{"id":91632,"date":"2025-08-23T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T16:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/91632\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T16:57:08","slug":"riders-ready-for-cfl-western-showdown-in-calgary-against-stamps-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/91632\/","title":{"rendered":"Riders ready for CFL western showdown in Calgary against Stamps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI think it\u2019s just the mental makeup of both teams. Certainly, they have played a physical brand of football all year and we have for a majority, except (for the game against them),\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they got us in that department. It was a little bit of a kick in the teeth for us and we definitely needed it and I think we have been good ever since. You\u2019re probably accurate to say it\u2019s going to be physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan also has a chance to do something it has never done in its history. A Riders team has never started a season 9-1 before, with the only other time the Riders were 8-1 coming back in 2013.<\/a><\/p>\n

While it would be quite the accomplishment, defensive tackle Micah Johnson hasn\u2019t been paying attention to that milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome but for us, 9-1 doesn\u2019t win you the Grey Cup so a lot more work to do from that aspect,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, 9-1 is awesome and a testament to how hard our guys have been working but our ultimate goal is that (Grey Cup).\u201d<\/p>\n

The Riders have been one of the more physical teams in the CFL all season. The offensive line has only surrendered 11 sacks this season \u2014 the second-fewest amount in the league heading into Week 12.<\/p>\n

Offensive guard Zack Fry believes the Riders have gotten back to playing bully ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t feel like we kept that standard in the last time we played Calgary, so we are trying to bring that out this week,\u201d Fry said. \u201cI think bully ball is huge for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The offensive line will have the same lineup along the group for a third game in a row. For a group that has dealt with a bunch of injuries this season and in previous ones as well, it\u2019s a rare bit of continuity for the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to play beside the same guys because you build that trust and see how everyone plays differently and so it\u2019s nice to get that continuity throughout the group,\u201d Fry said. \u201cWhenever someone had to step in, everyone was doing their job great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quarterback Trevor Harris<\/a> is enjoying one of his best seasons in the CFL so far.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old has thrown for 2,490 yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He is considered one of the current front-runners for the CFL Most Outstanding Player award.<\/p>\n

Harris did have 425 yards against a stingy Calgary defence in the first meeting, but only one touchdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very good at what they do. They understand what they are trying to do and how to attack people and they read routes very well,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have all the makings of (a great defence), but it is a great challenge for us and we look forward to bringing the fight to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The showdown will also feature two of the best running backs in the CFL. Riders running back AJ Ouellette is third inrushing with 648 yards. Only 12 yards ahead of him in second is Calgary rusher Dedrick Mills.<\/p>\n

The Riders will also need to contend with Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who is also in consideration for the league\u2019s Most Outstanding Player award. When Adams Jr. plays a game from start to finish this season, Calgary is 6-1. He has thrown for 2,213 yards, 11 touchdowns, and six interceptions.<\/p>\n

With a big crowd expected at McMahon Stadium, Harris said those are the games you live for.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not eight years old in your backyard (imagining) there are 17 people in the stands \u2014 it\u2019s a sellout crowd and the crowd is going crazy,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we are looking forward to but we know there\u2019s going to be a sea of green out there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI think it\u2019s just the mental makeup of both teams. Certainly, they have played a physical brand of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-91632","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\/91632","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=91632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}