“It’s what you want, you got one game on your homefield for all the marbles. You win and you get to go the Grey Cup.”
That is what Solomon Elimimian is saying as the Saskatchewan Roughriders started getting ready for their season finale on Saturday.
A win at Mosaic Stadium against the Edmonton Eskimos will mean the green-and-white will have clinched first place for the first time since 2009 and will host the Western Final against either the Calgary Stampeders or Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Head Coach Craig Dickenson admits Saturday is a little bigger than usual.
“Its big!” Dickenson admitted. “It is the next game for us, but it’s a little more than that. It’s our last regular-season home game in front of the best fans in the nation. It’s our chance to reward the fans with a good performance and show our appreciation for them coming out and supporting us.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo is ready to try and get the job done as he says it is an opportunity they simply can’t let slip through their fingers.
“Winning the West is incredibly important because of the bye week.” Fajardo told reporters at the AffinityPlex as the team is practicing inside. “We’ve played eight or nine straight games since our last bye so this is huge. We have to treat this like the first week of the playoffs. It’s not a win or go home scenario, but it is one we would love to get just to give our body a week off which is big at this time of year.”
Two members of the starting defence were not on the field with their teammates on Tuesday as both Ed Gainey (back) and Derrick Moncrief (undisclosed) did not work out. Dickenson believes at this time that both will be able to go Saturday when the two teams meet in a 2 o’clock start.
