Siaosi Mariner caught a 38-yard touchdown pass when he last played in a professional football game.<\/p>\n
That was 11 months ago, when he made four receptions for 84 yards for the Michigan Panthers against the victorious DC Defenders in the 2025 United Football League championship game.<\/p>\n
He would love to enjoy another productive outing in his return to active duty.<\/p>\n
Mariner will start at boundary-side wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Monday\u2019s CFL pre-season game against the host Calgary Stampeders (1 p.m., CKRM, CFL+).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will be my first CFL game in about two years and my first game in 11 months, so I\u2019m ready to lay it all out there and earn my spot on the team,\u201d the Roughriders\u2019 No. 84 said during Coors Light Training Camp.<\/p>\n
A member of the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2022 and 2023, Mariner spent the next two seasons with Michigan. He led the UFL in receiving yards, with 527 in 10 games, in 2025.<\/p>\n
Later in the year, he signed with Saskatchewan and joined the practice roster.<\/p>\n
He was on hand for the Roughriders\u2019 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Nov. 16. As much as he enjoyed celebrating with his teammates, he looks forward to elevating his involvement by wearing green and white in a game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was here for about a week last year before we went into the playoffs, but it felt like I was here for three months,\u201d the 6-foot-0, 193-pounder said. \u201cEverybody on the team was super-welcoming.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing into this camp, I\u2019m truly in the environment right now. I\u2019m part of the offence and figuring out schemes and things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been an adjustment, but I\u2019ve been loving every part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The feeling is mutual.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been really, really good for us,\u201d Head Coach Corey Mace said. \u201cHe\u2019s always available. He\u2019s reliable. He\u2019s an A-1 human being. He just does his job and when the plays have come to him, he has been making them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn stature, he\u2019s a tall, linear guy, but he\u2019s not afraid to mix it up, either. He has all the intangibles we look for and that\u2019s something we really admire about the kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mariner\u2019s admiration for Mace extends back to the outset of the Head Coach\u2019s tenure in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in Ottawa, things were kind of shaking at free agency (during the 2023-24 off-season),\u201d Mariner recalled. \u201cI always wanted to be in the CFL. God did lead me to the UFL and I did some pretty good things that way, but I love Canada. I love this league and love being a part of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually texted Coach Mace and it was the coolest \u2018no\u2019 I ever got from anybody. He said, \u2018Keep working, Siaosi. We have our system here. We\u2019re getting things underway. We\u2019re going to keep looking at you, but don\u2019t stop working whether it\u2019s here or there. I want to see you do well.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing that from a guy who didn\u2019t have to respond to me and didn\u2019t have to do anything spoke volumes. God works in mysterious ways. Two years later, I\u2019m dabbing up Coach Mace heading into the Saskatchewan facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an A-1 human being. For him to say things like that is a testament to who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering Mariner\u2019s current environs, was it a cordial \u201cno\u201d or a delayed \u201cyes\u201d from Mace?<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we know it was a delayed \u2018yes,\u2019 \u201d Mariner said with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m so appreciative.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told my mom and I told everybody, \u2018He told me no, but it was a no that was motivating. I want to go work out now.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a blessing. Things worked out for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
TIME CHANGE<\/p>\n
The Roughriders are poised to play for the first time with the CFL\u2019s new timing rules in effect.<\/p>\n
In previous years, teams had 20 seconds to snap the ball after time was whistled in by an official. In some cases, upwards of 50 seconds would tick off the time clock between plays. The game clock routinely ran before the play clock was activated.<\/p>\n
