Ottawa REDBLACKS (3-0-1) @ Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-3)
Mosaic Stadium
Regina, Saskatchewan
7:00pm (CST) Kickoff
TV: TSN 1/3/4/5,
Radio: Rider Radio Network (Pregame Show begins at 4:00pm)
CKRM 620AM – Regina
CJGX 940AM – Yorkton
CFWD (Cruz FM) 96.3FM – Saskatoon
CJNB 1050AM – North Battleford
CJNS 102.3FM – Meadow Lake
CKBI 900AM – Prince Albert
CKBI 92.5FM – Big River
CKBI 95.9FM – La Ronge
Estimated temperature at Kickoff: Partly Cloudy 26C (79F)
“There’s winning and there is misery.” – Bill Parcells
Hello friends! Mr. Parcells sums up the thoughts of everyone in Riderville: coaches, players, staff, administration, fans and almost anyone that has a sliver of their heart bleed Green & White.
The hand wringing continues this week with the media stirred soap opera surrounding Darian Durant’s current injury and the first professional start for his replacement, Mitchell Gale.
First to Darian, he will be fine. He was walking around and participating in the early part of all the practices this week. It’s a heck of a lot better for him to miss a week-four battle, than to play, potentially get hurt worse, and miss an even bigger portion of the season. So it now falls into the hands of fourth year CFL veteran, Mitchell Gale.
He has spent the past three seasons as a back-up, mostly in Toronto behind the likes of Ricky Ray, Zach Colleros and the man he will look across the field at tonight, Trevor Harris.
Gale’s 17/30, 248 yard, 1 touchdown performance last week in relief was more than the previous three seasons of experience combined. Tonight will be his first start since his final game in his college career with the then Division II, Abilene Christian Wildcats on November 10th, 2012. In that game, Gale passed for over 400 yards and helped the Wildcats defeat Incarnate Word, 24-12.
Side note: the week prior to the win over Incarnate Word, Gale and the Wildcats knocked off the #13 ranked West Alabama Tigers 22-16 in overtime. On that West Alabama team? Current Rider linebacker Otha Foster and Eskimo defensive back Deon Lacey.
Gale is the seventh different quarterback to play for an injured Darian Durant since his elbow injury in Banjo Bowl 2014 in Winnipeg (26 games counting tonight). The record of those quarterbacks has been very much publicized (even by yours truly), but that isn’t this team, with this staff. Although the fact remains, a losstonight drops the Riders to 0-and-4 and even further back in the CFL’s West Division race.
So a whole lot of pressure will be on a much maligned Rider defence that will be facing the 2016 CFL’s version of the “Greatest Show on Turf”.
The original version of the Greatest Show on Turf is now NFL legend. During a three-year span beginning in 1999, the St. Louis Rams won Super Bowl XXXVI in ’99, and scored more than 500+ points in three straight years. The only time in NFL history that has happened. The key names are now Hall of Famers or future Hall of Famers: running back Marshall Faulk (who won the NFL’s Most Valuable Offensive player from ’99-’01), quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Isaac Bruce.
The Ottawa REDBLACKS in the early part of 2016 are proving to be just as lethal. Quarterback, Trevor Harris was only a handful of yards from three straight 400-yard passing games (395,396,392 yards respectively over the past three weeks) and receiver Chris Williams is already more than half-way to the 1,000 yard receiving mark in just four games (556 yards). Add to that Gregg Ellingson is second (439 yds.) in the CFL in receiving and Brad Sinopoli is ninth (266 yds.); the REDBLACKS are well on their way to having three-1,000-yard receviers and a potential 6,000-yard passer!
As a team, the REDBLACKS are tops in almost every CFL offensive and passing categories and it shows in their currently undefeated 3-0-1 mark. This makes the key match-up tonight the battle between the Rider defensive backs and the REDBLACKS receivers and it will be very interesting to see how it will all play outtonight.
Fun Facts:
– There are just eight (seven when you consider Darian Durant will not be on the field) Riders on the roster tonight in their fifth season or more of CFL service (Rob Bagg, Justin Capicciotti, Ed Gainey, Matt Walter, Graig Newman, Xavier Fulton and Andrew Jones).
For the REDBLACKS, there are 11 players in their fifth season or more of CFL service (Patrick Lavoie, Damaso Munoz, Dan West, Trevor Harris, Ernest Jackson, Malik Jackson, Tristan Jackson, J’Michael Deane, John Gott, Chris Milo and Brad Sinopoli).
– Trevor Harris went to the same college as former Rider centre and current Assistant V-P of Football Operations and Administration, Jeremy O’Day, Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.
– Aaron Picton and Joshua Stanford are playing in their first career CFL game.
– With 108 games played, Rob Bagg is now the elder statesman for the Riders.
– Trevor Harris is 2-and-0 against the Riders with both wins coming last season.
– With Mitchell Gale starting tonight, the former back-ups to Toronto’s Ricky Ray that will start in a game this season include the two starters tonight (Harris and Gale) and the quickly healing Zach Collaros of the Hamilton Tiger Cats. So it can be said that one thing Argos General Manager Jim Barker knows is quarterbacks.
