The Saskatchewan Roughriders will have at least one 1,000-yard receiver back for the West Final — and possibly two.
Dohnte Meyers returned to practice on Tuesday following an ankle injury he suffered in Week 18 against the Ottawa Redblacks. The 25-year-old recorded 65 receptions for 1,056 yards with eight touchdowns in 15 regular-season games on his way to being named a West Division all-star.
“I love the game of football and I hate missing games. I missed a lot of games last year and I don’t want to make it a habit. Every game I’m looking forward to get back out there as soon as possible,” Meyers said.
“Dohnte’s definitely made a bunch of plays,” head coach Corey Mace said. “Having the looks with No. 88 getting some run in there, that serves well for anybody regardless what team he’s on.”
The five-foot-10, 190-pound pass catcher led the Green and White with 11 plays that went for 30 or more yards, which ranked third in the CFL behind Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ star Kenny Lawler (14) and B.C. Lions’ stud Keon Hatcher (12). He averaged 16.2 yards per reception, placing him fourth in the three-down league among receivers with 65 or more catches.
“It starts at the top. Coach [Marquay McDaniel], he’s had a lot of success, our quarterback has a lot of success, our OC [Marc Mueller] has a lot of success, and the players have a lot of success. Everybody is pushing each other day in and day out, pre-practice, after practice. We’re trying to replicate success and thrive off each other,” Meyers explained.
Meyers said him and his roommate, KeeSean Johnson, are focused on going 1-0 and getting the job done in the West Final to advance to the 112th Grey Cup. Johnson suffered a knee injury in the first half during Week 19 against the Toronto Argonauts.
“KeeSean is going to be one of those guys where, how are we looking like over the next couple of days? He’s been running around and stuff like that. All the guys are trending in the right direction,” Mace said.
The 29-year-old recorded 86 receptions for 1,159 yards with four touchdowns in 16 regular-season games on his way to being named a West Division all-star. Johnson has been a key target for Trevor Harris to keep the chains moving, leading the CFL with 39 second-down conversions.
The West Division Coach of the Year believes his franchise quarterback will make the offence work with whomever the team puts on the game-day roster at receiver. Based on what Harris said, it’s safe to assume Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, and Meyers should be in the starting lineup on Saturday and he added “who knows” for Johnson.
“I feel like we’re cooking at this point in the year and it’s on us to continue to do that,” Harris stated. “We’re fired up. It’s on us to go out and execute the game plan.”
“It’s going to be exciting, we got some weapons back,” Meyers said. “It’s going to be a nice show for Riderville.”
The Roughriders (12-6) host the B.C. Lions (12-7) in the West Final at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Saturday, November 8 with kickoff slated for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Lions defeated the Calgary Stampeders 33-30 in the West Semi-Final, while the Riders were on a bye after finishing atop the West Division standings.
The weather forecast in Regina calls for a high of minus-three degrees with a 60 percent chance of flurries. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 620 CKRM in Regina.
