There was nothing on the line for the Riders tonight in their final game of the 2016 season taking on a B.C. Lions club that were fighting for a home playoff game.
With this situation in mind, the Riders made this game into a showcase of sorts for a trio of quarterbacks: Mitchell Gale, G.J. Kinne and Brandon Bridge as veteran quarterback, Darian Durant stayed home with a myriad of bumps and bruises.
The Lions took no prisoners right from the opening whistle, rolling to the 41-18 victory.
The Riders offence didn’t get moving until the fourth quarter when Brandon Bridge led his first two offensive series for touchdowns.
His first was a 75-yarder drive capped with a 16-yard scramble for pay dirt. The second was a 78-yard stretch that was finished off with an outstanding 33-yard run by Greg Morris for his first touchdown in his CFL career.
In three series and one play (early in the first half), Brandon Bridge finishes 10/11 for 120 yards and a rushing TD.
Despite forcing three Lions turnovers, the Rider offence could only muster four points off those turnovers.
Jonathan Jennings was on point for the first three quarters, passing for 307 yards and three TD’s until Travis Lulay relieved him in the fourth quarter.
Emmanuel Arceneaux had 180 yards receiving and two touchdowns while Bryan Burnham and Terrell Sinkfield each had one TD catch.
46-year old Paul McCallum was a perfect 4-for-4 in his return to the CFL.
For the Riders, the bright spots on defence were Jeff Knox Jr. accumulating eight defensive tackles and two special teams take downs while Ed Gainey had five total tackles and an interception.
This ends the 2016 Saskatchewan Roughriders football season. We would like to thank the greatest fans in the CFL for their ongoing support all season.
It’s a dawn of a new day in 2017 as we all take our first steps at new Mosaic Stadium.
Go Riders Go!!
