Number 7 and July 7 were a perfect fit.
Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris returned to the practice field on Monday after being sidelined for one game.
With Jake Maier behind centre, the Roughriders improved their record to 4-0 by defeating the visiting B.C. Lions 37-18 on June 28.
Following a bye week, Harris and his teammates are now engrossed in preparations for Friday’s much-anticipated matchup with the 3-1 Calgary Stampeders (7 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“I felt like my bye week was (the previous) week, so I’m excited to be back out here,” Harris said.
The Roughriders’ franchise quarterback missed a game after the team’s football-operations, medical and training staffs exercised the utmost caution.
After quarterbacking Saskatchewan to a 39-32 victory in Toronto on June 20, Harris let it be known that there were well-concealed after-effects from a high hit that led to Argonauts defensive lineman Jordan Williams being fined by the CFL.
“I was a little bit fuzzy, but I felt good enough to execute,” Harris said. “I don’t condone what I did in terms of staying in there, but it’s no fault of the team, no fault of the docs. I didn’t report anything.
“I wanted to stay in the game and grind it out.”
He was exceptionally sharp in the process, completing 13 of 17 passes — a 76.5-per-cent accuracy rate — for 234 yards and two touchdowns.
He was especially precise while threading the needle on a pass that receiver Dohnte Meyers turned into a 70-yard TD.
The quarterback efficiency rating (137.9) was particularly impressive when you consider that Harris was also battling a virus.
Leading up to the subsequent game against B.C., Harris implored the coaches to let him play, but the decision was ultimately out of his hands.
“He’s the ultimate competitor,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “He feels like he can go, but we just followed the guidelines for ourselves and just wanted to play it smart. I’m happy we did.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in that quarterback room and we felt confident that we’d be able to go out and still execute at a high level.
“Now that he has been completely cleared, with nothing in the way in a bye week, I think it was the right decision.”
The first completion by Harris on Friday will be his 2,808th and tie him with Tom Clements for 11th on the CFL’s All-Time list. Doug Flutie is 10th at 2,975.
STRONG START FOR STINGY STAMPS
Friday’s game looms as a marquee matchup as the Roughriders hope to remain the CFL’s lone undefeated team.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten when they lost 37-16 in Calgary on Thursday. Winnipeg did not score a touchdown until 2:28 remained in the game.
It was business as usual for Calgary, which has yet to surrender a touchdown over the first three quarters this season.
Calgary has allowed only 40 points over the first, second and third quarters.
“That defence makes things very difficult on you,” Harris said. “The best defences don’t do 65 different coverages. They play what they play and they get really, really good at it and they make things difficult for you.
“To some degree, you know what you’re going to get, but we also know they’re going to give us looks we haven’t seen before. They’re going to keep us guessing a show a few things they haven’t shown yet this year. This is pro football, so we’re going to do the same thing.
“We’re excited about the challenge. They bring a great challenge to us, but we think we bring a great challenge to them as well.”
MUSICAL NOTE
Friday’s game theme is “Back 40 Bash: Rooted in the West.”
The country-music vibe is music to Harris’s ears.
“I grew up riding in the truck with my dad and he’d just play old-school country,” the 39-year-old son of Tom Harris recalled. “I love country and gospel music.”
On Friday, Harris and his comrades will be resplendent in their immensely popular Obsidian Green alternate jerseys for the first time this season.
