REGINA — Some Canadian Football League games are high-scoring shootouts, some are close back-and-forth battles and some are just grinding wars to the finish.
Saturday’s contest between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa Redblacks was most certainly an example of the latter, as the two teams engaged in a physical scrap that saw the Roughriders emerge with a 29-16 victory at Mosaic Stadium.
The contest doubled as the annual kisiskâciwan Game as part of Truth and Reconciliation Week, with both teams wearing special First Nations-themed logos on their helmets in addition to warming up in orange ‘No Child Left Behind’ jerseys.
Saskatchewan improved to 7-7-1 with the victory and have moved into sole possession of second place in the West Division, three points back of Winnipeg and a point up on B.C.
With both teams seeing drive after drive stall out due to solid play from their respective defences, the contest turned into a kicking game, and the Roughriders’ Brett Lauther was definitely on point.
He’d cap his day with a 7-for-7 performance that included a long of 41 yards, accounting for the bulk of Roughriders scoring. Lewis Ward was solid in his own right for Ottawa, going 3-for-4 with a long of 53.
The Reaction
In the end, the Riders’ defence would come away with the better overall showing and a key win in a close battle for the West Division playoffs.
“Our team was locked in the whole game,” said defensive back Marcus Sayles on the CKRM Rider Radio postgame show. “We felt like we had the energy on the sidelines, we felt that on every possession we were able to get off the field on defence and our offence was driving down the field a little bit with ease, and it kept up the whole game.
“So credit to the coaching for the plays they were able to install this week and we were able to execute, we were just trying to go 1-0 this week.”
Sayles — who had one of three interceptions off Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli on the day — was happy with the win but at the same time cautioned about getting too confident as hardest part of the season draws closer.
“Every game is a playoff game at this time of season, the standings are all close, and as long as we stay locked in we should be fine,” he said. “Our coaches are doing a great job of taking care of bodies and mentally, but at the same time we’re going hard in practice to be ready for each week. We have a couple games left and I think we’re going to continue this momentum going into these next couple weeks.”
Roughriders head coach Corey Mace was proud of his team’s physical performance, especially with how things played out in the second half as Ottawa pushed to get back in the game.
“That’s certainly something we try and pride ourselves on in all three phases,” Mace said. “We wanted to make sure we were the more physical team, and speaking to this team in Ottawa, they’ve been a physical team all year. So from that standpoint, I was really pleased with that… we want to build that mental toughness and physical toughness and that’s what we want to be about.”
The Game
The Roughriders got things started quickly, with Kian Schaffer-Baker and KeeSean Johnson each making catches for 15-yards plus to get Saskatchewan into field goal range. Brett Lauther would make no mistake from 35 yards, and the Riders had a 3-0 lead four minutes into the contest.
After a couple of drives resulted in no points for either team, Ottawa had a chance to tie the game with 2:36 remaining in the first quarter when Lewis Ward lined up for a 46-yard field goal. His attempt would miss wide right, and Riders returner Mario Alford brought the ball all the way back to the Redblacks 44, giving Saskatchewan great field position.
The ensuing drive took eight plays and five minutes off the clock, ending with Lauther hitting from 21 yards for the 6-0 lead.
The Riders then got the ball right back, as standout defensive back Rolan Milligan snared a deep pass for his seventh interception of the season, setting Saskatchewan up at their own 17. Nothing would come of the big play, though, with the Riders going two-and-out.
Saskatchewan once again immediately got the ball back, thanks to Sayles’ interception at the Riders’ 43, but the Redblacks defence would get another quick punt to get the ball back.
Saskatchewan had a short field on their next possession and put it to good use, getting the ball to the Ottawa 25 and setting up Lauther for another field goal, this time from 33 yards with 4:33 to go until halftime.
The Redblacks got things going on offence on their next drive, eventually getting down to the Saskatchewan 30 and setting up Lewis for a field goal with 1:40 to play.
The tone continued after the halftime break, as the Roughriders went on a seven-play drive on their first possession of the second half before stalling at the Ottawa 33. Lauther got the job done again, hitting from 41 yards to make it a 12-3 Saskatchewan lead.
Adam Auclair got in on the pick parade on Ottawa’s next possession, snaring a Masoli pass at the Riders 27, and the ensuing Saskatchewan drive ended predictably — Lauther hit his fifth field goal, completing the six-play drive with a 39-yard boot.
Lewis hit the longest field goal of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter, finishing off a short drive with a 53-yard kick, and on the next Ottawa drive he’d strike again, hitting from 26 yards to make it a 15-9 Rider lead.
Saskatchewan finally picked up the first major of the game with 8:19 to play in the game when Thomas Bertrand-Hudon finished off a six-play drive with a 26-yard run to the end zone. Johnson hauled in a pass for the two-point conversion, and the Riders had a 23-9 edge.
Lauther then made it a six-for-six day from 23 yards with 3:46 to play, and after Kalil Pimpleton caught a 25-yard pass with a minute and a half to play to get Ottawa within a couple scores, Lauther hit from 35 yards in the final minute to finish off scoring.
The Stats
Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris had a stellar showing even if he wasn’t able to find the endzone through the air, completing 27 of 36 passes for 315 yards.
KeeSean Johnson was his favourite target, catching six passes for 101 yards, while Dhel Duncan-Busby — who was pressed into greater service when Shawn Bane Jr. went down with a knee injury — had seven catches for 92 yards.
On the ground, Ryquell Armstead ran into a staunch defensive showing from his old team and couldn’t match his 200-plus yards from the Riders previous outing, carrying 10 times for 32 yards before leaving with a shoulder injury in the first half.
Bertrand-Hudon stepped up in his stead and had nine carries for 72 yards, the majority as Saskatchewan ground down the clock in the fourth quarter.
Masoli was 26-for-36 passing for 278 yards, with Justin Hardy catching five passes for 11 yards and Pimpleton six for 45. Khalan Laborn carried eight times for 42 yards.
The Roughriders will look to make it three wins in a row on Saturday, Oct. 5 when they travel to Edmonton to face the Elks. Game time is 5 p.m.
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