Roughriders look to snap two-game losing streak in Ottawa

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders will be looking to end a two-game losing skid on Thursday night in the nation’s capital.

To kick off Week 10 in the CFL season, the Riders (5-3) will visit the Ottawa Redblacks (5-2) in the first meeting of the season between the two teams with action getting underway at 5:30 p.m. Ottawa will visit Saskatchewan in Week 18 on Sept. 28 in the second meeting of the year.

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“They’re a very good football team,” said Riders’ quarterback Shea Patterson. “They’ve been solid all year.

“Their quarterback is playing really well. They’ve got a lot of weapons at receiver; really good SAM linebacker, really good safety, good secondary so I think we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

“They’re a good team, man,” echoed Riders’ head coach Corey Mace. “We have to go out and play our brand of football to give ourselves the best chance to come out with a win.”

Roster notes

Despite being cleared to practice this week, quarterback Trevor Harris (knee) will remain on the injured list for his sixth and likely final game before presumably being activated next week. Patterson will make his sixth start in relief of Harris.

In front of Patterson, there are changes along the offensive line as left guard Ryan Sceviour (elbow) heads to the six-game injured list. Zack Fry, a 2022 draft pick, will make his first career CFL start.

After Brandon Council announced his retirement after starting last week’s game, American rookie Nick Jones will start at right tackle this week. He will be the fourth player to start for Saskatchewan at that position this year, joining Council, Jacob Brammer (hamstring) and Jermarcus Hardrick (quadriceps). Noah Zerr will come onto the roster as the extra offensive lineman.

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Receiver KeeSean Johnson (head) is also out this week after being hurt against Edmonton. Ajou Ajou moves to Johnson’s slotback spot while American Dhonte Meyers slots in at wide receiver.

Defensively, the Riders will be without their leader in the middle as linebacker Jameer Thurman (elbow, six-game injured list) won’t make the trip to Ottawa. C.J. Avery will start in the middle this week. Fellow linebacker and special teamer Melique Straker (hamstring) is also out while Zakoby McClain makes his return to the lineup as a backup.

The Riders will also be without running back A.J. Ouellette (hip) for a third straight game, as Frankie Hickson draws another start.

Update: On Wednesday, the Roughriders signed free agent fullback Albert Awachie and added him to the active roster, replacing rookie Canadian receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby, who was on track to make his CFL debut.

Last game

The Riders are coming off a 42-31 loss to the Edmonton Elks on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in a game that saw Edmonton run for a combined 276 yards.

Ottawa, meanwhile, is coming off a bye week after beating the Calgary Stampeders 33-6 a week prior.

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Despite having to travel East on a short amount of rest, the Roughriders don’t want to use the short week as an excuse.

“This is what we get paid to do,” said Patterson. “It’s our job to show up no matter what.

“A lot of people in the front office and all the coaches, they work very hard and to the fans, it means so much to them.

“So, it’s our job to get ready for the next one no matter what.”

While physically some more time off would be beneficial, not having to stew about the loss to the Elks for another day is something Patterson is looking forward to.

“Being able to turn around and sort of get that sour taste our of our mouth and just get right back to work is really the only cure for that,” said the quarterback. “We’ve been at it since the morning of the day after the game so just putting in an incredible amount of work and we’re going to show up and be exactly who we expect to be.”

Losing skid

Having lost two games in a row and three of their last four games, Mace was asked this week if the sky is falling on a team that started the season 4-0.

“Of course not,” said Mace. “The sky is not falling.

“Absolutely not. This is, I think honestly, part of the reason why you love sport is that you get another opportunity to go compete and prove yourself again.

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“We’re coming up on close to the halfway point of the season; tons of football left and as we know in this league, generally the teams who kind of get to Labour Day and post-Labour Day and start hitting that run and figuring it out towards the end of the season is usually the teams who are in it.”

tshire@postmedia.com

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