Riders look to end recent home woes against Elks

While there are many ways to describe the 2022 Saskatchewan Roughriders, consistent isn’t one of them.

The Riders started the CFL season at 4-1 but have gone 2-6 in their last eight games.

That includes a four-game losing streak at home, which the Riders will try to end against the Edmonton Elks on Friday. Kickoff for the game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 5 p.m.

“We’re not playing as good as we should right now — that goes for on the road and at home,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson.

“We’ve got to start putting it together. We’ve got to find what was working for us. I think we’re getting there; you see little glimpses of it. We’ve got to be able to play 60 minutes as a full team and try to put it together.

“You want to be good at home. All championship teams have good home records and are tough outs at home. We feel like we have an advantage here because of the crowd, the support we get, and the noise. We want to reward our fans.”

The Riders’ inconsistent play has also led to them falling behind in the standings in the West Division with a 6-7 record.

On the other sideline, the Elks are fighting for their playoff lives, coming into the game with a 3-10 record.

“(Edmonton) has improved and you look at their roster and they’ve improved each week,” said Dickenson, whose team won the first two meetings between the clubs – 26-16 on June 18 and 34-23 on Aug. 13.

The Riders’ offensive line will have some consistency this week, going with the same group that battled through a stomach virus last week in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers.

Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Kooper Richardson. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

That includes Kooper Richardson starting his second CFL game at right tackle.

“I’m excited to build on (my first game) every game. I know no game is going to be perfect and for what I was able to put out there, I feel like it’s a great stepping stone to build on to the next level,” Richardson said.

Offensive tackle Terran Vaughn is away from the team this week to be with his girlfriend in the U.S. for the birth of their son.

The Riders will try to continue the success they’ve had on the ground this season, leading the CFL with 1,410 rushing yards.

“We’ve been running the ball all year. When it comes time to get cold and get a little gritty in the trenches, we get excited to run the ball,” guard Evan Johnson said.

“As an offensive line, we take pride in opening up those gaps for our running backs and we’ve had a couple of really dominant running backs to be able to pop off when they hit those holes.”

The main carrier for the Riders has been Frankie Hickson for the past three games. Hickson was given the starting duties after Jamal Morrow suffered a broken hand.

Hickson has rushed for 285 yards during that time and leads all rushers with a 6.9-yard-per-carry average. But an inconsistent pass-blocking scheme has plagued the Riders for most of the 2022 season.

The group has given up 51 sacks so far, nine more than the Elks. Quarterback Cody Fajardo missed most of the week of practice but not due to anything injury-related.

The 30-year-old pivot and his wife Laura welcomed their first son, Luca, into the world Wednesday morning.

“Life got a little bit sweeter and we are very happy and blessed that he’s here and healthy,” Fajardo said.

But while Fajardo will get to enjoy a bye week after Friday’s game with his new son, the focus for him remains on the Elks.

“It’s getting down to the nitty gritty and we’re going to have to win some football games here to put ourselves in a position to punch our ticket to the playoffs,” Fajardo said.

The Riders’ defence will also look to bounce back from its worst showing of 2022.

The team game up 54 points last week to the Bombers, with Winnipeg scoring points on nine of its 10 drives.

Saskatchewan Roughriders cornerback Jeremy Clark. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

“That was pretty much our worst game we played the whole season. It’s only up from here,” defensive back Jeremy Clark said.

“We all know we were embarrassed by that game.”

The Riders will look to try and stop the Elks’ offence led by Taylor Cornelius.

The quarterback recently signed a two-year contract extension. Cornelius has thrown for 1,936 yards, eight touchdowns, and six interceptions this season. He has also rushed for 291 yards and five touchdowns.

“He escapes the pocket and when he gets scrambling around, he creates problems and big plays,” Clark said.

While things haven’t gone the way the Riders have wanted in recent games, Fajardo wants to try and reward one of the things they could rely on this season – their fans showing support.

“We need to give our fans something to cheer about. That’s showing up on a home game with a team trying to stay in the hunt,” Fajardo said.

“We have a lot of control over the future if we win this football game and the guys in that locker room know that.

“(The fans) deserve it, they’ve been passionate all year for us and they’ve helped us a lot of times making it hard on opposing teams.”