Samuel Emilus is second in the CFL in average receiving yards per game.<\/p>\n
So when the games-played total inevitably increases, watch out!<\/p>\n
Over the four games he has played this season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders slotback has caught 20 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
At 90.3 yards per game, Emilus trails the B.C. Lions\u2019 Keon Hatcher, who leads the loop in catches (79) and receiving yards (1,317). Average yards per game: 94.1.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really focus on stats,\u201d Emilus said after Thursday\u2019s practice at Mosaic Stadium. \u201cObviously, I\u2019m trying to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think guys in the league know what I can do. It\u2019s just injuries. They\u2019re part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emilus caught eight passes for 133 yards and one touchdown in a season-opening, 31-26 victory over the visiting Ottawa REDBLACKS on June 5.<\/p>\n
The two-time 1,000-yard receiver added four catches for 37 yards on June 14, when the Roughriders downed the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28-23. During the proceedings, he played through a foot injury that forced him to miss the next three contests.<\/p>\n
Emilus returned to the lineup on July 19, making three receptions for 78 yards as the Roughriders won 33-27 in B.C.<\/p>\n
He followed up a week later at Mosaic Stadium with six catches for 113 yards and one touchdown in a 21-18 victory over the Edmonton Elks, only to suffer a knee injury that has forced him to miss the past six games.<\/p>\n
After a full, setback-free week of practice, Emilus is listed as available for Saturday\u2019s game in Edmonton. Suffice to say he is itching to return to active duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was itchy after the first time I got hurt,\u201d he noted. \u201cObviously, you want to get back out there. That\u2019s what I like to do. But you\u2019ve got to make sure you\u2019re healthy. You don\u2019t want to get too excited to come back and then your season is done, so you\u2019ve got to be smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
The injuries have been an aberration for Emilus, who missed only one game \u2014\u00a0as a healthy scratch while being rested for the 2024 playoffs \u2014\u00a0over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n
He followed up on his 70-catch, 1,097-yard breakout season of 2023 by making 87 receptions for 1,064 yards and earning divisional All-CFL honours last year.<\/p>\n
Depth in the receiving corps has allowed the Roughriders to withstand the injury-related absences of Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker (foot) and Shawn Bane Jr. (knee) for most of the season.<\/p>\n
All three players were full participants in practice this week as the 10-3 Roughriders aspire to claim top spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, being first in the West was one of our goals at the beginning of the season, but we haven\u2019t done anything yet,\u201d Emilus said. \u201cThe team knows we haven\u2019t done anything yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not our ultimate goal. Our ultimate goal is the Grey Cup, of course, but being first is part of the process and we are happy with where we\u2019re at right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor that last five-game stretch, we\u2019ve just got to keep working on getting better every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Roughriders have already clinched a playoff berth as Saturday\u2019s game looms. Last year, the ticket to the post-season was punched when Saskatchewan won 28-24 in Edmonton on Oct. 5.<\/p>\n
The biggest play: An 88-yard touchdown reception by Emilus, who caught a Trevor Harris bomb in stride to begin a series and was off to the races.<\/p>\n
This time around, the Roughriders can nail down a home playoff game with a win at Commonwealth Stadium.<\/p>\n
The 88-yard eruption moved Harris and Emilus into a tie for the 12th-longest touchdown drive in Roughriders history. (See list below.)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt always feels good to play in Edmonton,\u201d Emilus said, \u201cespecially when you have success over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with Emilus and Bane Jr., the following players were listed on Thursday\u2019s injury report as being available for the Edmonton game: Offensive lineman Philippe Gagnon (arm), cornerback Marcus Sayles (leg), quarterback Jack Coan (hand) and linebacker Nick Wiebe (knee).<\/p>\n
Listed as questionable are Schaffer-Baker, running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (leg) and returner Drae McCray (head).<\/p>\n
Defensive backs Tevaughn Campbell (head), Jaxon Ford (knee) and Nelson Lokombo (ankle), offensive lineman Zack Fry (knee), defensive lineman Shane Ray (shoulder) and linebacker Melique Straker (leg) will not play on Saturday.<\/p>\n
ROUGHRIDERS\u2019 LONGEST ONE-PLAY TOUCHDOWN DRIVES<\/p>\n
107 \u2014 Kent Austin to Jeff Fairholm vs. Winnipeg, Sept. 2, 1990<\/p>\n
104 \u2014 Bob Ptacek to Ray Purdin at Hamilton, Oct. 15, 1962<\/p>\n
102 \u2014 Ron Lancaster to Gord Barwell at B.C., Oct. 24, 1965<\/p>\n
100 \u2014 Nealon Greene to Derick Armstrong vs. Calgary, July 5, 2003<\/p>\n
98 \u2014 Alex Bravo (run) vs. B.C., Sept. 29, 1956<\/p>\n
98 \u2014 Cody Fajardo to Kyran Moore vs. Toronto, July 1, 2019<\/p>\n
96 \u2014 Craig Juntunen to Willie Wilder vs. Calgary, Sept. 16, 1979<\/p>\n
94 \u2014 Ron Lancaster to Bobby Thompson vs. Toronto, Aug. 30, 1970<\/p>\n
93 \u2014 Ray Purdin (run) vs. Montreal, Sept. 12, 1962<\/p>\n
91 \u2014 Bob Pearce to Bobby Thompson vs. Edmonton, Aug. 16, 1972<\/p>\n
89 \u2014 Mitchell Gale to Naaman Roosevelt vs. Ottawa, July 22, 2016<\/p>\n
88 \u2014 Kevin Glenn to Duron Carter at Winnipeg, Sept. 9, 2017<\/p>\n
88 \u2014 Trevor Harris to Samuel Emilus at Edmonton, Oct. 5, 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samuel Emilus is second in the CFL in average receiving yards per game. So when the games-played total…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-169623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}