinator Kent Maugeri ran practice. The team remains confident Dickenson will be able to coach Sunday … Slotback Brayden Lenius was at practice for the first time since re-signing with the Riders. He attended training camp with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons but was cut in late July … Defensive tackle Anthony Lanier II (head), defensive back Rolan Milligan (knee) and slotback Duke Williams (ankle) were among those who missed practice.