Saskatchewan's Corey Holmes finished as the CFL's second-ranked kickoff returner (1,008 yards) this season. (Troy Fleece/Canadian Press)

Corey Holmes has gone from the worst team in the CFL to a team that's one win away from reaching the Grey Cup all in one season.

The five-foot-eight, 189-pound running back started the 2007 CFL campaign with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but saw precious little playing time in Steeltown, as the club turned to youngster Jesse Lumsden to lead its running game.

Holmes's fortunes changed in August when the Ticats traded the product of Mississippi Valley State to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the team he played for from 2001-2005.

Holmes, who turns 31 on Nov. 19, responded by finishing as the CFL's second-ranked kickoff returner (1,008 yards) and helped the Riders post a 12-6 record after registering three consecutive 9-9 seasons.

Holmes's key contributions in the final weeks of the regular season and during last week's 26-24 West Division semifinal win over the Calgary Stampeders were even more important to a Saskatchewan team missing regular starting running back Wes Cates.

Cates (six-foot, 215 pounds) finished fourth in rushing this season with a career-high 866 yards, but missed the last four games and was ruled out for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot Wednesday.

With Cates out, Holmes, who has played with an ailing shoulder the past few games, will lead the running attack for the Riders when they visit the B.C. Lions in Sunday's West Division final (CBC, 4:30 p.m. ET)

Holmes spoke with CBCSports.ca ahead of Sunday's showdown with the Lions.

How does the shoulder feel? When did you originally hurt it?
The shoulder feels good. It was in the Edmonton game [on Oct. 26] when I hurt it. From there, I nursed it for a week and took the game off against Toronto [on Nov. 3], which was the final regular season game of the year. So, it's been three weeks now.

How has it affected the way you've played?
I don't think it's affected my game that much. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn't. It depends on how I take hits on it. As far as a team, we've been playing well, and when a team plays well that means everybody is playing well. So I feel it hasn't affected my play. I want to be out there because I feel I can help my team and if I couldn't help them, I wouldn't be out there.

After Cates suffered his injury, you really stepped up and helped Saskatchewan win some big games down the season stretch. Is there more pressure on you now that it's the playoffs and Cates is gone for the season?
I wouldn't say there's more pressure. I've played in the CFL now for a long time, and this is what I've been doing and this is how I've been staying around; when guys go down injured, I'm able to step in and fill in. I've never been a starter in this league and whenever I'm called upon, I just do the best that Corey Holmes can do. God has really blessed me - playing the position that I play, guys don't usually hang around that long at my age, and I am just so thankful to be in a position with this team to give myself a chance to compete for a Grey Cup.

How do you differ from Cates as a running back?
I don't think we're much different; it's just the size between us. Both of us can run routes, we're both downhill runners. I'm more of a straight-ahead runner. I like to get north and south. There's not a lot of difference between us except our size. When I first came out of college, I wished I was his size, but a lot of times God makes you a certain way for a reason, to show you that he can make the impossible possible. Cates is still learning the CFL game, I've been around for a while, and this offence fits both of us.

How does it feel to go from the worst team in the CFL to a team on the cusp of advancing to the Grey Cup?
It feels good. You just let God write your story for you. Being in Hamilton, I wasn't really playing a lot, hearing people say I lost a step and that I couldn't play. You hear all those negative things and if you believe that, that's what you become. I didn't believe that, I knew I could still play this game at a high level and God freed me from that. He brought me here and He's still writing my story. I don't know what's going to happen at the end of this season, whether I'm going to play next year or what, but I'm going to go this Sunday and give it my all and try to help Saskatchewan advance to the Grey Cup.

Why do you think you were underutilized in Hamilton?
I really can't say. I had a good training camp, but the offensive system over there is like an American system where you use just one running back. My thing coming into the season was that I thought they were going to be using two running backs … but for whatever reasons it happened it happened. I can't change that, I'm here now and I'm getting a chance to reach my potential.

How does it feel to be back with your old team?
It feels special. Anytime you're wanted and people have confidence in you, it always feels good to be around those kinds of people. You don't really want to be around people who don't want you around and say things behind your back, because that means they don't have confidence in you. I expect guys here on that field to have my back and off the field we have each other's back. Within the organization, we all support each other and we have great team unity here in Saskatchewan.

The Roughriders were one of the few teams to beat the Lions this year and you did it in Vancouver. What do you have to do Sunday to beat B.C.?
The key to beating B.C. is not turning the ball over because they have a good, veteran team and a great coach in Wally Buono. They're a well-coached team. They have a strong offence, a veteran defence and are good on special teams. They're solid in all three phases of the game, so you have to beat them in all of those three phases. They're going to score points, they're going to stop you from scoring points, so you have to be sure to come with your 'A' game ready to play for a full 60 minutes.