Some new faces will be in the lineup on both sides of the ball when the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders Saturday night.
This is especially true in the defensive back field with Blaze Brown, Christian Campbell and Godfrey Onyeka all out with injuries this week.
Head Coach Craig Dickenson says there will be a lot of fresh faces in the secondary, with Damon Webb and Jeremy Clark both making their first starts of their CFL careers.
“Communication is going to have to be across the board and they’re going to have to do a good job of sorting things out because you’re going to see some new faces in different positions,” Dickenson said. “You’re going to see guys that haven’t played the CFL game before out there. It’s going to be a challenge for them, but we’ve had a good week of practice, and we expect them to do well.”
Dickenson says injuries are a part of football and every team deals with them in some capacity.
“It does affect the dynamic of the locker room, but our guys have been very good,” Dickenson said. “I’ve been pleased with the locker room, guys are pulling for each other, and when a guy is hurt, they support him, wish him well, and say — just like we do — ‘we can’t wait to get you back, let’s get you back as soon as we can.’”
It’s the third of three straight meetings against Calgary for the Riders Saturday. The Stamps won the first two games before the Riders bye week last week, while also picking up another win against BC last weekend as well.
Dickenson says Calgary is a well-coached, well-run organization.
“You got (John Hufnagel) who’s at the top of the chain and he’s been there for a long time and he knows how to do it, and then everybody that works for him knows how it works,” Dickenson said. “It’s just a well-run organization, I think they have good ownership, I think they get a lot of support, and I think it’s just one of those franchises. They’ve been a flagship franchise for a long time, and they continue to produce year-in and year-out.”
The Riders will take on the Stamps in a 7:45 start at McMahon Stadium. Our pregame coverage begins at 4:30 on the Cooperators Roughrider Radio Network.
