Notebook: Kevin Glenn joins the 50,000-yard club

CALGARY — Kevin Glenn wasn’t in much of a celebratory mood Saturday.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback reached a major milestone — the 17-year veteran became just the seventh QB in CFL history to surpass 50,000 career passing yards — but the accomplishment came during a 27-10 loss to the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium.

“It’s tough to enjoy it because the bigger prize was the win,” Glenn said after his team fell to 1-3-0 this season. “I’m a team guy, so that’s all I’m about. But it’s good to be recognized for your individual statistics because it happens; we are individuals playing a team sport.

“It’s tough to enjoy it, but I probably have a bunch of text messages from family and friends congratulating me. Even one of the refs, right when the fourth quarter (began), came over in the huddle in a timeout and congratulated me. It was kind of cool. All my teammates did, too.”

Social media mavens also weighed in after Glenn reached the mark. CFL players, fans and league observers tweeted their congratulations after the 38-year-old pivot completed a 23-yard pass to Naaman Roosevelt on Saskatchewan’s first possession of the second half.

One play later, Cameron Marshall scored on a five-yard touchdown run to cut Calgary’s lead to 17-7.

“It’s sweet,” Roosevelt said of catching the pass that put Glenn in esteemed company. “I’m happy for KG. He’s been a great player for a long time. It’s just awesome for him to get there. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Glenn threw for 203 yards Saturday, giving him 50,087 in his career. He joins Anthony Calvillo (79,816), Damon Allen (72,381), Henry Burris (63,369), Ricky Ray (56,412 and counting), Danny McManus (53,255) and Ron Lancaster (50,535) in the CFL’s 50,000-yard club.

“I credit it to all the guys I’ve ever played with,” said Glenn, who in his career has thrown passes as a member of the Roughriders, Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes.

“From the first time that I stepped on the field in the CFL getting that opportunity, there has been a slew of people who actually have been part of my success in this league.”

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Crezdon Butler was thrown into the fire Saturday — and he survived.

Just before kickoff, the Roughriders announced that Butler would start at cornerback in place of Kacy Rodgers II.

Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones revealed after the game that Rodgers sustained a groin injury during Thursday’s practice. The extent of the injury, or how long Rodgers will be out, remains to be seen.

With Rodgers sidelined, Butler got the call — and the former NFLer was ready.

“You’ve got to be,” he said. “It’s professional football. It’s the next guy mentality. You’ve got to go in and you can’t have a drop-off. That’s not an excuse: ‘Oh, I didn’t know I was going to play.’ You’ve got to take your opportunity and run with it.”

Butler didn’t register a statistic in the game, but he was flagged once for pass interference. He said after the game that he’ll go back to the drawing board to see how he can improve and how he can make those around him better.

Jones, meanwhile, was pleased with what the 30-year-old DB did.

“I thought he had a decent game,” Jones said. “You didn’t see his number very much in a negative way. Anytime that’s the case, then usually as a DB, that’s a good thing.”

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Sam Williams had an up-and-down game Saturday.

The Roughriders’ rookie linebacker had five tackles and recorded his first career interception. But the 23-year-old also was penalized twice (once for illegal contact on a receiver, once for pass interference) and was beaten badly for a touchdown by Lemar Durant.

“It’s difficult to accept, but at the same time, I’ve got to come back to work and get back to doing what I do,” Williams said. “We played against a good team and their receivers are good. It’s a situation where I have to lock it down better.”

The CFL freshman got a pass for his showing from Jones, who pointed to the fact that Williams spent much of the game defending Stampeders slotback Marquay McDaniel.

“(Williams) is a young kid and certainly he’s going against one of the best guys in the league in Marquay,” Jones said. “They did a good job of game-planning for him.

“(Williams) is a good player and we’re just going to keep working with our guys.”

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The Roughriders fell to 1-3-0 with Saturday’s loss, but offensive tackle Derek Dennis is convinced they’re on the upswing — provided the team’s culture can be changed.

“Sometimes when you’re not accustomed to winning and you get down and you feel like momentum has shifted from you, it’s very easy to put your head down and be like, ‘Well, maybe we just don’t have it,’ ’’ said Dennis, who joined Saskatchewan this off-season after a season and a half with the Stampeders. “We’ve got to understand it’s up and down. It’s ebbs and flows.

“This is Coach Jones’ second year coaching this team. There has been a lot of (roster) turnover in two years. You’ve got to find consistency. You’ve got to find the chemistry and I think we’re on the right track to getting there.

“For people to expect us to come out and be perfect, that’s hard in the game of football. No one can be perfect every single time. This (loss) is a learning experience for us because Calgary is the gold standard in this league.”

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EXTRAS: The teams’ disdain for each other was evident in the pre-game warmups, when Roughriders receiver Duron Carter and Calgary safety Josh Bell got into a verbal exchange. The incident escalated when Carter crossed the midfield stripe and Bell pushed him in the chest before the two could be separated … Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson, who went into the game 3-for-5 in coaches’ challenges this season, was 3-for-3 in Saturday’s contest … Dickenson improved to 15-3 in games in which he has coached against his brother, Craig, since 2011. Craig Dickenson is the Roughriders’ special-teams co-ordinator.