November 7, 2024

Hall: Stopping the run key for Riders against Bombers in Western Final

Matt Smith/CFL,ca

Brady Oliveira is a wanted man in Saskatchewan.

Defensive tackle Micah Johnson knows it. So does linebacker C.J. Reavis.

Heck, pretty much every sports fan in the Land of Living Skies realizes the importance of the Saskatchewan Roughriders corralling the CFL’s leading rusher in Saturday’s Western Final against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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Under the tutelage of rookie head coach Corey Mace, the Riders surrendered the lowest number of rushing yards in the league in the 2024 regular season with an average of just 80.3 yards per game.

The most-prolific running back vs. the stingiest run defence.

Game on.

“You have to be disciplined,” says Johnson, one of a league-leading five Riders named Thursday to the All-CFL team. “Brady Oliveira is a very patient runner. He gives his offensive line a chance to make the blocks. He capitalizes when he sees open holes.

“So anytime somebody comes out of their gap — or a defensive lineman or linebacker doesn’t fit where they’re supposed to — he’ll make you pay every time.”

Does he ever.

At 36, the grizzled Johnson is a realist when it comes to where Saturday’s game will likely be won or lost. It’s November, after all.

“In the CFL, we’ve got great athletes — great quarterbacks, great receivers,” says the six-foot-two, 278-pounder who played his college ball at the University of Kentucky. “But obviously, in the cold, things slow down. The ball gets harder.

“You have to physically impose yourself in the playoffs to win the ball game.”

Just a little over 48 hours before Saturday’s kickoff, Environment and Climate Change Canada called for day-time highs of 12 C and night-time lows of 4 C with a 40 per cent chance of a rain shower.

Don’t be fooled, though. Even with above-average temperatures, the run game is bound to take centre stage for both teams with a trip to the 111th Grey Cup on the line.

Especially with the sun setting before the opening kickoff.

“If you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to win,” Johnson says. “And also, if you can’t run the ball, it’ll be very hard for you to win that game as well.”

Oliveira, 27, is a master of his craft. His mind moves as fast — if not faster — than his feet as he reads opposing defences and dares the opposition to try to tackle him at their own peril.

The Winnipeg product lugged the ball 239 times for 1,353 yards and three touchdowns this season. He’s also a threat catching the ball out of the backfield 57 receptions for 476 yards and a touchdown.

Named Thursday to the All-CFL team for the second year in a row, Oliveira physically punishes the opposition on virtually every play.

Over 60 minutes and four quarters, the constant battering takes a toll.

“He’s a big man,” Reavis says of the five-foot-10, 222-pounder. “He runs hard. He runs strong. He loves contact.

“We know that hitting him early isn’t going to wear him down.”

Quite the opposite, actually.

 

“It’s hard to do the things that are very simple,” says Reavis, who was also named Thursday to the All-CFL team with a career-high 89 defensive tackles and four sacks. “I’ve just got to lock in on the game plan and do my job.”

The job, for the Riders, comes with intense scrutiny from an educated fanbase dreaming of Saskatchewan’s first Grey Cup berth since 2013.

“Everywhere I go, fans are recognizing me and wishing me good luck,” says Johnson, who finished the regular season with 28 defensive tackles and six sacks. “They’re excited about the game, asking us to pull through and get the win for the province.”

The secret to that win, according to Johnson, is to accept in advance that hardship is a given.

Oliveira will make some guys miss. Veteran quarterback Zach Collaros will complete some throws — especially if the Riders fail to generate pressure and limit his time in the pocket.

It’s a matter of limiting the damage.

“Adversity is going to hit,” he says. “We will have high points and low points, and usually the guys who win are the ones who stick to it, stay calm and collected and just continue to push through.

“I’ve just been letting the guys know we’re going to have adverse times in the game. That’s OK. That’s what football is.

“We just have to weather it.”

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