Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

Not everyone on the Saskatchewan Roughriders has witnessed the CFL team’s postseason rivalry with the B.C. Lions.

Newbies like defensive end John Chick, the lone rookie starter, are being educated by veteran teammates, some of whom are about to play their third West final in the last four years inside domed B.C. Place Stadium on Sunday.

“They tell me how loud it’s going to be, to be prepared for that and not be overwhelmed by it,” Chick said following Thursday’s chilly workout at Mosaic Stadium. “We’re figuring out ways to overcome that so we can play football.

“Being an indoor facility, especially compared to what we’re practising in this week, it’s going to be quite an adjustment. There’s a lot of ownership by everyone on this team. Everyone’s taking the responsibility of getting in early, getting their film in, everyone’s putting their work in at practice and taking it as seriously as you can, trying to be loose and not too tight.”

The Roughriders, who lost West finals in Vancouver in 2004 and 2006, have been using loudspeakers to simulate the noise expected from the crowd of 50,000-plus during the game, not counting the extra sounds reputedly pumped into the stadium’s P.A. system.

“We want as many leaders as we can possibly have in that locker room, regardless of their experience,” said Riders head coach Kent Austin. “I believe everybody can lead, certainly the guys who have been through it can help out.

“(The veterans can) keep him grounded on what’s important, they can keep reiterating what we believe is important as a team, that is to focus on the process and the preparation. You can’t focus on that other stuff because that distracts you from your game plan and executing your assignments.”

Austin played for B.C. in 1993-94, after six seasons with Saskatchewan. In his first year as Saskatchewan’s head coach, Austin has noticed a difference from his playing days. Some of it stems from B.C.’s success, which includes four straight first-place finishes. It has built through hard-fought battles and the nuances such as this year, when the visiting teams have won all three matchups, and the memories of debilitating hits laid on Lions quarterback Dave Dickenson by Riders defenders Scott Schultz, Fred Perry and Jackie Mitchell.

“It was not like this when I played,” Austin said. “It’s a pretty good rivalry now. It started to develop before I got here. I think some of the reason is the hits on the quarterbacks.

“There have been good games played between the teams, memorable games and over the course of time, it builds a rivalry.”

Chick has evidently been told about the rivalry because he has only partially witnessed it — while working his way into becoming a fulltime starter, Chick started in B.C.’s 37-34 victory Sept. 22 in Regina and played in the 42-12 Lions victory July 13 in Regina, but he missed Saskatchewan’s 21-9 victory Aug. 2 in Vancouver. Chick did make the preseason trip to B.C., which Saskatchewan won 24-15.

In 13 regular-season games Chick had five sacks, 24 tackles and two pass knockdowns. As a much-needed complement to rush end Fred Perry, he helped contain Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris during Saskatchewan’s 26-24 victory Sunday in the West semifinal.

“The playoff game was different,” said Chick. “Every play’s a huge play, like it’s going to make a difference. You’re hoping at the same time you’re not making any mistakes, but you want to make a play.”