You have to hand it to Craig Dickenson.
Saskatchewan Roughriders General Manager and Vice-President of Football Operations Jeremy O’Day did precisely that on Aug. 20 — presenting the CFL team’s Head Coach with a game ball after a 34-29 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions.
“I didn’t see (the game ball) coming,” Dickenson said at Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday, when the Roughriders resumed practising after a bye week. “I really appreciate that from Jeremy.
“I think it’s symbolic of the appreciation he has for the whole coaching staff. We’ve worked really hard this year and I really feel like that game ball was more for our staff and the work that they put in, because it’s a good group of guys.
“I’m really proud of each and every one of them and I enjoy coming to work with them each day, so it was a nice surprise and a real honour and the coaching staff was appreciative of it.”
After accepting the handoff from O’Day, Dickenson honoured the wishes of the players by performing a dance.
“I’ll give it a six out of 10,” he said. “I’ll try to work on it in the next few weeks. Hopefully I’ll get more opportunities to do it.”
The Roughriders (5-5) are to return to action on Sunday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
KICKING IS CLICKING
The Roughriders’ Brett Lauther carries a streak of 13 consecutive successful field-goal attempts into Sunday’s game.
“It’s week to week, kick to kick,” he said. “It’s just what it comes down to at that moment.
“It’s like trying to read a putt, figuring out what the wind’s doing. It’s the snap and the hold and the guys have been making it easy on me lately.”
The credit was deflected to long snapper Jorgen Hus and holder Adam Korsak, both of whom have helped Lauther improve his field-goal percentage to 85.2 (23-for-27).
Factoring in converts, Lauther has connected on 22 placement attempts in a row.
DOLEGALA IS “PUMPED”
Jake Dolegala is poised to become the 29th quarterback to start for Saskatchewan in a Labour Day Classic against Winnipeg.
Sunday’s game marks the beginning of a home-and-home set with the Blue Bombers, who are to play host to the Roughriders on Sept. 9.
“There’s a rivalry at any level, but this one is obviously special, going back-to-back weeks with them,” Dolegala said on Wednesday.
“Obviously, I was here last year, and there was just the pure excitement and joy from the fans. It’s just so electric in the stadium, so I’m really pumped.”
