September 2, 2018

The Roughriders continue their winning ways

Things have changed considerably for the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the past month.

The Roughriders lost 26-19 to the host Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 2 to fall to 3-4-0. On Sunday at Mosaic Stadium, Saskatchewan posted its third consecutive CFL victory since that loss, beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-23 in the annual Labour Day Classic.

Asked Sunday what the difference is between the Aug. 2 Roughriders and the Sept. 2 Roughriders, quarterback Zach Collaros smiled and said: “We’re 6-and-4 now.”

“I don’t know if there’s much of a difference,” Collaros continued. “Guys believe that we have the right recipe to win here. We don’t just come in (to meet the media) and say that to say it. Guys really believe in what we’re doing.

“We made enough plays there toward the end of the game to win the game. In the Edmonton game, I believe we were stopped on the one-yard line three times. If I revisited the film (of that contest), I’m sure there are four or five plays that, if we could change those outcomes, we win that game.

“We’ve been making the plays lately. We’ve just got to continue to focus in on those moments, those game-defining moments, and make them in our favour.”

The victory Sunday pulled Saskatchewan into a tie for second place in the West Division with the Eskimos, who take a 6-4-0 record into Monday’s matchup in Calgary with the first-place Stampeders (8-1-0).

Winnipeg fell to 5-6-0 after Sunday’s loss and now sits in fourth place, two points back of the Roughriders and Eskimos. Saskatchewan visits the Bombers on Saturday in the annual Labour Day rematch, so the Roughriders know the job isn’t done.

“That was one of the points that I made this week to the team was that we’ve got to get this win (Sunday) because when we go to Winnipeg, it’s going to be a hostile environment and they’re going to throw everything at us,” defensive back Ed Gainey said. “The crowd’s not going to let us live at all.

“We’ve got our hands full coming up this week and we’ve got to make sure we’re on our P’s and Q’s.”

“They’re a good football team and they’re going to go back, look at the film and try to take advantage of the things that we did,” Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones added. “We’re going to have to have a second game plan and a second effort out of our group.”

The Roughriders opened the scoring at 2:54 of Sunday’s first quarter, when cornerback/Wildcat quarterback Nick Marshall scored on a one-yard run. Marshall’s fifth TD on his fifth touch of the season (three runs, two interception returns) was converted by Brett Lauther.

The scoring run occurred two plays after Matt Elam returned his first career CFL interception to the Bombers’ one-yard line.

Winnipeg got on the board at 6:14 of the first, when Justin Medlock kicked a 50-yard field goal. The Bombers took the lead 53 seconds into the second quarter, when Matt Nichols found Kenbrell Thompkins with a 31-yard touchdown pass. Medlock’s convert gave Winnipeg a 10-7 lead.

Kyran Moore put the Roughriders on top at 9:55 of the second quarter, when he broke what looked to be a sure tackle and returned a punt 65 yards for a TD. Lauther’s convert made it 14-10.

The Bombers grabbed the lead back at 12:44 of the second on a 10-yard TD pass from Chris Streveler to Darvin Adams. Medlock’s convert put Winnipeg ahead 17-14 and that was the score at the half.

Lauther (43 yards at 9:00) and Medlock (42 yards at 12:59) traded field goals in the third quarter, which ended with the Bombers up 20-17.

The Roughriders regained the lead at 1:03 of the fourth, when Collaros hit Marcus Thigpen with a 25-yard TD pass. Lauther’s convert put the Roughriders ahead 24-20.

A 39-yard field goal by Medlock at 7:44 cut the lead to one, but Saskatchewan put it away at 13:54 with Marshall’s second one-yard TD run. Lauther’s convert put the Roughriders up 31-23.

That major was set up by a 39-yard pass from Collaros to Jordan Williams-Lambert to the Winnipeg three-yard line, an aggressive play call that caught the Bombers — and many of the spectators — off guard.

“In my opinion, it was a big-time call by Coach Mac,” Collaros said, referring to offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo. “We knew in that situation what (the Bombers) like to do defensively and he trusted us to make a play there.”

“The question is asked sometimes, ‘What do you think right here?’ and I’m like, ‘Let’s stay on the field. Let’s do that (play),’ ” Jones added with a grin. “(McAdoo) does a great job calling the plays and when the opportunity comes, we’ve got to trust our guys to protect, throw the ball and catch the ball.”

Gainey sealed the deal, recording his first interception of the season with 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter — time which the Roughriders were able to kill to win the Classic for the 13th time in the last 14 years.

Collaros was 18-for-30 passing for 250 yards. He found Naaman Roosevelt seven times for 86 yards and Williams-Lambert four times for 65 yards. Thigpen was Saskatchewan’s leading rusher with 55 yards on five carries.

Winnipeg tailback Andrew Harris had 15 carries for 158 yards, including runs of 38, 31 and 25 yards — the three longest carries against Saskatchewan’s defence this season.

Nichols was 14-for-26 passing for 166 yards, but only 67 of those yards were recorded in the second half. As well, Harris went from 105 yards rushing in the first half to 53 in the second, meaning Saskatchewan’s defence turned things around after the break.

“We did what we had to do in the second half,” Jones said. “We just kind of put that (first) half behind us and basically did what we had to do to win the game.”