Roughriders look to roar against Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are heading west, hoping their road woes will soon come to an end.

The Roughriders will take on the B.C. Lions (10-4) on Friday at B.C. Place with the Riders (6-8) not only looking to end a five-game road losing streak, but also a three-game skid that has seen them lose to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Edmonton Elks and Ottawa Redblacks.

Kickoff for the game is set for 8:30 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m.

Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said it’s been a good week, with good energy from the team.

“In Week 15, that is saying a lot,” said Dickenson. “We did cut (practice) down a little bit, so maybe that had something to do with it … The men seemed to enjoy being out here. I challenged them to turn it up a notch. I said I feel like we’re a playoff team and it’s important we start playing like one.

Saskatchewan Roughriders running back Frankie Hickson will start his second game of the season against the B.C. Lions. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

One of the biggest issues Riders have faced over the course of this losing streak has been their rushing defence. The Riders have given up 1,777 yards on the ground this season – second highest in the CFL. But a large chunk of that number (721) has come over just the last three games.

“We know a lot of mistakes are just based off us,” said defensive end Pete Robertson, who had four tackles in last week’s 36-28 loss to the Redblacks.

“We gave them a touchdown and stuff off penalties. That’s the biggest thing. What kind of messed us up was we were getting aggressive, but to a point to where we need to keep it in the whistles.”

The Lions rushing offence hasn’t been a major focal point of the team this season, only averaging 85.1 yards per-game. But, in the Lions’ 37-29 win over the Edmonton Elks, B.C. amassed 175 rushing yards with 112 coming from running back Taquan Mizzell and 54 from quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.

Adams Jr. has done a lot more damage with his arm than legs this season, throwing for 3,547 yards and 25 touchdowns – the second most in the league in both stats.

The last time the two teams met, the Riders emerged victorious in a 34-29 decision at Mosaic Stadium.

But in that game, Adams Jr. picked apart the Saskatchewan passing defence and threw for 455 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception.

One new face chasing down Adams Jr. this week will be defensive end Christian Albright. Albright saw action in his first CFL game last week, recording two sacks and forcing a fumble.

He will start this week, as Anthony Lanier II is out once again with a hip injury.

“(Adams Jr. is) a very dynamic quarterback and he is accurate as well when he has his feet set throwing from the pocket,” Albright said. “He has the ability to beat you with his legs. He’s a very good quarterback back there, and we have to do our job to contain him because he makes their offence go.”

The Riders will get back safety Jayden Dalke this week after he missed the past three games with a knee injury.

On offence, quarterback Jake Dolegala will try to recreate the success he had against the Lions’ defence in his first start of the season. He threw for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the Riders’ win.

“I think we had a good game plan going into both of those games,” Dolegala said. “We feel good about this week, too. They are pretty hot right now, but we’ve just got to find a way to win no matter how it looks, if it’s pretty or not.”

Saskatchewan will be without running back Jamal Morrow for a second game as he deals with a knee injury.

Frankie Hickson will start his second game of the season after rushing for 77 yards on nine carries last week.

“I think I did a pretty good job, but at the end of the day we lost, so at the end of the day it doesn’t mean anything,” Hickson said.

For a second straight season, the Riders find themselves at 6-8 and on a downward trajectory. Last year, the team finished 6-12.

“No one’s season is over until it’s really, truly over,” Hickson said. “You have to know that you have to bring your best ball every single game day, and if you don’t you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.”