Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris has always been one to take his leadership role on the club very seriously, and never is that more apparent than when the team takes a tough loss.
Case in point, his thoughts on the defeat at the hands of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Hamilton last weekend.
The Riders had no answer on offence for the TiCats in the second half, and that would turn into one of their toughest defeats of the season in a 26-19 loss. Harris was quick to point out his own difficulties in the contest when asked about the loss at practice on Wednesday, but felt most of the issues the team faced in the game could be easily fixed.
“It was just little things through the first three quarters,” Harris said. “Small execution issues in the last few drives. I feel like I forced a couple throws that I typically don't, maybe pressing and trying to jump start and kick the offence, but I can't do that. I have to make sure I stay disciplined and take what the defence is giving me, which is something I feel like I've done for most of my career.”
Harris felt every phase of the Riders game would have a similar take on their mistakes against Hamilton.
“I think we all kind of had our one ‘off game’ together,” he said.
Still, Harris was focussed on his own mistakes, knowing that taking accountability would only help himself and the team improve.
“I'm always going to take a look in the mirror and I've just got to be better,” Harris said. “And I will. I've played for quite a long time, but that doesn't mean we just show up and play. I think we've got to have great energy during practice and truly believe in this group in this locker room. There's nobody else I'd rather have in the CFL than this group we have right here.”
That group is now officially into the second half of the season, having got through the first nine games with a 6-3 record, good enough for second place in the West Division.
Harris is naturally happy with how things have gone to this point, especially in light of all the injuries to key players, but would still like to see much more improvement in the second half.
“I think we've handled adversity well for the most part,” Harris said. “We've played well for the most part and our one ‘off’ game was just our last game.
“But aside from that, I think we've done enough to continue to be in a position in the second half of the season where we control our own destiny. So we've got to continue building to be the team that we need to be. The best teams are always the ones that peak late and play the best football in the back half. And I think that's exactly what we're going to do.”
The Rider Broadcast Network will have all the action from Sunday’s game in B.C. beginning with the pregame show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder will then have the game call at kickoff at 5 p.m.
