Riders welcome Elks to Mosaic Stadium in west division showdown

The Saskatchewan Roughriders know the Edmonton Elks present a tough test, despite what the records may indicate.

As the Riders (2-1) return from their bye week fresh off a win against the Calgary Stampeders, the Edmonton Elks (0-4) are searching for their first win in the 2023 CFL season. Kickoff for the game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday.

“I expect them to be a Chris Jones-led football team. They are going to come out and play hard,” said Riders quarterback Trevor Harris. “They have a lot of dogs but so do we. We’re excited to go tee it up.

“They have to come here and deal with our crowd and we can go put on a show for our crowd.”

But home hasn’t been kind to the Riders recently. The team hasn’t won at Mosaic Stadium in 363 days – a six-game losing streak. The team’s last home win was July 8, 2022, in a 28-13 decision over the Ottawa Redblacks.

These two west-division rivals already met this season in Week 1, with the Riders emerging with a 17-13 win at Commonwealth Stadium.

Craig Dickenson, head coach of the Riders, said he believes the Elks will be a desperate team.

“I don’t want to say it’s a must-win, because it’s still early, but they really need to play better,” Dickenson said. “We know that. They have always played us well. We talked about that … the last six games, the average margin (of victory) was five points, and we have had to win a couple of those on a last-second field goal or a last-second drive.

“We know Edmonton is going to come in here guns blazing. They beat us at home last year to really close us out and we feel like we want to play better and put a better showing on this year.”

While the Riders got the win in Week 1, Harris admitted after the game that it was probably the worst he had played in a win in his career, throwing for 179 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

But this week, a new hurdle awaits the Green and White, as the CFL team has dealt with a lengthy list of injuries.

Only two receivers, Shawn Bane Jr. and Sam Emilus, played in Week 1 and will play this week with Jake Wieneke (knee), Derel Walker (knee), and Juwan Brescacin (shoulder) all on the six-game injured list. Prior to the season, the Riders’ receiving depth was already being tested with Kian Schaffer-Baker (hip) and Brayden Lenius (back) already on the six-game injured list.

Mitch Picton, Kendall Watson and Tevin Jones round out the Riders receivers, along with Bane Jr. and Emilus.

The offensive line is also seeing some changes. With Jerald Hawkins (quad) undergoing surgery, Brandon Counil will play left tackle. Council was the left tackle for the first two weeks of the CFL season.

Logan Bandy will play centre this week because Peter Godber is suffering from a hand injury.

“People say adversity builds character, but it reveals it,” Harris said. “You hit adversity where you’ve got to scrape the barrel of your practice roster … We’ve had to do that, but there has never been one conversation like, ‘Oh man, so-and-so is down, what are we going to do?’ It’s more about ‘Let’s go.’

“Reload the ammunition and let’s go.”

This isn’t the first time Bandy has been called into action due to an injury.

The 24-year-old played 11 games as the starter last season after Dan Clark suffered a broken leg in Week 2 against the Elks in 2022.

“Playing experience is super important. It’s huge to go into a game and know you’ve done it before,” Bandy said. “It takes a big load off the back, for sure.”

Saskatchewan’s offensive line will try to slow down an Elks pass-rush that feature defensive end Jake Ceresna and former Rider A.C. Leonard. Ceresna had two sacks in the Week 1 meeting between the two teams.

On defence, the Riders will look to replicate what they did in the first meeting. The unit played an integral part in the win, including a late fourth quarter goal-line stand.

Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw for 202 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while only rushing for 14 yards on one carry in Week 1.

Riders linebacker Derrick Moncrief, who missed the first two weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury, is excited for the game because he was on the field the two games where Cornelius ran for a combined 179 yards and three touchdowns against the Riders. He added 446 yards through the air and a passing touchdown.

“I haven’t forgotten about that. It has been in my mind and I’ve been watching old film,” Moncrief said.

“We just have to be ready. Whatever he brings to the table, we have to muddy up the looks. We have to it make it physical.”