ROOSEVELT, POWELL CARRIED THE OFFENSIVE LOAD FOR RIDERS

Surpassing the century mark against the B.C. Lions might be a sign of grander things to come for Saskatchewan Roughriders slotback Naaman Roosevelt and tailback William Powell.

Roosevelt hauled in seven passes for 106 yards in the Riders’ 27-19 CFL win over the Lions on Friday at BC Place. He now has 70 receptions for 852 yards and one touchdown this season.

With two regular-season games remaining, Roosevelt has a shot at surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2017, when the veteran slotback caught 70 passes for 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns, and the third time in his career.

“(Roosevelt) has just been a guy that I can count on,” Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo said. “Anytime I throw a contested football to him, I know that he’s going to come down with it. He’s taken a lot of shots over the year just with contested catches and he comes down with the football.”

While running the ball, Powell was just as effective. He had 15 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown on Friday. The veteran tailback has 194 carries for 997 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in 2019.

Powell actually hit the 1,000-yard milestone in the fourth quarter on Friday. However, he was tackled for a three-yard loss on his next carry, leaving him three yards shy of 1,000.

On Friday, Powell rushed for 100plus yards for the first time since gaining 146 yards on 21 carries, three of which were for TDS, in the Riders’ 45-18 win over the Lions on July 27.

Powell rushed for 304 yards and five majors as Saskatchewan swept the three-game season series with B.C.

“I just feel like we have some good success and good game plans against them,” said Powell, who also has 29 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns.

“We also have some good movement against these guys.”

Powell and Roosevelt are both hitting their stride as the Riders head into a home-and-home series with the Edmonton Eskimos and, eventually, the playoffs.

“This is when the games get a little tougher and they mean a lot more,” Roosevelt said.

“Because we’ve been in this situation before, it comes a lot easier. I remember in my first couple of years stuff was spinning it was coming so fast. Now the game has slowed down because you understand it a lot more.”