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After claiming victory in the Labour Day Classic, the Saskatchewan Roughriders head into hostile territory today.
It’s the annual Labour Day rematch as the Riders take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Princess Auto Stadium. Saskatchewan is coming off of a 32-26 overtime victory at Mosaic Stadium in the Labour Day Classic.
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While there is a lot of emotion and history between these two teams, Riders head coach Corey Mace had the team approaching the week like any other.
“Go out there and did some work in practice and then finish it off with a strong walk-through before we go into, for us, the most hostile environment we will see throughout the season,” Mace said.
“It’s a great test for us as a team.”
The win in the Labour Day game improved the Riders to 8-4 on the season while dropping Winnipeg to 6-6 and providing some breathing room in a tight CFL West Division. Saskatchewan still remains behind the 9-3 Edmonton Elks for the top spot in the division.
Mace and his team believe this two-game series with the Bombers is a good way to springboard their team into the home stretch.
“Any time you’re looking at Labour Day and Banjo Bowl, if you can come out with a couple wins, I think that’s big for either team, to be honest with you,” Mace said.
“I think for myself looking at it as a coach of the team, seeing how your team responds to those hostile environments tells you quite a bit about the makeup of your team.
“We’re expecting another hard-fought battle as they always are against this team, but the tides are going to turn a little bit in terms of who is making noise for whom this week.”
Saskatchewan’s defence brought some newfound energy to the game in their first meeting as linebackers Aubrey Miller Jr. and Seyi Oladipo, as well as defensive back James Burgess Jr., made key plays. All three of those players weren’t Week 1 starters.
They held Brady Oliveira, who leads the CFL with 984 yards, to just 28 yards in their first meeting.
“Brady is a great back. He’s a big back. He’s a key person. He’s close to 1,000 yards and, personally, we don’t want him to get there on us. It’s a rivalry thing; it’s a pride thing,” Oladipo said.
“Brady brings the boom when he runs the ball so we just have to bring it back.”
The Riders’ lone change on defence is the addition of defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado to the lineup. Baldonado’s signing was announced on Thursday as the global defender returns to the Riders, where he spent the 2023-25 seasons. He joined the Ottawa Redblacks this past off-season but was released on Sept. 7.
Saskatchewan is also making a change at the kicker spot as Alex Hale has been moved to the practice roster. Dawson Hodge will make his first career CFL start this week.
On offence, wide receiver Shemar Bridges comes back onto the roster after he spent the past few weeks on the practice roster. He comes on for Daniel Wiebe, who has been ruled out of this game with a head injury.
Bridges will look to provide another target for quarterback Trevor Harris, who passed Doug Flutie for 10th all-time in CFL passing last time out. He has 41,590 yards in his career according to the CFL website.
“It’s really neat when you start hearing names like that. I was just curious and Flutie played eight years,” Harris said.
“He’s like a six-time (Most Outstanding Player) in eight years. The guy is an absolute legend so just to be mentioned in the same breath as these guys is something I don’t know I deserve but it’s really awesome. Just had a lot of great teammates and coaches throughout the years that have helped me get here.”
Wide receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby will look to continue to build off of his big game as he set a new career-high with 148 yards last time out.
“It’s super cool. Just been waiting for my time. Unfortunately, with injuries, it opens up opportunities. Once you get that opportunity, you kind of have to take it. That’s been the big thing for me this year is whatever opportunities come my way, make sure I grasp them,” Duncan-Busby said.
Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m. today. The Green Zone pregame show begins at noon.
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