By Mitchell Blair
For Ridervile.com

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are going after their second Grey Cup in three years. The Riders outlasted the Calgary Stampeders 27-17 in front of a loud, boisterous and sold out Mosaic Stadium to win the Western Division title. They will now head to Calgary next Sunday to take on the Montreal Alouettes in the 97th Grey Cup.

Special teams may have been the deciding factor in this game as it was a special teams play that perhaps gave the Riders the spark they needed. With the game tied at 10 at the half, Saskatchewan took the ball to open the 3rd quarter. Jason Armstead fielded the ball at his 15 and returned it 75 yards to the Stampeder 20. Four plays later, Darian Durant threw a nine yard touchdown pass to Andy Fantuz giving the Riders a lead they would never relinquish. Armstead doesn’t know if he should get the credit for the play of the game, but he knows it was a big one.
“That play was a momentum changer,” said a satisfied looking Armstead in what was a jubilant locker-room. “To come out of the gate in the 3rd quarter and get a fast start was huge. We took it to them in the 2nd quarter and to get the momentum going right off the bat in the 3rd quarter set them back on their heels and got us going.”

The win also gives Armstead a chance to do something he has never done before. Like team-mate Omarr Morgan, the six year CFL veteran will get a chance to go after his first championship in one week.
“I’ve been in this league for a long time and I’ve never had a chance to play for the Grey Cup,” said Armstead. “I was here in 2007, but I got traded and couldn’t enjoy it with the guys. The next week is just going to fly by. There will be many things I haven’t seen before but I’ll go into this week feeling like a rookie even though I’m like a vet. I think I speak for Omarr and some of the others in here when I say that. Its going to be a great week and I hope I’m as happy at this time next week if not happier as I am now.

For quarterback Darian Durant, he once again showed why he is considered one of the CFL’s rising stars as he shook off a slow start to go 18 of 25 for 204 yards with three touchdowns. He says a team that got disrespected at the start of the year has to have respect now.
“I’ve been telling you all year that its Grey Cup or bust, that’s our mentality. We’re not going there to show up; we are going there to win. No one said we’ll be here except us. No one thought we would be here except us. It makes the feeling that much greater.

There is still work to do though if the Riders are to bring the championship back to Saskatchewan and John Chick is well aware of it.
“We know we have achieved our goal of getting to the Grey Cup, but our ultimate goal is winning it,” said Chick who had five tackles and a quarterback sack. “We have a huge week of preparation ahead of us. The Alouettes are the best team in the East and we are the best team in the West. They looked very good today and if we are going to bring that trophy back here again, we will have our work cut out for us.”

At the end of the night, head coach Ken Miller summed up the evening in a perfect way.
“I’m so happy,” said a very relieved looking Miller. Personally I’m happy, I’m happy for the guys in the locker-room, happy for the assistant coaches, our organization, our fans who not only were here tonight, but the ones who support us from wherever. You could see the happiness in the eyes of everyone involved. It’s a very special night.

It is also one that those who were in the stadium won’t forget for a long time.


NOTES:

•    With three touchdown passes, Darian Durant threw 10 touchdown passes against the Stampeders in 2009 with only one interception
•    Adam Nicolson caught his first pass of the season---an 11 yarder in the 3rd quarter
•    The team got out of the game injury-free meaning the same roster should take the field against the Montreal Alouettes in the 97th Grey Cup.
•    The least penalized team in the CFL during the regular season was up to its old tricks in this game as they were flagged just four times.