The only thing contrary to the stakes and time of the season is the weather forecast. The 8-8-0 BC Lions invade Mosaic Stadium for a big battle with the 8-7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders in what is all but certain to be a preview of the Western Semi-Final. The full slate of scenarios can be seen in the extra yardage column, but simply put: the Lions must win to stay alive for home-field advantage on November 2. That’s all the motivation they need for this critical Saturday night showdown in the Queen City.
For Mathieu Betts and company, the focus remains on just doing their job
“I feel like when you play good football, that’s when you have the result you want,” said Betts on 1st and Now, the official BC Lions Podcast.
“That’s going to be like that for the rest of the year. It’s not about going out there and just focusing on just winning, winning winning. It’s about winning your match-up, winning in the weight room and the film room; just doing things right. When we do things right and start fast and just play four quarters, that’s when good things will happen. We need to be process-driven and not result-driven and that’s when we’ll have the outcome we want.”
With two straight wins to move into sole possession of second place, the Riders have re-discovered their groove thanks in large part to the return of quarterback Trevor Harris who leads an offence that has committed a CFL-low 22 turnovers this season. The turnover battle looms large for a unit that willed the Leos to victory a week ago against the Stampeders.
“Trevor being who he is, he’s not somebody who is going to give the ball away. He’s so smart, and he’s been doing it for a long time,” added Betts.
“For me, and I’ve talked to the D-line, the defence in general, it’s all about effort. Good things will happen when you run to the ball, either a tipped ball and it just falls into your hand or a lucky fumble; if you run to the ball, you’ll have a good chance of scooping it. To do it willingly where if we gang tackle and the second guy tries to strip the ball or punch it out, I feel like as a team if everybody puts in the work and we’re all on the same page and just going after the football, good things will happen.”
And with the kickoff time forecast of clear skies and 12 degrees Celsius, there will be no excuses for the Lions’ offence to continue sputtering. That’s been a big talking point during this week’s preparation.
“We’ve got to get the ball in the end zone. We’ve got to put up points if we want to continue this season and go far in these playoffs,” explained Keon Hatcher on this week’s episode of BC Lions On Tap.
“Just got to make the plays. If you go back and look at the film it’s always one thing, one person, one wrong step; one thing during that play that happens that just messes up the play.”
It has all the makings of a significant night on the club’s 2024 slate. The chance to avoid a return trip to what is always a hostile environment is indeed a big dangling carrot. Rick Campbell has commended the approach of his team throughout the week of preparation.
“This is the time of year to be excited,” said the head coach.
“Credit to our guys, they’ve made these last two games big games. The first thing first is in Regina. It’s going to be a great environment, great crowd; all the things you want a regular season game to be. We’re getting excited and getting ready to go.”
“That’s what you play for, games like this. It’s going to be a hectic environment and I feel like we’re going to go do what we need to do,” added Hatcher.
The Quarterbacks
# 12 Nathan Rourke has repeatedly acknowledged his need to be better and more consistent as the offence continues to navigate through muddy waters. Rourke holds a 2-1 career record in starts against the Roughriders, both wins coming at Mosaic in the early stages of his 2022 campaign. The loss came in his CFL debut to open 2021.
# 7 Trevor Harris- injuries have prevented the savvy veteran from facing the Lions since September 2022 when he was a member of the Montreal Alouettes. Harris has won each of his last four appearances against the Leos with his last defeat coming in September 2018 when he was with Rick Campbell in Ottawa.
3 Lions To Watch
WR # 13 Alexander Hollins– returns to the lineup after missing three games with a shoulder injury. ‘Batman’ had struggled in stretches before going down but remains capable of flipping field position in one play.
DL # 40 Pete Robertson– Texas Pete also returns from injury and will be a welcome addition to a pass rush that must be consistent as the playoffs draw closer. Robertson should also draw motivation from facing his former squad.
DB # 1 Garry Peters– lockdown season never stops and Peters will draw assignments from a couple of the top playmakers including Samuel Emilus and Kian Shaeffer-Baker, the Riders’ top two in receiving yards. At the same time, KeeSean Johnson has recorded two straight 100-yard games.
Extra Yards
Viewers can watch this game on TSN in Canada, while those south of the border and internationally can stream the action on CFL+. Bob Marjanovich and Giulio Caravatta call the play on 980 CKNW and province-wide on the Lions Audio Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 3:00 p.m. Harp Pandher and Taqdeer Thindal have the call on Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600, with pre-game coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Left tackle Jarell Broxton is also slated to return for the first time since going down with his knee injury early in the Touchdown Pacific victory on August 31. The special teams units get a boost with the return of Isaiah Messam after missing four games with a hamstring pull. All lineup additions are reflected in the depth chart above.
More Western math: should the Lions prevail in this one, they would still need at least a tie against Montreal in their final game next week or for the Riders to lose or tie their week 21 battle with Calgary to claim second in the West. A loss means they are guaranteed third place and a trip to Regina or Winnipeg for the November 2 Division Semi-Final. The Blue Bombers would wrap up first place in the West by beating Toronto on Friday evening or having the Lions get it done in Saskatchewan.
Lions historian and CFL stats man Steve Daniel notes savvy veteran T.J. Lee made six different types of plays last week: there was his fumble recovery which also led to a touchdown, seven defensive tackles, one sack, another tackle on special teams and a pass breakup.
The offence will have to be wary of Saskatchewan defensive back Roland Milligan who is also closing in on CFL history: no player has ever finished a season as the leader in both interceptions and special teams tackles. He’s in solid company with Willie Pless who is the only other player to ever record six interceptions and 20 special teams tackles in a single season. Milligan also leads the league in a third category: pass knockdowns.
Another milestone looms for Sean Whyte. With 2,106 career points, he is just 20 shy of passing Terry Baker for tenth on the CFL’s all-time scoring list.