By Canadian Press

Riders ready for return of nemesis in Hamilton quarterback Mitchell

Oct 6, 2023 | 3:19 PM

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders will face an old nemesis on Saturday when veteran quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell returns to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats starting lineup. 

The 33-year-old Mitchell has experienced a challenging season in Hamilton, seeing action in only three games due to injuries. Mitchell, who signed with Hamilton in the off-season after spending 10 CFL seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, suffered a hip injury on June 18 in a 32-14 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. 

He returned on July 28 but fractured his lower right leg on the final offensive play of a 16-12 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks. Mitchell had surgery on the leg on July 30 and was placed on the six-game injured list. 

At the start of this week, Mitchell returned to practice. Tiger-Cats head coach Orlondo Steinauer initially said he was pleased with Mitchell’s effort but said it was unlikely that he would play against the Riders. But then on Friday morning, the Tiger-Cats announced Mitchell would start Saturday’s contest. 

“I’m a little surprised by it but I’m glad to see it. He’s a good player. He’s good for our league and I’m glad he’s healthy and back playing,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson. “He’s a very good football player, a dangerous football player, a streaky player. When he’s hot, there’s nobody better and we’re hoping he doesn’t get hot against us.” 

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In 10 seasons with the Stampeders, Mitchell threw for 32,541 yards and 188 touchdowns and 89 interceptions. The CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2016 and 2018, Mitchell led the Stampeders to Grey Cup titles in 2014 and 2018. 

With the Tiger-Cats, Mitchell has completed 56 of 97 passes for 714 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. 

With Mitchell battling injuries this season, the Tiger-Cats have used Matt Shiltz and Taylor Powell at quarterback. Dickenson said he prepared his defence for all three Hamilton quarterbacks but felt at 15 games into the season, the unit should be prepared for whatever quarterback it faces. 

“At this point in the season, we’ve seen running quarterbacks, we’ve seen passing quarterbacks, we’ve seen a little bit of everything, so we’ll be fine,” said Dickenson. “But yeah, Bo and (Matt) Shiltz are different quarterbacks and they certainly have different strengths and weaknesses. I’m quite certain we’ll probably see both of them at some point in the game.” 

The Tiger-Cats, who are in third place in the East Division with a 7-8-0 record, clinched a playoff spot for the fifth straight season with a 22-15 victory over the Stampeders on Sept. 30. The Riders are currently in third place in the West Division with a 6-9-0 mark. 

With three games left in the regular season, the Riders are trying to hold off the 4-11-0 Stampeders for the final playoff berth in the West. Currently on a four-game losing streak, the Riders are taking some consolation from the fact they still control their own destiny in the playoff battle with Calgary. 

“That’s the only way you want it. I’ve been on both sides of it, and I know what it’s like when you’re banking on other teams. For us, it’s one of the rare times like everything just fell in place to where it’s all on you. It’s all in your lap in and that situation doesn’t happen a lot. We can’t take that for granted,” said Riders defensive lineman Micah Johnson.

“What we want to accomplish is still right here in front of us, even with the trials and tribulations that came with the seasons’ ebbs and flows and ups and downs. We’re still in a position to make the playoffs so for us, it’s a bright spot . . . We finish out here and we get to that first round, I think we will be one of the most well battle-tested groups there. We’re extremely battle tested.” 

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (7-8-0) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (6-9-0) 

Saturday at Mosaic Stadium 

REMEMBERING A LEGEND: The Riders will honour George Reed, who passed away on Oct. 1 at the age of 83, before kickoff. Reed, who was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1979, played 13 seasons in the CFL with the Riders. When he retired after the 1975 season, he was the CFL’s all-time leading rusher with 16,116 yards. 

CLOSING IN ON 1,000 YARDS: Hamilton’s James Butler needs 58 yards rushing to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season. Butler, who is currently third in the CFL behind Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira (1,359 yards) and Edmonton’s Kevin Brown (1,027 yards). Butler gained 1.060 yards last season as a member of the Lions. 

RARE AIR FOR DOLEGALA: Riders quarterback Jake Dolegala passed for 409 yards in last week’s 33-26 loss to the Lions but interestingly, he didn’t pass for a touchdown in the game. Since 1950, CFL quarterbacks have reached the 400+ yards passing mark 396 times. Of those games, only 11 had a quarterback reach the milestone without throwing a TD pass. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2023.

Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press