Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Every time the Saskatchewan Roughriders play the B.C. Lions there has to be something written about defensive end Fred Perry.

“The Dave Dickenson story, huh?” Perry, Saskatchewan’s all-star defensive end, said following the CFL team’s workout Thursday at Mosaic Stadium.

“It’s good that Dave is back.”

Dickenson, a Lions quarterback, will be backing up starter Jarious Jackson on Sunday when B.C. plays host to the Roughriders in the West final. Dickenson rejoined B.C.’s active roster three weeks ago after a four-month rehabilitation caused by a head-rattling tackle inflicted by Perry during an Aug. 2 game at Mosaic Stadium.

“Jarious brought them this far,” said Perry. “He’s a good quarterback. You’ve got to look at all their quarterbacks, from Dickenson to Buck Pierce. They’re all good quarterbacks.

“Every quarterback’s got to watch out for Number 41 (Perry’s number).”

Perry’s tackle was reviewed by the CFL, which decided he had cleanly hit Dickenson primarily in the chest; Dickenson’s concussion was evidently caused when his head bounced off the turf.

“Everything I’ve seen from Fred has been clean,” said Riders defensive line coach Ron Estay, who had a Hall of Fame career as a defensive lineman. “He doesn’t go out to hurt anybody. He just plays football … hard.

“You play the game. Dickenson knows better than anybody else because he’s competitive. You’re going to get hit and sometimes you’re going to get hurt.”

Dickenson has suffered three concussions during the past two years. He has also been knocked out of three games by Roughriders defenders — defensive tackle Scott Schultz and former linebacker Jackie Mitchell also got him — in the past three years.

Perry/Dickenson is only part of the reason why the teams have built such a rivalry. Counting last year’s 45-18 loss in Vancouver, this is the third time in four years the Roughriders are visiting the Lions in the West final. B.C. has won every time.

“It probably started way back in the day — 2003-ish,” Schultz said about the rivalry. “We always had good matches with these guys, some good back and forth. We’ve put a lot of their quarterbacks out of games, cleanly I might add.

“No one’s been ejected from our side of things. That’s not a shot at them, that’s just saying it. It’s not a big dirt-fest, it’s gritty because it’s such a tough battle.”

During a Sept. 22 game at Mosaic Stadium, an on-field ruckus led to Lions guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli being suspended for one game after he ripped off Schultz’s helmet. B.C. won the heated contest on a last-second touchdown catch by Geroy Simon; in the aftermath Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman was fined for disparaging remarks about Lions head coach/GM Wally Buono.

Perry has willingly waded into the ongoing debate about Lions tackles Rob Murphy and Jason Jimenez; both have been disciplined for dirty play, with Jimenez currently appealing a suspension that could force him to miss Sunday’s contest.

“I don’t care if (Jimenez) plays,” said Perry. “I could see a lot of him and I see a lot of Murph. I see a lot of guys because I get a lot of double- and triple-teams.”

The extra blocking attention given Perry has affected the statistics for the 6-foot-1, 240-pound pass rusher. Perry still made a team-leading 70 defensive tackles (compared to 47 last year; most in the CFL by a defensive lineman) and he had nine tackles for losses (eight last year), but his sacks total dropped from 14 to eight and he knocked down seven passes, compared to 12 in 2006.

Perry was again nominated as Saskatchewan’s outstanding defensive player. He was passed over by Lions defensive end Brent Johnson as the West’s nominee in 2006. Lions defensive end Cameron Wake is the West’s top defensive player this year after making 16 sacks and 69 tackles.

“Wake’s a good player,” said Perry. “I’m not taking away anything from nobody. He had the stats I had last year, when they didn’t give it to me.

“Don’t worry, Wake’s time (to be double-team blocked) is coming, too.”