The players were flying around the field and the fans went home happy as the Saskatchewan Roughriders brought their 2012 training camp to the Moose Jaw Field House on Monday night. Hundreds of came out deck in green to watch the Green & White on the turf for an hour and a half.
“It was awesome, just to see people show up every where we’ve been, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw. Those are good things and letting them know it’s not just a city thing, but it’s a provincial thing,” said head coach Corey Chamblin following the teams work out. “They get more energized the more fans they see, the different fans they see and they just feed off the fans.
After the individuals drills and special teams practice that was complicated by the low roof, which eliminated the ability to get off punts, the Riders went 12-on-12 for the remainder of practice and Chamblin liked what he saw. “There weren’t a lot of assignment busts out there,” said Chamblin. “We’ve still got to make some things cleaner with what we’re doing on offence, but right now we’re playing pretty high energy and we’ve just got make sure it carries onto the game field.”
Starting quarterback Darian Durant was in a groove during the hurry up drills and scored on a pair of drives after missing on a couple of deep passes to Weston Dressler and Rob Bagg. Chamblin says Durant is starting shake off the offseason rust, “We had five quarterbacks, so of course, the reps are all going to be limited, so it’s not like he can work himself into shape. Now the closer we get, he’s getting more reps, so we can get tuned for the first (regular) season game.”
The night was more than the practice on the field -- although that was the main attraction -- the event started with a tailgate party in the parking lot followed by a special presentation inside the Field House. A piece of Rider pride will remain in the Field House for good after CFL hall of famer George
“Heather, who grew up in Moose Jaw was in contact with the City and myself about this piece,” explained Mosaic Place general manager Scott Clark. “She said would their be any interest, is there a spot. Well, the Field House, Roughriders here, commemorate the visit and give Gainer a permanent home here, I love the concept, so we went to work and located the spot and made it happen.”
“It’s great to see a presentation like this here,” added Reed, who’s Foundation will have a giant 13th man flag on display somewhere in the city later this summer for fans to sign with a donation. “It just extends Rider Pride. Everyone in different parts of the province has their own thing and now Moose Jaw has it’s own special mascot to remind them of the Riders.”
Clark says he and Riders president and CEO Jim Hopson started having discussions about a Rider event at the Field House. “I knew that Jim lived here in Moose Jaw for a long time and I had keen interest in the Roughriders with the Field House, I thought it was a natural fit and we talked about doing some kind of an event,” said Clark. “I was blown away when he came back this spring and said they wanted to bring the whole team here for a scrimmage.”
The event appears to be a success, there were no injuries on the field and the Riders fans cheered the team as they came in and left the building.
Riders News & Notes
-- Macho Harris was the only player not dressed who made the trip. Louis Rankin was back on the field for both practices on Monday after not hitting the field on Sunday.
-- Drew Willy continued to impress after his good preseason showing, hitting Weston Dressler on a long corner route during the hurry up on Monday night in Moose Jaw.
-- The Riders will be on the field Tuesday and Wednesday morning at the University of Regina. They move to Mosaic Stadium on Thursday for a walkthrough before hosting the Stampeders on Friday night. Kick off is at 7:00pm.
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