EDMONTON — Saskatchewan Roughriders cornerback Nick Marshall held his own Thursday while duking it out with the CFL’s leading receiver.
Marshall, a first-year CFLer, matched up man to man with Edmonton Eskimos receiver Duke Williams for much of their teams’ meeting at Commonwealth Stadium.
Williams — who entered the game with league-best totals in yards (672), catches of 30 yards or more (five) and 100-yard games (five) this season — was targeted six times in Thursday’s game but managed just two catches for 41 yards.
Marshall had a pass knockdown on the game’s first offensive play and added three tackles in the Roughriders’ 26-19 loss. It was his first game since missing five in a row with a broken wrist.
“That was the game plan coming in, me facing (Williams),” Marshall said after the game. “I started this week getting game-day reps at practice and it felt good to be back out there with the guys.”
Marshall won a starting job in training camp and made an immediate impact in the Roughriders’ regular-season opener, returning an interception 66 yards for a touchdown in Saskatchewan’s 27-19 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on June 15.
But Marshall broke the scaphoid bone in his left wrist in that contest and subsequently underwent surgery. He was put on the six-game injured list and replaced in the secondary by converted receiver Duron Carter.
Marshall stayed in shape by running during his hiatus, but he couldn’t do much else.
“You’re anxious to get out there, but you can’t rush it,” he said. “I was just waiting for my chance.
“It’s something you have to deal with. You can’t beat yourself down about it because things happen. You’ve just got to move on, be a team leader and cheer the other guys on.”
Marshall returned to practice Monday and was activated off the six-game injured list Wednesday. The Roughriders opted to bring him back early — he had one game remaining in his scheduled stint — to match him up against Williams.
“He did OK,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said of Marshall. “He gave up that one big ball (a 24-yarder in the fourth quarter) which was a field-position play — I don’t know what in the world he was doing — but he covered (Williams) pretty good …
“Nick’s a good DB. He was one of our starters for a reason out of camp. He’ll do nothing but get better.”
Marshall admitted he was a little rusty during practice, but he settled in during Thursday’s game.
“It was like I didn’t miss a beat,” he said. “Everything was smooth.”
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The Roughriders were forced to play shorthanded Thursday.
Strong-side linebacker Matt Elam was set to play his second game in place of the injured Derrick Moncrief, but Moncrief — not Elam — was listed on the roster that was presented to league officials.
As a result of the clerical error, Elam wasn’t eligible to play and Saskatchewan was forced to go with 43 players.
Jones said the Roughriders checked the roster “three or four times,” but the wrong copy was filed with the league.
“There are protocols you have to go through,” said Jones, who noted a similar thing had happened to him once before. “We’ve got three different people who are to check it and unfortunately the wrong (roster) was taken to the CFL.”
With Elam out of the mix, Mike Edem moved up from safety to match up with Eskimos slotback Natey Adjei. Marc-Olivier Brouillette replaced Edem at safety, but Brouillette lasted only three of the Eskimos’ offensive plays before he left the game with an injury.
The Roughriders then deployed defensive end/linebacker Tobi Antigha at safety for the duration of the game. The secondary isn’t new territory for Antigha, though; he has been dropping to safety before the snap in recent games and has recorded two interceptions from that spot.
The defence held Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly to season lows in completions (13) and passing yards (257) and limited the Eskimos to 329 yards of net offence — their lowest output of the campaign — but it wasn’t enough to earn the victory.
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Very quietly, Jordan Williams-Lambert had the most yards recorded by a Roughriders receiver in a game this season.
Williams-Lambert had a CFL career-high 86 yards on four catches against the Eskimos. Shaq Evans had the team’s previous high this season with 77 yards, with Naaman Roosevelt (73) and Caleb Holley (71) next on the team’s list.
“It was just one of those games where I capitalized on my opportunities and the ball happened to come my way,” Williams-Lambert said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons on this team and it’s hard to get the ball to everybody. When the ball comes your way, you’ve got to make that play.”
The rookie receiver now has 22 receptions for 241 yards this season, leaving him second to Roosevelt (23 catches for 256 yards) on the team in both categories.
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The contest marked the end of the Roughriders’ slate of four Thursday night games during the 2018 regular season.
The rest of Saskatchewan’s games are to be played on a Saturday (on seven occasions), a Sunday (three) or a Monday (one).
The Roughriders also have just one more short week, a five-day stretch between their games Oct. 8 against the visiting Eskimos and Oct. 13 in Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers. The game Thursday was played five days after Saskatchewan faced the Calgary Stampeders on July 28.
“It really didn’t matter to us,” defensive end Willie Jefferson said of the short week. “If we had a game this Monday coming up, we’d be ready to go.”
