Go East, young men.
After completing their regular-season schedule Saturday with a 28-13 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium, the Saskatchewan Roughriders finished fourth in the CFL’s West Division.
As a result, the Roughriders will cross over into the East Division for the playoffs. Saskatchewan will visit the Ottawa Redblacks in the division semifinal on Nov. 12.
“That’s just the next opponent on the calendar,” Roughriders safety Mike Edem said of jumping into the other division for the post-season. “East, west, north, south — we don’t really care. We’re a football team. We feel like we can play anyone anywhere at any time.”
The Toronto Argonauts beat the B.C. Lions 40-13 later Saturday in Vancouver in the final game of the regular season. That gave Toronto first place in the East, which means the second-place Redblacks will play host to the Roughriders in the division semifinal.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who finished second in the West Division, are to play host to the third-place Eskimos in the West semifinal on Nov. 12.
The crossover playoff format came into effect in 1997. Nine teams from the West have crossed over into the East — and all nine lost before reaching the Grey Cup.
Saskatchewan has gone east twice in franchise history, losing in Toronto in 2002 and to the host Montreal Alouettes in 2005.
“There’s a lot of quality football teams over there,” said Roughriders receiver Rob Bagg. “We just lost a tough one to Ottawa a couple of weeks ago (33-32 at home on Oct. 13) and Toronto is another very good football team. We’re going to have to play our best football.
“I’m sure history is like that for a reason. We’ve just got to go down there and play great football.”
The Roughriders wanted to go into the playoffs on a winning streak, but the Eskimos blunted Saskatchewan’s momentum Saturday. Even so, the Roughriders went 4-2-0 in their final six regular-season games to finish with a 10-8-0 record — five wins more than they had in 2016.
No matter which division they’re in from here on out, the fact remains: The Roughriders are in the playoffs.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been the team that has been out, so this is an opportunity that we’ve got to take advantage of and keep running with,” said centre Dan Clark, whose squad missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.
“This wasn’t the way that we wanted to go into the playoffs, but it’s just something that we have to put behind us.”
The Roughriders had the first chance to score Saturday, but they were penalized for too many men as Tyler Crapigna lined up a 46-yard field-goal attempt. Josh Bartel was forced to punt to end the drive.
Edmonton punter Hugh O’Neill provided the only point of the first quarter on a 49-yard single.
The second quarter began with a two-yard scoring plunge by Mike Reilly just 13 seconds into the frame. Sean Whyte booted the convert and the Eskimos led 8-0.
Whyte made it 11-0 with a 30-yard field goal at 9:07 of the second quarter, but Saskatchewan replied on its next possession.
Brandon Bridge replaced Kevin Glenn at quarterback and drove the Roughriders 75 yards in seven plays, the last of which was a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Thigpen.
It was Thigpen’s first touchdown in the CFL since Nov. 13, 2011, when he was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He spent the following four seasons in the NFL.
Crapigna kicked the convert to cut the Eskimos’ lead to 11-7 and that was the score at the half.
Edmonton got a 19-yard field goal from Whyte at 2:46 of the third quarter, but the Roughriders again answered on their next possession.
Bridge led Saskatchewan on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in Thigpen’s eight-yard touchdown run at 7:56 of the third. But Bartel couldn’t get the snap down on the convert and the point after was no good, so the Roughriders trailed 14-13.
The Eskimos took a 21-13 lead at 5:13 of the fourth quarter when Whyte converted Reilly’s one-yard TD run.
Greg Morris fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Eskimos recovered at the Saskatchewan 27-yard line. Six plays later, Reilly scored on a one-yard run at 9:04 and Whyte’s convert made it 28-13.
Glenn was at the controls of the Roughriders’ offence on its first four possessions and completed five of 10 pass attempts for 63 yards. Bridge was 12-for-18 for 162 yards with one touchdown.
Thigpen led the Roughriders in rushing with 32 yards on seven carries and added two catches for 31 yards. Bagg had five catches for 50 yards and Bakari Grant added three receptions for 38 yards — production that put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
Saskatchewan’s cause was hurt by 11 penalties for 124 yards.
Reilly was 21-for-27 passing for 294 yards and added 29 yards rushing on 10 carries. C.J. Gable rushed 17 times for 70 yards for the Eskimos and Brandon Zylstra caught three passes for 72 yards.
The Roughriders lost guard Brendon LaBatte to a leg injury and head coach-GM Chris Jones said it appeared LaBatte would be out for at least the playoff opener. Cornerback Jovon Johnson suffered an upper-body injury and he’ll be reassessed in the coming days.
