‘A tough test’: Riders not taking Reilly-less Lions lightly

Even though the B.C. Lions can no longer qualify for the 2019 CFL playoffs and are without all-star quarterback Mike Reilly, the Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t taking them lightly.

“When you get a team that’s eliminated from playoffs, you get a lot of guys that are playing for jobs, which is almost scarier than playing for playoffs,” Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo said earlier in the week as the team prepared to travel to Vancouver to meet the Lions on Friday (8 p.m., BC Place).

“Knowing that, we know it’s going to be a tough test to travel all the way to B.C. and beat them in their home.”

While the Lions had their playoff hopes dashed in a 19-6 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos last week, the Roughriders still have a chance at top spot in the West Division.

Despite a 30-28 loss to the Calgary Stampeders last Friday, the Roughriders can still finish in first place if they win out and Calgary loses one of its remaining three games — two of which are against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“All we can do is win games and hope Winnipeg helps us out,” Fajardo said.

Reilly suffered a season-ending wrist injury against the Eskimos, meaning every quarterback who took the first snap for their team to begin 2019 have now missed some time.

Saskatchewan lost its starting quarterback three plays into its June 13 opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, when Zach Collaros suffered a concussion. Fajardo has remained the Roughriders’ starting pivot since.

“The only thing I can say is a little sprinkle of Jesus,” Fajardo said. “There has been times where I’ve had some good collisions and I thought I wouldn’t be able to get up, but I got up and nothing was broken and (I) felt good.”

Fajardo has had success in his first year as a starter. He has thrown for 3,649 yards, which places him fifth all-time for most yards in a season by a first-year starter.

The Roughriders will get back a veteran presence along their offensive line to help keep Fajardo upright against the Lions.

Guard Philip Blake is to rejoin the team for the first time since he broke his left leg against the Lions on July 20 at Mosaic Stadium. Blake has been active for 65 games over his five seasons in the CFL, including five with the Roughriders this year.

Dakoda Shepley and Dariusz Bladek have been the starting guards for the majority of the season due to injuries. Brendon LaBatte returned from a hip injury Sept. 28 and now Blake is back as well.

With Blake returning, Shepley has been moved to the sixth offensive lineman while Bladek has been taken off the active roster.

With Reilly out, Danny O’Brien is to make his first start of the season as the Lions’ quarterback.

O’Brien came into the CFL in 2014, when he dressed for nine games with the Ottawa Redblacks. In the 12 games since that season — a stint that included stops in Edmonton and now B.C. — O’Brien hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass.

Despite that, Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said the team can’t take O’Brien lightly.

“He has been around and he’s a pretty seasoned guy. Nothing seems to fluster him too much,” Dickenson said. “I think he’ll be ready to go.”

The Lions still have plenty of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, including slotback Bryan Burnham. The veteran leads the CFL with 1,329 receiving yards and is tied for the league lead with nine receiving touchdowns.

“He’s a dog, he’s going to go get it,” said Saskatchewan linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who spent five seasons as Burnham’s teammate in B.C. “He has a mindset that he doesn’t care what’s going on around him. Clearly it shows.

“Whether the team is not performing well, he’s going to do whatever he can to put up numbers and help his team win.”

Burnham is one of the weapons Elimimian and the rest of the Roughriders’ defence will try to bottle up.

“They have some playmakers and it’s the CFL where anything can happen. You’re never out of the game and the last three minutes are always live,” Elimimian said. “For us it’s all about starting fast and getting the crowd out of it. Hopefully we have some Saskatchewan fans there like we did last time to get them involved in things.

“This is about our journey and where we want to get to. We want to get back on track and get that taste out of our mouth from last week.”

The Roughriders will be without defensive lineman Micah Johnson, who has been ruled out with an ankle injury.

Saskatchewan’s depth chart can be found here: