TORONTO — Naaman Roosevelt was thinking “Oh no” at BMO.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ slotback was having flashbacks Saturday as the Toronto Argonauts drove downfield in hopes of answering a late score by Saskatchewan — a scenario that also played out in the latter stages of the CFL’s 2017 Eastern Final at BMO Field.
On Nov. 19, the Argos got a one-yard touchdown run from backup quarterback Cody Fajardo with 23 seconds left in regulation time to post a 25-21 come-from-behind victory over the Roughriders in the division final. On Saturday, however, a 51-yard field-goal try by Toronto’s Zack Medeiros drifted left and Saskatchewan held on for a 30-29 victory.
“This definitely makes up for that (loss in the Eastern Final),” Roosevelt said after Saturday’s contest. “I was feeling it all over again. We kicked the field goal and they started driving and there was a minute left. I was like, ‘Please, not again.’
“It turned out this time. We came out on the other end.”
“This was a character win…”
In the Eastern Final, the Roughriders took a 21-18 lead with 2:44 remaining in regulation time on Christion Jones’ 79-yard punt-return touchdown and Roosevelt’s two-point convert.
But Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray put together a 10-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Fajardo’s last-minute touchdown run — a major that ended the Roughriders’ season.
On Saturday, Brett Lauther’s 56-yard field goal with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter put the Roughriders ahead 30-28. Argos QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson moved his team from the Toronto 38-yard line to the Roughriders’ 44, but Medeiros’ long-distance attempt at a game-winning field goal with two seconds left was wide. The conceded single completed the scoring.
“This was a character win,” Roughriders safety Mike Edem said. “The offence drove the ball down the field, the field-goal team had to make a big field goal and the defence was able to get a stop at the end. It was three units working to get a W and that’s what we talked about coming into the game.”
As a result of the win, the Roughriders were able to assume sole possession of second place in the CFL’s West Division. Saskatchewan (8-5-0) has 16 points, two more than the third-place Edmonton Eskimos (7-6-0); Edmonton lost 28-15 to the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday.
“(Claiming second at this point of the season) is very important because you’ve got to keep stacking wins late in the season to get momentum to go into the playoffs,” Edem said. “You’ve got cohesion between units and obviously the team morale is a lot better when you win.”
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones was pleased with the outcome, but he wasn’t putting much stock in holding down second place with five regular-season games left on his team’s schedule.
“It’s a little premature to be doing that,” he said. “You need to worry about the here and now.
“Let’s get back home, see who’s healthy and who’s going to be able to play and get ready for a very good Montreal team.”
Saskatchewan is to visit the Alouettes on Sept. 30.
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The Roughriders took strides offensively Saturday.
Saskatchewan accumulated 376 yards of net offence, its third-highest total in a game this season. The Roughriders had 394 net yards against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 19 and 381 versus the Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 19.
Quarterback Zach Collaros threw two touchdown passes to Jordan Williams-Lambert, giving the Roughriders multiple TD tosses in a game for the first time this season. And a scoring run by Marcus Thigpen gave Saskatchewan three offensive TDs in a game for just the second time this season (along with the Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 2).
But there were errors as well, including an interception Collaros threw that Trumaine Washington returned 62 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the third quarter to tie the game 27-27.
“It’s unfortunate, but we were trying to make a play,” Jones said. “All night long, I thought offensively that we were pretty aggressive. (Collaros) just left the ball behind (Roosevelt). You’ve got to give their guy credit. He came up with a great play.”
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The Roughriders nearly came up with a great play midway through the fourth quarter with the score still tied.
On third-and-six from the Saskatchewan 47-yard line, punter Josh Bartel accepted the snap, hesitated and then took a couple of steps forward as if he was going to run. When confronted by a defender, Bartel lofted a pass to Chad Geter for a 15-yard gain and a first down.
Rather, it would have been a first down if Geter was eligible. He’s considered an offensive lineman on the Roughriders’ punt team and therefore can’t catch passes.
“It was a busted play, so I just threw my hand up (to signal to Bartel), honestly,” said Geter, who estimated that his most-recent reception was as a receiver in high school in 2011. “The fake wasn’t going to work, so (Bartel) threw it so we could re-kick it.
“It was kind of a smart play, if you think about it. If I was eligible, it was going to work.”
The 10-yard ineligible receiver penalty moved the Roughriders back and Bartel was forced to punt.
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The Roughriders have more than a week before facing the Als in Montreal.
That’s not to say they won’t be busy, though.
“We’ll have a couple of days off and then we’ll have a straight workout day where we just come in, lift weights and train,” Jones said. “We’ll get back in the weight room and get back in the training room, get some guys back healthy hopefully and then get on a plane and go play a very good Montreal team.”
