The Saskatchewan Roughriders have an interesting playoff situation. To win the West Division and host the West Final, the Riders need to beat the Calgary Stampeders and have the Winnipeg Blue Bombers lose to the Montreal Alouettes.
"I love games like that because everyone's nervous. Everyone's timid about what's going to happen. I would say cream rises to the top and the best players are going to show what they got during that game," Charleston Hughes told the SportsCage.
"Don't hold anything back. Make sure you're 100 percent healthy. You're feeling strong, confident, good. Do whatever you have to do to make sure that you're ready for this game."
The Green and White are currently on a four-game winning streak, which helped the team clinch a home postseason game entering Week 21 with a 9-7-1 record.
"I'm seeing unselfish football," Hughes said. "You don't see a lot of players bickering and arguing on the sideline."
The Stampeders are last in the West Division and already eliminated from playoff contention, but Hughes knows Calgary shouldn't be underestimated.
"I know you're not playing for playoffs and you're not playing for a championship, but you still are playing to feed your family," Hughes said. "That's the best way to put it. Some of those guys, this is their last year on the contract. Some of those guys they're playing for a bigger contract. You're playing to make a team, you're playing to make another team and you have to go out there and still perform."
Hughes spent nine years (2008-2017) with the Stamps to start his career, where he captured two Grey Cup rings in 2008 and 2014. Last year, the Stamps made the playoffs with a 6-12 record; this year Calgary is 4-12-1.
"It's two bad years back-to-back and this is unfortunate because I have friends over there who still play for that team, I got friends on the coaching staff over there," Hughes said. "They slightly got away from that culture, tried to bring in a different type of culture of football players, football talent and it didn't work out for them."
Hughes also spent time with the Riders and Toronto Argonauts. Besides Calgary, he always wore the same No. 39.
According to Hughes, it was a tradition that started in high school, when he was originally given No. 30. That later changed to No. 96 when he went to Norwood University. When he was in the CFL, he was with the Stampeders and was given No. 39 as a linebacker but kept the number when he moved to the defensive line. He wanted to get a number that made him stand out on the field and kept No. 39 when he moved on to Saskatchewan and Argos.
"I actually like being the oddball at a position like that," Hughes said while laughing.
The Roughriders host the Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday. Countdown to Kick-off begins with a chance to watch Justin Dunk and Wes Cates live at 2 p.m. on YouTube. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder join at 4 p.m. with the kick-off to follow at 5 p.m. on the Co-operators Roughrider Radio Network.
