Keith Shologan played close to home last Saturday as the Roughriders routed the Eskimos 39–18 in their CFL season opener at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
Despite the home team losing, more than a few Alberta-based fans were delighted.
“It’s amazing to see how many fans the Roughriders have, even in Athabasca,” said Shologan, who was born in Coaldale but spent formative years in the Athabasca area.
Shologan had two sacks — the kind of solid performance you’d expect from a self-styled “veteran” defensive tackle who is entering his sixth year with the Riders.
The 27-year-old uses the term advisedly. Both the Eskimos and the Roughriders have relatively inexperienced teams this year: 18 players apiece in their first or second season.
“We’ve got brand-new defence. I just read an article that said I’m the only defensive starter this year compared to last year. There’s been some move-around,” he said.
But the Riders have 23 players with four or more years of experience — Shologan amongst them — compared to 15 on the Edmonton team.
That extra bit of experience won the day.
For Shologan, the authority that comes with greater experience has been a bit surreal.
“You watch yourself taking on leadership roles … and then just your veteran savvy on the field. I just see things a little bit faster now than I did in my rookie year or my second year.”
But Shologan won’t let the season’s early success, his growth as a player or the fact that the Grey Cup will be in Regina this year mar his new, pragmatic outlook.
“Every year, I get pretty hyped about us doing really well, and this year I’ve just decided, you know, we’re just going to do it. We’re going to see what happens during the season. I think we have a good chance to be good and productive, but we’re going to see how it all works out.”
The one place Shologan does not bring that wait-and-see attitude is the field, where last season he racked up 22 tackles and three sacks in regular season play. This was despite missing four games due to a sprained shoulder — his first serious football injury.
“I’m never worried about my body. It’s more there’s always younger guys coming in,” said Shologan of any fears about future injuries. “It could happen to a 10-year guy or a second-year guy. You can’t think about the things you can’t control. You’ve just got to keep your mind on the goal.”
Nor is he concerned about the effect missing games had on his stats.
“I’m not really a stats guy,” said Shologan. “In my position, you can’t really look at stats. The main thing I look at is how other players around me are playing. If they’re being productive, then I’m being productive in a lot of ways.”
He added, “As a d-tackle … you’ve got to double team up on it all the time, and it’s how you hold the point, how people read off you and how they can hit the gap and make sure you’re in the gap.”
Shologan has doubled up off the field, too. He wed Athabasca’s Anna Husch last February, and the couple is expecting their first child in August.
“It’s like the world is on me when it comes to responsibility, but it’s a good thing,” said Shologan, who, at six feet, two inches tall and 295 pounds, has the stature to bear up under just about anything.
He is just as enamoured of a quiet country life as he is of the bright lights of big city football stadiums these days.
“We’re loving our little piece of paradise over in the Craven area, and it’s nice being out of town,” said Shologan of the home on 18 acres that he and Anna built and have been living in since November.
During the off-season, Shologan goes into schools to speak to students on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross (for an anti-bullying campaign) and the Canadian Lung Association (for a healthy lifestyle choices campaign).
“We go into schools and talk to kids … and try to change people’s lives and help them out,” said Shologan.
Right now, his mind not on those he can help, but those he can defeat. He says he has encountered most of his opponents before.
“You kind of get to know the way they step and the way they look and how it all pans out,” he said.
No matter the déjŕ vu, football doesn’t get old for him.
“I’m going to play football as long as they let me and as long as I can be productive out there.”
