The Saskatchewan Roughriders have moved past the B.C. Lions into second place in the Canadian Football League’s West Division.
The Riders (7-7-1) jumped over the Lions (7-8-0) with a 29-17 Week 17 victory over Ottawa on Saturday after B.C. fell 32-29 to Hamilton on Friday.
That is music to the ears of defensive back Marcus Sayles. He was released after training camp on June 2 by the Lions then signed with the Riders two days later.
“For me, it feels good. I'm on a team now that's winning. We have so much team camaraderie, and it feels good being in Saskatchewan and around all these fans. I couldn't ask for anything more when it comes down to the standings."
Sayles, who turned 30 on October 1, isn’t focusing on his former team, though. Instead, the six-year veteran is concentrating on facing a desperate Edmonton Elks team on Saturday. The Riders are five points ahead of the Elks for the third and final playoff spot in the West.
“Everybody kind of understands the standings. We don’t want to be comfortable and stay locked in. The standings are going to work themselves out.”
The Roughriders win in Week 17 was their second in a row after going winless for seven games with six losses and one tie. That wasn’t the only reason for Sayles to be upbeat post-game, as he equalled his career best with his fourth interception of the season.
“I know the games we've had in the last couple of weeks didn't go our way, but you know they were still close, and all we needed was our one win. We were able to get it last week and it just carried over into this weekend," Sayles said.
“We have that drive, and we know that we can become a great club. We just got to stay locked down, stay grinding, stay hungry and everything is going to work out for us."
Saskatchewan has three games remaining in the regular season and controls its playoff fate for a potential home playoff game.
Saskatchewan travels to Edmonton to take on the Elks on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium. Countdown to Kick-off begins with Justin Dunk and Wes Cates at 2 p.m. Luc Mullinder and I will join at 4 p.m. with the kick-off to follow at 5 p.m. on the Co-operators Roughrider Radio Network.
