Roughriders look for first win in Winnipeg since 2018

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The last time the Saskatchewan Roughriders won a game in Winnipeg, Zach Collaros was the starting quarterback for the Green and White.

That same season — six years ago in 2018 — Corey Mace, then defensive line coach with the Calgary Stampeders, defeated quarterback Trevor Harris and the Ottawa Redblacks in the Grey Cup.

This week, all three of those men will take centre stage as the Roughriders, led by Mace as the head coach and Harris at quarterback, take on Collaros and the Bombers on Saturday (5:30 p.m., TSN) in Winnipeg in the CFL’s Western final with a trip to the Grey Cup in Vancouver on the line.

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“These are the games you live for and these are the games this team lives for,” Harris said after practice at Mosaic Stadium this week. “And I think our DNA and who we are will come through in this game too.”

“As a kid you dream of being in games like this,” added Mace. “You can’t ask for much more from a players standpoint.”

While the Roughriders want to play spoiler this week an advance to the CFL’s championship game for the first time since 2013, playing in Winnipeg hasn’t been kind to the Green and White in recent years.

Since their 32-27 victory in the 2018 Banjo Bowl, the Roughriders have lost seven regular season games and one playoff game in the Manitoba capital, while the Bombers have made four straight Grey Cup appearances.

“They’re a veteran group,” said Harris. “They’ve kept their same core of guys together from 2019 to now. They’ve just continued to get better, grow, and set a culture and a standard and an expectation.

“But it’s our job to go out there and overcome that.”

Since that Banjo Bowl victory in 2018, only a handful of players from that season remain on Saskatchewan’s roster including kicker Brett Lauther, fullback Albert Awachie, receiver Mitch Picton, who spent the year on the practice roster, and long snapper Jorgen Hus, who was asked why it’s so hard to get a win in Winnipeg.

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“They pack the house and it’s always super loud in there,” said Hus. “It makes it a tough environment to communicate in.

“And they’re a tough team. They play well, they play sound, they’re fundamental all the way through so you’ve got to be on top of your game.

“When you combine all of that with the crowd noise and everything, it makes for a hostile environment.”

This season, Winnipeg put together a 11-7-0 record to clinch top spot in the West Division for the fourth straight year while the Roughriders finished second with a 9-8-1 record.

After an 0-4 start to the season, the Bombers won nine of their last 10 games while the Riders won five of their last six, including a 28-19 victory in the Western semifinal over the B.C. Lions.

At home this year, Winnipeg had a 6-3-0 record while the Riders were 4-4-1 on the road.

And this week, the Bombers announced Princess Auto Stadium has been sold out with 32,343 spectators expected to be in attendance on Saturday to see which team advances to the Grey Cup.

“It’s going to be crazy,” said Mace. “Their fan base I think is the only one that tries to rival ours.

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“It’s going to be loud for sure. We’ve got an unbelievable amount of respect for that team and what they’ve been able to accomplish with a lot of their core players (and) coaching staff.

“And they’ve earned that. But we’re going to have to go into their house and it’s going to be a hostile environment.

“What a time.”

Injury report

After missing practice on Tuesday, receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker (neck), linebacker C.J. Reavis (knee) and defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. (knee) all returned to the field while defensive back Jaxon Ford (knee) remained out.

Left tackle Trevor Reid (knee) also missed a second consecutive workout. Trevon Tate continued to practise at left tackle while Logan Ferland got reps at right tackle with Peter Godber back at centre.

tshire@postmedia.com

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