Brett Lauther waited nearly five years to try another field goal in a CFL game.
So when his first attempt as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders sailed wide right Friday, Lauther could have let it ruin his night.
He didn’t.
“I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs the last few years, so I feel like I’m pretty tough mentally,” the 27-year-old product of Truro, N.S., said after the Roughriders’ 27-19 victory over the Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium.
“Coach (Craig) Dickenson came up to me before the game and reassured me, ‘You’re our guy this year. I want you to really focus in. It doesn’t matter if you go 0-for-5 or 5-for-5, just move on to the next kick.’ That’s what I did right away.”
Lauther missed from 32 yards out in the first quarter, but his kick went through the end zone for a single. He subsequently connected from 45, 43, 46 and 32 yards and booted two converts to help the Roughriders win their regular-season opener.
“It feels pretty good right now,” Lauther said of his 4-for-5 showing. “I’ll just let it sink in and then move on to Ottawa (which Saskatchewan faces Thursday in the nation’s capital).
“It’s Week 1 of the season. I don’t want to get up too high or get too down. I’ll get back into some film and move on.”
Prior to Friday, Lauther’s most-recent appearance in a CFL game occurred on Oct. 14, 2013, when he was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Tiger-Cats selected the Saint Mary’s University product in the seventh round (53rd overall) of the 2013 draft and he appeared in four games for them that season.
He went 6-for-10 on field-goal attempts for Hamilton, including a 29-yarder against Toronto on Oct. 4. That was his last successful three-pointer in the league before Friday’s outburst.
Since 2013, Lauther has had stops with the Argos, Roughriders (twice) and Edmonton Eskimos but could never get on an active roster.
He kept working on his craft, oftentimes having friends or family members retrieving footballs for him. But he never got a chance — until this year.
Lauther signed with the Roughriders in March and went to their training camp with every intention of competing with Tyler Crapigna for the kicking job. The competition ended last Sunday, when the team revealed that Crapigna needed season-ending surgery on his kicking leg.
Suddenly Lauther had his chance — and his first opportunity to make the most of that chance arrived Friday.
“I felt good,” he said. “Obviously I didn’t get off to the best start, missing the first one. I thought I hit it pretty well, but I guess you just can’t make them all.
“But the kicks (Friday) were kind of like the last four years: Start with some adversity and then keep fighting through it.”
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To no one’s surprise, Zach Collaros started at quarterback for the Roughriders — and he’ll likely retain that job.
But head coach-GM Chris Jones reminded reporters Friday that backup Brandon Bridge helped the Roughriders win 10 games during the 2017 regular season, including the one that he started.
Jones also noted that Collaros has won a lot of games as a starter in the CFL, so he’ll stay at No. 1 for the foreseeable future.
“Moving forward, that’s exactly where we are,” said Jones, who acquired Collaros from Hamilton on Jan. 3. “(The situation) is very reminiscent of last year with Kevin Glenn.”
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Collaros acquitted himself well Friday, completing 18 of 25 pass attempts for 203 yards with one touchdown (a 13-yarder to Naaman Roosevelt).
In his first regular-season game with the Roughriders, Collaros helped them hold the ball for nearly 33 minutes and put up 305 yards of net offence to Toronto’s 265.
Nine players caught passes for Saskatchewan, with three players making one reception apiece, three players snaring two throws each and three players making three catches apiece.
“Credit to Coach Mac for calling a great game and spreading the ball around,” Collaros said, referring to offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo. “When those guys’ numbers were called, they made the plays.
“We have a very talented group and we’re only going to get better because it’s a relatively young group. I’m excited to be out there with those guys.”
Collaros’ showing Friday was worth a great deal to the mâmawêyatitân centre.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Collaros and the Mosaic Company were teaming up to help the centre assist youths in North Central Regina.
Collaros is donating $1 for every passing yard and $100 for every passing TD he records in 2018 to the centre — and Mosaic is matching his donations.
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Collaros played his second game for the Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium on Friday and it certainly went better than their 35-12 pre-season loss to the Calgary Stampeders on June 8.
The crowd was larger for the regular-season opener and was in a better mood as the home team put together a victory.
Not surprisingly, the atmosphere inside the facility suited Collaros just fine.
“It was very loud in there,” he said. “When Nick (Marshall, a cornerback) had the (65-yard) interception that kind of was a dagger, it was really cool to be on that end of it as opposed to walking off the field with your head down and everybody in Rider Nation going crazy. It was really great.”
