TORONTO — The Saskatchewan Roughriders will look to end their four-game winless drought when they make the trek east to take on the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field on Thursday night.
Despite being 0-3-1 in their previous four games, Saskatchewan remains in first place in the West Division.
Toronto begins the second half of their season after a Week 11 bye.
Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris didn’t miss a beat in his return to action when he threw for 355 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 loss to Montreal.
He now turns his attention to a Toronto secondary that’s given up an average of 325.7 yards over their last three games.
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Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson have helped expand the pass game and should be primary targets this week, as the pair combined for 191 yards against the Als. The Argos didn’t see Harris or Meyers back in their Week 5 matchup when the Riders escaped with a 30-23 victory at Mosaic Stadium, which adds an extra layer of unpredictability to head coach Corey Mace’s game plan.
As Toronto tries to get their defence downfield back on track, they’ll look to veteran defensive back DaShaun Amos and his three interceptions to lead the way in shutting down the Riders receivers.
The run defence, meanwhile, won’t see familiar face and former Argo AJ Ouellette as he continues to deal with a hip injury. In his place, Frankie Hickson draws back in. Hickson has 117 and 87-yard rushing games this season but was held to 23 by Ottawa the last time he took the field in Week 10.
He’ll be met by defensive linemen Jake Ceresna and Folarin Orimolade at the line of scrimmage. They help form a unit that’s been the best against the run this season, allowing just 69.2 yards per game on the ground.
When kickoff comes around, Mace isn’t expecting any sympathy for their rough stretch from their opponent.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, so, let’s get back on the horse,” Mace told reporters. “Were on a short week, on an eastern opponent, coming off a bye week, again. So, we’ve got to get our stuff together, heal up physically, mentally be sharp. The last two times we were in that situation, they were both really close games and winnable games. We want to be able to put ourselves in a similar situation.”
It’ll be Chad Kelly under centre for the Argos for the first time this season as head coach Ryan Dinwiddie searches for a boost to his pass game that’s averaged a league worst 210.9 yards.
As he tries to get comfortable in the pocket, he’ll look the way of Makai Polk and Damonte Coxie. Polk has wasted no time finding his game with 24 catches and 277 yards.
The key to the Riders defence relies on their physical and talented front. Micah Johnson sits tied for the league lead with five sacks and Bryan Cox Jr. has forced a pair of fumbles. Their ability to find their way to Kelly should give the secondary a chance to shutdown the Argos receivers.
When the ball does go down the field in the air, it’ll be Rolan Milligan Jr. that Kelly should steer clear of. Milligan Jr. has been among the premier defensive backs this season with a league leading six interceptions and 56 defensive tackles.
While Kelly gets his feet back under him, Dinwiddie will likely hand the ball to running back Ka’Deem Carey with consistency. Carey has 611 yards and five touchdowns but was held to 39 yards on 11 carries in the two teams first meeting back on July 4.
Mace knows his team is in a fight for positioning and every game matters the rest of the way
“It’s a tight race right now,” Mace told reporters. “It’s even crazy to say that technically, we haven’t won a game in almost a month really and we’re still in the hunt. It’s going to be a blood bath, so to speak. We’ve played a lot of tight games versus a lot of opponents. Hopefully that plays in our favour going down the stretch.”
Saskatchewan has yet another opportunity to increase their lead in the West Division with a win.
Toronto has been impressive at home, sporting a 4-1 record, and are trying to run down the Ottawa REDBLACKS for second in the East Division.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Canadian fans can watch TSN and RDS while International and U.S. audiences can watch on CFL+.
– with files from Riderville.com