The 2022 edition of the Saskatchewan Roughriders will not feature any matchups in November, as they will finish their season this afternoon at McMahon Stadium against the Calgary Stampeders.
The Roughriders were eliminated from postseason contention last Saturday at Mosaic Stadium against the Stampeders and following today’s game, an offseason filled with plenty of questions will officially begin.
At quarterback for the Riders this afternoon, Mason Fine will get his second start for the green and white. Cody Fajardo will be the lone backup for Saskatchewan. Head coach Craig Dickenson said earlier this week that he was hoping to get Jake Dolegala on to the roster as the third quarterback, but it was dependent on the rest of the lineup.
Jester Weah will get a late season audition in the Roughriders receiving core. The former Pitt Panther, was a late cut by the Roughriders during training camp. He was later brought back to the team’s practice squad. He’ll replace Kyran “Swerve” Moore in the starting lineup.
Anthony Lanier will return for the Riders at defensive tackle. Lanier’s presence has been missed on the Riders defence, with the green and white going 1-6 without the Savannah product. He had seven sacks this season before exiting the roster in late August.
Charleston Hughes will also draw back into the lineup for Saskatchewan. The 38 year old has been out since September 30. Hughes has indicated that he plans on continuing playing in 2023.
A couple of additional changes for Saskatchewan in the season finale, C.J. Reavis will replace Derrick Moncrief at the strongside linebacker position.
The Onyeka cousins are listed as the starter and backup for one cornerback position. Godfrey will start, with Kosi listed as the backup.
At safety, Jayden Dalke will replace Mike Edem, who was injured in a scary collision, last Saturday.
There a couple of positive milestones for Roughriders to keep an eye on Saturday.
Linebacker Darnell Sankey is three tackles away from the Roughriders season record tackles, which was established by David Albright in 1987, with 118.
Kian Schaffer-Baker is 65 yards away from reaching the 1,000 yard plateau. If Schaffer-Baker is able to pull of the feat, he would become the young Canadian receiver in Roughrider to reach that mark.
Even though there are no playoff implications on the line Saturday, Dickenson still feels it’s an important contest.
“You only get to play so many games, you only get to coach so many games, so we want to put our best foot forward, play as hard as we can, coach it as hard as we can, and when it’s over, we’ll figure out the next steps.”
620 CKRM will have full coverage of today’s Riders-Stamps game, beginning with Countdown to Kickoff at 3:00, the opening kickoff with Michael Ball is 6:00.
