“Every game means that much more.”: Kosi Onyeka knows the Saskatchewan Roughriders can’t get too cozy.

Kosi Onyeka knows the Saskatchewan Roughriders can’t get too cozy.

Yes, they are coming off Friday’s 37-29 CFL victory over the host Calgary Stampeders — a game in which Onyeka registered a team-high three special-teams tackles.

Yes, the 6-7-1 Roughriders conclude the regular season by playing three of their four remaining games (including the final two) at home.

But an advantageous schedule, location-wise, can quickly be negated if there are lapses in concentration or commitment.

“(The schedule) is favourable, but we can’t get complacent, because these are good teams and these are also mostly teams in the West,” Onyeka said leading up to the Corey Mace-coached Roughriders’ final non-divisional game of the regular season — Saturday’s appointment with the Ottawa REDBLACKS (1 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).

“Every game means that much more. Coach Mace is always stressing perfection in practice. We all internalize that and keep that among ourselves.

“Every single day of practice is a game, so when we get to a game, we’ve already done this three times this week.

“They say that you only sleep the night before the game, just because you’re working super hard during the week.

“We’ve put some good work in and it’s going to show on Saturday.”

Onyeka’s professionalism and perseverance elicited words of appreciation from the head coach.

“It’s not just Kos,” Mace noted. “There’s other guys on our team who have made plays for us. They kind of have to bide time until they get their name called again, but that takes the same professionalism.

“When you do get that call, you’ve got to rise to the occasion and play to the standard of what we expect.

“For those guys who do find themselves in that position and in those situations and have a game like Kos did, it’s just an example, yet again, that you can never be lulled to sleep here.

“Anything can happen in this game, as we know, with injuries. So when your name is called, you’ve got to be ready to rock, and he did a great job for us last week.”

That was hardly a surprise when you consider that Onyeka averaged more than one special teams tackle per game — 17 in 15 contests — in 2023.

This year, he has been limited to six appearances, simply because of the numbers game.

You wouldn’t be able to discern that by observing his demeanour and the determination he demonstrates in all situations.

“It’s always the ‘next man up’ mentality,” said the former University of Guelph Gryphons standout, who has dressed for 23 games since joining the Roughriders in 2022.

“I come to work every day, working hard and busting my butt — not only for myself, but for my teammates and my coaches, just to make the team better.

“I have that mindset where even if I’m not playing, I try to practise hard. ‘Iron sharpens iron,’ is what they say, so if I’m on the scout team, it doesn’t really matter. I’m still trying to make them look bad (on offence).

“I know how it is. I’ve been around the block a few times. I’m confident in myself and I’m confident in my ability, so when I get out there, I’m not surprised. I just know what I have to do and I execute it.”

Not just when the lights are the brightest and the audiences are vast.

Onyeka is a subscriber to the “practice makes perfect” mindset.

“These are very crucial days,” he emphasized after the Roughriders’ second of three practices this week.

“I do believe that sentiment that the game is won during the week and we just do what we do on the weekend.

“I get to the stadium around 6 o’clock in the morning and sometimes I leave around 6 at night, so that’s 12 hours of hard work.

“It’s film. It’s practice. It’s workout. It’s recovery. All that goes into winning the day and making the most of your opportunity.”

As was the case on Friday in Calgary, for example.

“Every day is a new opportunity to get better,” Onyeka continued. “It’s a good feeling when everyone’s working hard.

“(Quarterback) Trevor Harris said that the best teams he has been on are the ones that practise the hardest. We just try to embrace that.

“Every day, we try to bring the fire and sharpen all the guys in the room. We don’t really tolerate complacency.

“We’ve got big games ahead of us. We’re just trying to win them and get into the playoffs and hopefully host a playoff game.”

The games, of whatever description or magnitude, are a rich reward for a week’s worth of relentless work.

“We try to implement practising as close as possible to game speed, just to see whether what we have in the game plan for the week is actually worth a damn,” Mace said.

“We’ve got to see it at speed and then correct everything that we need to correct and the nuances of that.

“You’re building throughout the week so that on game day, you can just press ‘PLAY’ and you know what to expect.”

When that button is pressed at home, it is extra-special.

“We spend a lot of hours at the stadium and at the facility throughout the week,” said Onyeka, whose cousin (defensive lineman Kene Onyeka) will be part of the visiting REDBLACKS delegation this weekend.

“This is the facility that we play in. This is the facility that we practise in. It’s almost a sense of pride when we get to the game.

“We practise here all week and we don’t want anyone to come into our house, where we feed our family, and take what we’ve got going on.”