Devotees of the home team at Hamilton Stadium have been known to make comments that are, well, catty.<\/p>\n
That is part of the picture for a visiting team when it opposes the Hamilton Tiger-Cats \u2014 as will the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes me back to early in my career,\u201d said Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris, who was a member of the 2015 Toronto Argonauts when he journeyed to Hamilton for his fifth CFL start. \u201cThe place was really rockin\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir fans are great \u2014 for the home team, I guess I should say, because they\u2019re one of the more rude fan bases, but it\u2019s fun. They get after the players and they make it fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey make it feel like a hostile environment, so it\u2019ll be a fun test to go in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris is poised to start in Hamilton for the ninth time.<\/p>\n
On the third occasion, he completed 36 of 48 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ottawa REDBLACKS to a 37-18 victory in Steeltown on Aug. 18, 2017.<\/p>\n
The 36 completions are top-five material for Harris, a future Canadian Football Hall of Famer:<\/p>\n
44 \u2014 Aug. 11, 2018 (for Ottawa; at Montreal).<\/p>\n
39 \u2014 July 8, 2016 (Ottawa; vs. Calgary).<\/p>\n
37 \u2014 Nov. 12, 2017 (Ottawa; vs. Saskatchewan in a playoff game).<\/p>\n
36 \u2014 Aug. 18, 2017 (Ottawa; at Hamilton).<\/p>\n
36 \u2014 July 12, 2025 (Saskatchewan; vs. Calgary).<\/p>\n
The 44 completions put Harris in a tie for the second-most in a CFL game. Anthony Calvillo of the Montreal Alouettes connected 44 times at Hamilton on Oct. 4, 2008.<\/p>\n
Henry Burris set the league record of 45 for Ottawa against Montreal on Oct. 1, 2015.<\/p>\n
The numbers, as impressive as they are, don\u2019t interest Harris. He is singularly focused on doing whatever he can to help the Roughriders win in Hamilton and boast a 7-2 record at the midpoint of their schedule.<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan has won both games Harris has started in Hamilton since he joined the Green and White in 2023.<\/p>\n
On June 16, 2024, he threw for 390 yards and two touchdowns \u2014 both to Kian Schaffer-Baker \u2014 for Saskatchewan in a come-from-behind, 33-30 victory over the host Tiger-Cats. Hamilton led 30-20 with 5\u00bd minutes left, only to have the Roughriders rally for 13 unanswered points. Brett Lauther snapped a 30-30 tie with a 43-yard field goal on the final play.<\/p>\n
The Roughriders won 28-23 at Hamilton Stadium on June 14 of last year. Harris threw for 295 yards and one major, increasing his career numbers in Hamilton to 218 completions, 310 attempts, 2,399 yards and 12 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. Completion percentage: 70.3.<\/p>\n
All of that is in the past, however, and Harris knows what is in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a good football team and they have a really good defence,\u201d he said. \u201cWe know that we\u2019ve got to be on our P\u2019s and Q\u2019s and be on our details if we want to have success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamilton enters the contest with a three-game losing streak and a 3-6 record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know everybody continues to look at records,\u201d Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said. \u201cThey\u2019re still trying to figure a couple of things out, but they\u2019ve got a lot of really good ballplayers and good coaches on that staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tiger-Cats\u2019 coaching staff is headed by Scott Milanovich, who was the Argonauts\u2019 field boss when Harris entered the CFL in 2012.<\/p>\n
There is also a history between Mace and the Tiger-Cats\u2019 Defensive Co-ordinator, Brent Monson. They were long-time coaching colleagues in Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a heck of a coach,\u201d Mace said. \u201cHe\u2019s really intelligent and he puts his guys in good positions and they\u2019ve got some good players on the defensive side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another task for us offensively. We have to make sure we execute and hopefully the defence can help them out and maybe give our offence some short fields. That applies to special teams as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a full-meal deal. We\u2019ve got to execute and continue to try to play complementary football.\u201d<\/p>\n
FROST WARNING<\/p>\n
The Roughriders are about to face Harrison Frost for the first time.<\/p>\n
Frost is to make his second start at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats this season. He is the third QB to start for Hamilton since Bo Levi Mitchell suffered an ankle injury on July 5 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.<\/p>\n
Jake Dolegala and Tre Ford saw first-team duty behind centre for Hamilton before Frost took over on Aug. 8 against the host B.C. Lions.<\/p>\n
He completed 20 of 33 passes for 239 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, in a 27-24 Lions victory over the Milanovich-coached Tiger-Cats.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Frost) has been entrusted with the job and the ball in his hands each play by a coach who has had tremendous success in this league and has worked with some really good quarterbacks,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey feel that he\u2019s the best option. We have to operate as if we\u2019re getting a better version of that team.\u201d<\/p>\n
DEFENSIVE DISTINCTION<\/p>\n
Entering this weekend\u2019s games, the Roughriders had allowed a league-low 26.7 points per game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever that number is, if you\u2019re leading the league in it, generally that\u2019s pretty good,\u201d Mace said. \u201cIf we\u2019re giving up 45 points but scoring 46, I\u2019m OK, as long as it ends in the win column.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne defensive stat you want to look at is \u2018where are we at in points per game?\u2019 If that\u2019s where we\u2019re sitting right now, it\u2019s something to hang your hat on, but there\u2019s a lot of football left.\u201d<\/p>\n
A STAR IS BORN<\/p>\n
For the first time in a decade, the Roughriders will start a third running back in the first half of a season.<\/p>\n
Star Thomas is to receive his first CFL start on Saturday in Hamilton. He got the nod after a hamstring injury sidelined Quali Conley. Conley and A.J. Ouellette split the starting assignments over the first eight games of the season.<\/p>\n
In 2016, Curtis Steele was the starting tailback for the first four games. Michael Dyer was the featured ball-carrier in the fifth game. Kendial Lawrence started the next six games before Steele returned to the lineup.<\/p>\n
SHORT SHORTS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Along with Thomas, the Roughriders have activated recently signed receiver Vyshonne Janusas for the game in Hamilton. Thomas and Janusas increase the Roughriders\u2019 All-Time total of active-roster players to 2,179.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Harris needs 109 yards to pass Tom Burgess and move into fifth on the Roughriders\u2019 career passing-yardage list. Burgess threw for 11,850 yards over five seasons (1987-89, 1994-95) with Saskatchewan. With 69 TD passes, Harris needs five to tie Burgess for fifth All-Time.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Saskatchewan enters Saturday\u2019s game with a 3-0 road record this season. The franchise record for consecutive road victories to begin a season is five (in 1976). The Roughriders were 4-0 on the road in 1970 and 2025. At 3-0, the 2026 team joins the 1975, 1981, 2008 and 2013 editions.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Frost will soon become the 58th Tiger-Cats quarterback to throw at least one pass against the Roughriders. Of all Tiger-Cats QBs, Danny McManus has played in the most games (16) against Saskatchewan. Next in line are Mike Kerrigan (11), Joe Zuger (10), Jeremiah Masoli (7), Zach Collaros (6), Todd Dillon (6) and Kevin Glenn (6).<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dohnte Meyers, a member of the Roughriders in 2024 and 2025, caught three passes for a team-high 29 yards in his NFL pre-season debut with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. Meyers also rushed for a 13-yard gain during a 16-14 victory over the visiting Detroit Lions. His 52 yards from scrimmage paced the Bengals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 KeeSean Johnson\u2019s next catch will be his 200th with the Roughriders and in the CFL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Devotees of the home team at Hamilton Stadium have been known to make comments that are, well, catty.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-858978","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\/858978","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=858978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}