Now there will be a flat 35 seconds between snaps, period.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started (adapting) the very first day of rookie camp,\u201d Mace said. \u201cYou can sit down and look at it in the office, but you\u2019re not going to know until you know.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been good practise for us to continue to get accustomed to some of these new rules coming in. That was an easy one for us, so we\u2019ve just been operating with that during all team periods.\u201d<\/p>\n
How will the new timing rules affect the pace of the game?<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what we\u2019re seeing, it\u2019s going to be moving a little faster,\u201d Mace said. \u201cGuys are going to have to be in pretty good shape, because you\u2019ve got to be constantly on the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there\u2019s the old adage about 20 seconds being a faster game and, yes, it is faster at some points, but there\u2019s a little bit of subjectivity with how fast that 20 seconds will go.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow there\u2019s no question. We know that we\u2019ve got 35 seconds, so you just want to be on top of it. It\u2019s better to be early than late.\u201d<\/p>\n
CALGARY CHRONICLES<\/p>\n
This will be the Roughriders\u2019 16th pre-season game at Calgary\u2019s McMahon Stadium. The previous results are as follows:<\/p>\n
July 9, 1967: 27-20, Calgary \u2014 George Reed ran for two TDs.<\/p>\n
July 7, 1971: 27-0, Calgary \u2014 Bob Darby led Saskatchewan in rushing (10 carries for 25 yards) and receiving (six catches for 48 yards).<\/p>\n
June 29, 1977: 46-17, Calgary \u2014 Molly McGee rushed 14 times for 136 yards, including a 45-yard TD. The 136 rushing yards are the most by a Roughrider in a pre-season game.<\/p>\n
June 15, 1979: 21-18, Saskatchewan \u2014 Ron Lancaster was victorious in his first game as a head coach.<\/p>\n
June 13, 1982: 33-32, Saskatchewan \u2014 Calgary led 31-22 before rookie QB Steve Alatorre engineered a fourth-quarter rally.<\/p>\n
June 14, 1983: 34-18, Calgary \u2014 Ray Elgaard caught four passes for 60 yards in his first game as a Roughrider.<\/p>\n
June 21, 1985: 31-28, Calgary \u2014 The Stampeders\u2019 J.T. Hay kicked a game-winning, 35-yard field goal with five seconds left.<\/p>\n
June 15, 1987: 42-27, Calgary \u2014Mike Kelley threw two TD passes; Harry Skipper returned one of his two picks for six points.<\/p>\n
June 26, 1991: 49-14, Calgary \u2014 Kent Austin was 10-for-14 for 91 yards and one TD.<\/p>\n
June 18, 1993: 21-11, Calgary \u2014 Future NFL star Mike Vanderjagt kicked his only field goal as a Roughrider.<\/p>\n
June 10, 1996: 28-15, Calgary \u2014 Willie Latta (40-yard run) and Odessa Turner (43-yard reception) scored Saskatchewan\u2019s TDs.<\/p>\n
June 21, 2000: 28-14, Calgary \u2014 Linebacker Aaron Collins scored on a 44-yard fumble return and led the Riders in defensive tackles (five).<\/p>\n
June 7, 2005: 18-14, Calgary \u2014 Chris Szarka and Rocky Butler had short TD runs.<\/p>\n
June 20, 2010: 41-17, Calgary \u2014 Darian Durant went 14-for-18 for 156 yards.<\/p>\n
May 31, 2019: 37-1, Calgary \u2014 Cody Fajardo went 10-for-12 for 73 yards and led the Riders in rushing (six carries for 32 yards).<\/p>\n
EXTRA POINTS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jack Coan<\/a> is to start at quarterback for Saskatchewan. Tommy Stevens is listed as second on the depth chart, followed by Brayden Schager. Trevor Harris, the 2025 Grey Cup MVP, has made the trip to Calgary but will not dress.<\/p>\n \u2022 Both teams will have a Sombach at safety. Carson Sombach, who signed with Saskatchewan as an undrafted free agent, is third on the depth chart \u2014 behind Nelson Lokombo and Jaxon Ford. Jackson Sombach, Carson\u2019s older brother, will start at safety for Calgary. The Sombachs, like Ford, are products of the University of Regina Rams.<\/p>\n \u2022 American-born Reed Hughes will handle the long snapping for Saskatchewan. CFL veteran Aaron Crawford did not make the trip. The Roughriders are looking for a successor to the recently retired Jorgen Hus.<\/p>\n \u2022 While with the Stampeders, Mace played against Saskatchewan in three pre-season games \u2014 on June 22, 2012, June 20, 2013 and June 19, 2015. All three games were at historic Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Roughriders\u2019 pre-season finale is slated for Saturday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1 p.m., Griffiths Stadium). Tickets for the first CFL pre-season game in Saskatoon since 1991 are AVAILABLE HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Siaosi Mariner caught a 38-yard touchdown pass when he last played in a professional football game. That was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-679551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679551","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=679551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}