Eight Saskatchewan Roughriders named West Division all-stars

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Eight members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders have been named West Division all-stars as the CFL announced on Wednesday.

Quarterback Trevor Harris, receiver Samuel Emilus, guard Logan Ferland are among the offensive all-stars while defensive tackle Micah Johnson, linebacker Jameer Thurman, cover linebacker C.J. Avery, halfback Rolan Milligan Jr. and cornerback Marcus Sayles earned defensive honours. Milligan was also named the top special teams player.

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With Milligan earning two all-star nods — which are now called all-CFL selections by the league — the Roughriders lead all West Division teams with nine. The Toronto Argonauts also had nine in the East Division.

“Incredibly proud of all those guys,” said Riders head coach Corey Mace. “I know it’s kind of coach speak to say everybody works hard but they do.

“We’ve asked a lot of guys to step up and (I’m) extremely proud of those guys to get acknowledged for their individual work.”

Despite missing six games with a knee injury, Harris led the CFL with a 108.4 quarterback efficiency rating this season and set a Roughriders record for single-season completion percentage (72.4). In 11 games, the 38-year-old veteran completed 260 of 359 passes for 3,264 yards with 20 touchdowns to just nine interceptions.

In his 11 starts, Harris guided the Riders to a 7-4 record while throwing multiple touchdown passes in eight games while eclipsing the 300-yard mark in six games. He joins Kent Austin (1990), Kerry Joseph (2007) and Darian Durant (2009, 2013) as Roughrider quarterbacks to earn West Division all-star honours since Ron Lancaster earned the recognition seven times from 1966 to 1976.

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On of Harris’s top targets this season was Emilus, who recorded his second straight 1,000-yard season to earn his first all-star award.

The 27-year-old was third in the league with 132 targets while ranking fourth with 87 receptions, as he racked up 1,064 yards, which was fourth among all West Division receivers. This season, Emilus had four receptions of 50-plus yards, which is the most since Derick Armstrong in 2002.

“It’s big,” said Emilus, who was one of five West Division receivers recognized. “Seeing all those other guys — great receivers, great players in this league — being part of that group is special and I’m not taking that for granted.”

While making 11 starts this year at guard, Ferland has also lined up at tackle and centre this season but earned all-star honour at his natural position.

The 27-year-old Melfort product played all 18 games for the Green and White as the team gave up just 35 sacks, which ranks first among all CFL playoff teams and fourth overall. Ferland was also named the Roughriders’ top offensive lineman.

On the defensive side, Johnson earned his seventh career divisional all-star nod after another strong season where he put up 28 tackles, including four for a loss. His six sacks led the team and helped the Riders to the second most in the CFL with 38.

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Anchoring the interior defensive line, the 36-year-old Johnson was part of a unit that allowed an average of just 80.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked first in the league.

“You put a lot of hard work into it, especially when you’ve been playing this long, so it’s cool to get a little recognition,” said Johnson. “It’s always fun.

“I feel like we could have had more (all-stars). We’ve got a lot of good players on this team and we’re a really deep team. It’s one of those things you kind of want to build up the guys around you that didn’t get it because there’s always other people that are deserving as well to get it.

“We have all-stars at every level.”

In his first year with the Roughriders, Thurman earned his first career all-star nod as he made a huge impact helping lead a defensive unit that was among the CFL’s best. In 17 games, the 29-year-old middle linebacker racked up 78 tackles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one sack.

Beside Thurman, Reavis, 28, also had a strong season on the way to earning his first all-star nod as he racked up 106 total defensive plays.

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The third-year linebacker led the team in defensive tackles (89), which was a career high. He also racked up five tackles for a loss, four sacks, three pass deflections, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

“It means the world,” said Reavis. “I couldn’t do it without my teammates.

“This is what I planned all off-season. This is what I thought about; I dreamed about it.

“I’m grateful for sure.”

In the defensive backfield, Milligan — who was named the Roughriders Most Outstanding Player, Defensive Player and Special Teams Player — had maybe the strongest season of all the defenders.

The 30-year-old led the league with eight interceptions, while finishing fourth in the CFL with 111 total defensive plays. Along with his 71 defensive tackles and 10 pass deflections, Milligan racked up 20 special teams tackles.

After signing with the Riders in June following a stint with the B.C. Lions, Sayles stepped in and made a big impact at cornerback all season. In 17 games, the 30-year-old racked up a career-high four interceptions, including a pick-six in Week 5, while ranking second in the league with 12 pass knockdowns.

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It’s the third divisional all-star nod for Sayles, who also earned honours in 2019 and 2022.

With the regular season in the books, the second-place Roughriders (9-8-1) are now set to host the B.C. Lions (9-9-0) in the West Division semifinal on Saturday (4:30 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium with the winner advancing to the West Final against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7-0) on Nov. 9.

tshire@postmedia.com

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