{"id":253772,"date":"2025-11-01T04:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T04:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/253772\/"},"modified":"2025-11-01T04:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T04:15:11","slug":"a-healthy-schaffer-baker-is-a-big-bonus-for-roughriders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/253772\/","title":{"rendered":"A healthy Schaffer-Baker is a \u201cbig bonus\u201d for Roughriders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kian Schaffer-Baker<\/a> set a record the last time he was part of a CFL playoff game.<\/p>\n

He caught 12 passes \u2014\u00a0the most by a Saskatchewan Roughrider in a post-season contest \u2014\u00a0for 162 yards against the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Final on Nov. 9, 2024.<\/p>\n

After the game, though, Schaffer-Baker was inconsolable. Individual stats (see list below) were immaterial. He wanted to win. Period.<\/p>\n

A 38-22 loss with a Grey Cup berth at stake is a painful memory but, like so many of his teammates, he uses it as fuel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about it pretty often, just to spark that fire back up,\u201d he said after Friday\u2019s practice at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since that day, we\u2019ve just been thinking about how we can get better and get back to that point, but finish the job this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been blessed with another opportunity to play in the West Final, so we\u2019re going to handle this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first-place Roughriders are to return to action on Nov. 8 at Mosaic Stadium<\/a> against the B.C. Lions or Calgary Stampeders. The latter two teams are to meet in a divisional semi-final on Saturday in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

The winner of the Lions-Stampeders game will provide the opposition in Saskatchewan\u2019s first home-field Western Final since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was before I even got here,\u201d noted Schaffer-Baker, the Roughriders\u2019 Most Outstanding Rookie in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited about the fans filling the house again and starting to believe in us. But it starts with us coming out here and proving it to them each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2024 Western Final scenario was reversed to begin the current season.<\/p>\n

On the 2025 Roughriders\u2019 second offensive play, Schaffer-Baker suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for nearly four months.<\/p>\n

Unwaveringly team-oriented, he celebrated the on-field successes of his comrades instead of lamenting his own situation.<\/p>\n

He returned to the lineup on Oct. 3 and, just one week later, caught five passes for 68 yards in a 27-19 home-field victory over the Toronto Argonauts \u2014\u00a0a conquest that secured first place in the West Division and an opening-round playoff bye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve definitely got to thank God every day, because if the injury had happened at any other point in the season, I probably would have been out for the rest of the year,\u201d Schaffer-Baker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to be able to have the opportunity to come back and play with this special group is just a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schaffer-Baker had six catches for 69 yards last Saturday against the visiting Lions in the Roughriders regular-season finale. Pro Football Focus awarded him the highest player grade of any CFL receiver during Week 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was important for Schaff to get out there last week and have the game that he did,\u201d Head Coach Corey Mace said<\/a>. \u201cIt just solidified for him the things he knows he\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a hell of a football player. When he\u2019s healthy, it\u2019s a big bonus for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

MACE AT YOUR PLACE?<\/p>\n

Mace will spend the early part of Friday evening going trick-or-treating with his wife (Petra) and children (Maleena and Micah).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not missing Halloween with the kids,\u201d the Roughriders\u2019 field boss stated. \u201cWe\u2019re out there. We\u2019re cruising tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was also the plan last year, late in Mace\u2019s first season with the Roughriders. Suffice to say that many people were pleasantly surprised to see the team\u2019s Head Coach on the doorstep.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always get a bit of a mixed reaction,\u201d he said, \u201cbut it\u2019s friendly. They\u2019re always supportive of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey still didn\u2019t offer any extra candy or anything. I thought that was one of the perks of the gig, but evidently not.\u201d<\/p>\n

INJURY UPDATE<\/p>\n

Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens<\/a> returned to the practice field this week after missing four games with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly a crucial weapon for us and, honestly, just a great guy to have in the locker room and activated,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s got so much faith in what he\u2019s able to do, so it\u2019s a big bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Stevens, key contributors such as both 1,000-yard receivers \u2014\u00a0KeeSean Johnson (knee) and Dohnte Meyers (ankle) \u2014 and defensive halfback Rolan Milligan Jr. (foot\/knee) missed time late in the regular season.<\/p>\n

The latter three players, who were named divisional All-CFL selections on Wednesday, did not practise this week.<\/p>\n

The hope is that they will resume on-field workouts as the Western Final draws closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the anticipation as we get out to practice next week \u2014\u00a0to get those guys rolling,\u201d said Mace, who will next run a practice on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be smart with them and give them ample time to make sure they\u2019re OK to get out there physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

MOST RECEPTIONS BY A ROUGHRIDER IN A PLAYOFF GAME<\/p>\n

12 \u2014\u00a0Kian Schaffer-Baker (162 yards) at Winnipeg, Nov. 9, 2024<\/p>\n

10 \u2014\u00a0Don Narcisse<\/a> (182) at Edmonton, Nov. 15, 1992<\/p>\n

9 \u2014 Hugh Campbell<\/a> (101) vs. Calgary, Nov. 7, 1964<\/p>\n

9 \u2014\u00a0Tom Campana (83) vs. Hamilton, Dec. 3, 1972 (Grey Cup)<\/p>\n

9 \u2014\u00a0Mike Saunders (77) at Edmonton, Nov. 15, 1992<\/p>\n

9 \u2014\u00a0Matt Dominguez (120) at Edmonton, Nov. 9, 2003<\/p>\n

9 \u2014 Kyran Moore (119) vs. Winnipeg, Nov. 17, 2019<\/p>\n

9 \u2014\u00a0Samuel Emilus (106) vs. B.C., Nov. 2, 2024<\/p>\n

MOST RECEIVING YARDS BY A ROUGHRIDER IN A PLAYOFF GAME<\/p>\n

182 \u2014 Don Narcisse (10 receptions) at Edmonton, Nov. 15, 1992<\/p>\n

162 \u2014\u00a0Kian Schaffer-Baker (12) at Winnipeg, Nov. 9, 2024<\/p>\n

157 \u2014\u00a0Ken Carpenter (6) vs. Winnipeg, Nov. 3, 1956<\/p>\n

153 \u2014 Weston Dressler<\/a> (6) at Calgary, Nov. 11, 2012<\/p>\n

150 \u2014 Weston Dressler (8) vs. B.C., Nov. 14, 2010<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kian Schaffer-Baker set a record the last time he was part of a CFL playoff game. He caught…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-253772","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\/253772","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=253772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}