By Ian Hamilton, Leader-PostNovember 23, 2009
REGINA — Louie Sakoda was on the fast track to the Grey Cup.
Just five weeks after joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the rookie punter-kicker is headed to the CFL’s title game. The Roughriders qualified for that contest with a 27-17 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday’s West Division final at Mosaic Stadium.
“After the game, it was just so surreal seeing the excitement of the players and the fans,” Sakoda said Monday as the team packed its bags for the trip to Calgary. “I almost didn’t feel like I belonged because I’ve literally just been here five weeks, trying to help where I can, and these guys have been investing their lives in this for the last six months.
“But these guys, even though I’ve only been here for five weeks, they’ve helped me feel like I’m part of the family. It’s a great environment to be in.”
Sakoda, a 22-year-old product of the University of Utah, joined the Roughriders on Oct. 14 in the wake of a neck injury suffered by punter Jamie Boreham. Sakoda dressed for Saskatchewan’s final three regular-season games and Sunday’s West final, and his efforts in those four games helped him overcome the feelings of being an outsider.
“It’s one thing if you go in there and screw up; that’s probably the worst thing you can do if you’ve only been here for six weeks,” Sakoda said. “But if you go out there and the team doesn’t miss a beat and you keep things rolling, you slowly become one of the guys.”
Sakoda hasn’t been to a national championship game before, but he went to an NCAA bowl game with the Utes in each of his seasons at Utah. Last season, the Utes beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 31-17 in the 2009 Sugar Bowl to complete a 13-0 season.
“That’s basically my equivalent (to the Grey Cup),” Sakoda said with a chuckle. “I would imagine it’s going to be slightly different, but (the veterans) are all saying, ‘Just prepare for a great week, enjoy it and just make sure you’re focusing on the end of the week.’
“I’m the last person who will be unfocused. I can’t afford to be. I’m excited. I’ve got my family coming up (from California) and it’ll be a good day. For me, it’ll be Thanksgiving this Thursday. It’ll be good to have my family out there.”
Defensive tackle Keith Shologan also is excited to go to his first Grey Cup. He was with the Roughriders in 2008, but played in just one regular-season game.
Now he’s a starter — and he admits he’s a little like a kid in a candy store as he prepares for his first appearance in the CFL’s title game.
“My first year starting and we’re going to the Grey Cup — I’m pretty excited about that,” said Shologan, a product of Spruce Grove, Alta., who is to celebrate his 24th birthday on Thursday. “Just the experience is going to be great.
“But then again, I’ve got to keep reminding myself that it’s a football game and it’s like every other game, just with a whole lot more pressure. I’m pretty excited and a little bit overjoyed, but I’m going to have to focus hard this week just to keep my mind in it.”
He’s got a room full of teammates to help him with that. Many of the Roughriders were on the team which won the Grey Cup in 2007 and Shologan has been getting pointers from them as well as relying on his own reserved personality.
“A lot of my reactions will be based on taking it as it comes because everybody deals with different things in their own way,” Shologan said.
“But watching guys like Geno (Makowsky) and (Jeremy) O’Day and (Chris) Szarka, how they present themselves and deal with situations is always a good thing because they’ve been around and obviously do things right.”
Like Sakoda, Shologan’s big-game experience occurred in the NCAA. He was a member of the Central Florida Golden Knights teams that went to bowl games in his sophomore and senior seasons.
“The first time we went to a bowl game (the Hawaii Sheraton Bowl) was the school’s first bowl game, so it was more of a vacation than anything else,” he said. “This won’t be anything like that. We’re going on a business trip.”
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