William Powell runs to CFL weekly top performer award

Saskatchewan Roughriders running back William Powell found his stride and evaded tackles as he enjoyed his best game as a member of the Green and White.

Powell gashed the B.C. Lions’ defence for 146 yards rushing and three touchdowns during Saskatchewan’s 45-18 victory Saturday at Mosaic Stadium. He was named the CFL’s top performer for Week 7.

“(The award) shows that we’re clicking as an offence,” Powell said after Tuesday’s closed practice at Mosaic Stadium. “It shows that the offensive line is doing a great job (and) it shows that the receivers are doing a great job blocking so it’s a team accomplishment.”

It was the second time Powell crossed the 100-yard threshold as a member of the Roughriders. He rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on June 13 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Powell will be looking to make it two 100-yard rushing games against the Tiger-Cats this season with Hamilton in Regina for a game Thursday. Kickoff at Mosaic Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

Powell said the offensive players always believe they will have a big game on the ground.

“You never expect to get three touchdowns so that’s always a great thing,” Powell said.

Powell joined the Roughriders on Feb. 12 as one of their top free-agent signings. He previously had spent four seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks.

While he had games with more rushing yards with Ottawa — including a 187-yard performance against the Roughriders on Sept. 9, 2017 — he never had a three-touchdown game.

“It has been great (coming to Saskatchewan). I feel well-adjusted, I feel embraced and everyone’s showing love,” Powell said. “I feel at home.”

During his career, Powell has rushed for 3,304 yards and 19 touchdowns in 41 games. He missed the 2016 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Guard Dariusz Bladek rejoined the offensive line Saturday after suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee on June 13. The group has dealt with an injury bug this season, using five different combinations through the team’s first six games.

Bladek said he has played with a lot of talented running backs but Powell brings the complete package to the position.

“He has the speed, he has the (pass) protection, he has the moves. All around, he’s probably one of the best that I’ve played with,” Bladek said.

Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said Powell has been the player they hoped he would be when they made the signing.

“He has been as advertised. He has picked up the system really well and he’s running hard,” Dickenson said. “He’s a good guy, he fits in well with the culture in the locker room and has developed into one of the leaders on the team.”

Before the season started, Dickenson said he wanted his offence to be physical and have the run game be the key to what the group does.

“When you run the ball, you have to physically impose your will on teams,” Dickenson said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of reasons we feel like running the ball is good for our team. One of them is to control the pace of the game and two is we want to wear out teams that we are playing.”

The Roughriders are the third-ranked rushing team in the CFL with 788 yards through Week 7. That attack will meet the league’s fourth-worst rushing defence when the Green and White takes the field against Hamilton.

The Tiger-Cats will be without linebacker Simoni Lawrence, who’s serving the second of a two-game suspension for a hit on Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros on June 13. Collaros has been on the six-game injured list with a concussion since then.

The Green Zone pregame show gets underway Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Notes

Receivers K.D. Cannon (groin) and Justin McInnis (hamstring) continue to improve ahead of Thursday’s game. Dickenson said both are in the mix and could see playing time this week … Dickenson said kicker Brett Lauther (groin) is not kicking during practice. Gabriel Ferraro will start his fourth straight game at kicker if Lauther is unable to go.