The banged-up Edmonton Eskimos will have linebacker A.J. Gass in the lineup as they visit Regina to take on the high-flying Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday (CBC, 9:30 p.m. ET).
Gass received a one-game suspension for ripping off and throwing the helmet of Calgary lineman John Comisky during a melee in a 34-32 loss on Aug. 4.
A.J. Gass, left, is appealing his one-game suspension and will take the field Saturday against Wes Cates and the Roughriders.
(Troy Fleece/Canadian Press)
The linebacker was allowed to play in last weekend's 19-17 win at Hamilton as he appealed the decision. CFL commissioner Mark Cohon turned down the appeal this week, but Gass won a further reprieve by taking the case to an arbitrator.
The lengthy appeals process is certainly working in favour of the Eskimos (3-3-1), who had nine starters miss practice this week.
Running back Tyler Ebell is expected to miss Saturday's game with a shoulder injury, slotback Jason Tucker is out with a knee injury, while receiver Pat Woodcock is nursing a sore knee. Cornerback Omarr Morgan and linebacker Antico Dalton are also hurting, while guard Kevin Lefsrud is out after suffering a concussion.
"It's a tough situation but it is what it is," head coach Danny Maciocia said. "We've got to line up 42 guys and compete on every snap. If we do that, good things can happen.
"This is something all teams go through at some point."
The depleted Eskimos will at least get defensive back/linebacker Shannon Garrett back after missing a game with an injury. The team also brought back rush end Kenny Hollis, who had been cut two games into the season, to help with the pass rush.
"Edmonton needs to get pressure on [Roughriders quarterback] Kerry Joseph and needs [second-year] defensive end Adam Braidwood to step up his play," said CFL on CBC analyst Greg Frers.
Riders rolling
Edmonton may need all the help it can get against Saskatchewan (5-2-0), which is second in the West Division and has allowed a league-low 114 points.
The Riders offence has been stellar as well with 196 points scored — the most in the league until Western rivals B.C. and Calgary battled to a 45-45 tie on Friday night.
With quarterback Kerry Joseph finding receivers Matt Dominguez and D.J. Flick with regularity and mixing in his own runs with those of tailback Wes Cates, the surprising Riders are in position to leapfrog B.C. for first place overall with a win Saturday.
Saskatchewan hasn't finished first in the CFL since 1976, has not hosted a playoff game since 1988 and has not won a Grey Cup since 1989.
"Saskatchewan just needs to keep doing what it's doing," Frers said. "They're playing very simple, sound football and [head coach] Kent Austin has them executing the routine play."
Like Edmonton, the Riders, who are coming off a 24-13 win in Toronto, are dealing with injuries.
The team learned this week that all-star tackle Gene Makowsky will be out until September with mononucleosis, while defensive tackle Marcus Adams is down with a foot injury and long-snapper Jocelyn Frenette won't play due to a bad knee. Saskatchewan is also missing defensive back Eddie Davis and receiver Yo Murphy, among others.
"Nobody is more banged up than we are,'' Austin said this week. "The difference is we don't talk about it. If you look at the total number of man-hours lost to injury, we're No. 1 in the league. It's not even close.''
The Riders and Eskimos have met twice so far this season. In Week 4, Edmonton came back from a 20-1 half-time deficit to edge Saskatchewan 21-20 at Commonwealth Stadium, but a week later in Regina, the Riders pounded them 54-14.
After Saturday's game, Saskatchewan and Edmonton will meet for the final time this season on Oct. 26 in Edmonton.
With files from the Canadian Press
