Redblacks prepare for tough battle against Saskatchewan

The Ottawa Redblacks will be hoping for quarterback Trevor Harris to come up big this weekend if they want a chance to defend their Grey Cup title on home soil later this month.

Harris will be starting the first playoff game of his career Sunday at TD Place as the Redblacks (8-9-1) take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-8) in the east semi-final game.

"The thing about Trevor is he has been around in this league since, I believe, 2012. And he has played a lot of football. So it's not like he's a true rookie," head coach Rick Campbell told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Friday.

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"He's always a hard worker. He's always working hard to prepare for the game. And I find those guys that are steady and have that consistent work ethic usually do well when the stage gets bigger."

Harris is trying to put his best foot forward for this weekend's crucial game after injuring his shoulder in the last game of the regular season, following a more serious shoulder injury that put him on the sidelines for about a month earlier this fall. 

There may not be two better matched teams in this year's CFL playoffs than Ottawa and Saskatchewan: the sides split their two games this year, with each team winning one by a single point.

Campbell is banking on the Redblacks being prepared for another close battle.

"I think 13 or 14 of our 18 games this year came down literally to the last possession of the game," Campbell said. 

"I'm hopeful that we're used to those big situations — that if it comes down to it again ... that the moment's not too big for us."

'I see myself … holding up the Grey Cup'

For Harris, playing in a playoff game is a "blessing" and he said he hopes that his team learns from the past few games they played by starting fast right out of the gate. 

He said his dreams have changed as a football player and so have his goals. 

"I want to be a premier quarterback and a premier player in this league until the day I call it quits and God tells me I'm done," he told CBC Radio's All in a Day. 

"I see myself in the future holding up the Grey Cup. You've got to be able to see those things as an athlete because if you don't see yourself doing them then I don't think you can achieve it."

If the Redblacks do get past Saskatchewan on Sunday, and then emerge victorious from the CFL's east division final, they'd defend their Grey Cup crown here in Ottawa on Nov. 26.