October 20, 2018

The Roughriders stay alive in the race for first

CALGARY — First place in the CFL’s West Division remains a possibility for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but that’s not their first concern.

“We’re not going to worry about all that,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said after Saturday’s 29-24 victory over the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. “If we were worried about that, we should have taken care of that in the first part of the season.

“All we can worry about is what we control and try to come out next week and beat a very good B.C. team.”

The victory Saturday gave the Roughriders an 11-6-0 record and 22 points, two fewer than the first-place Stampeders (12-4-0). Saskatchewan won two of three regular-season meetings with Calgary, so the Roughriders will have the tiebreaking edge if the teams finish tied for first place in the West at 12-6-0.

Saskatchewan completes its regular-season slate next Saturday when it entertains the B.C. Lions. A win or a tie in that game will clinch a home playoff game for the Roughriders, who have a bye in the final week of the season.

Calgary can still claim first place if it wins or ties one of its two remaining games, starting with Friday’s contest against the third-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

But the Roughriders did what they had to do Saturday, hanging 469 yards of net offence on the Stampeders and holding Calgary’s offence in check.

“Offensively, we just asserted ourselves from the word ‘Go,’ ” Jones said. “We had nearly 500 yards of offence against a team (with a good defence).

“I looked at all the stats yesterday and they were sitting on top of just about every defensive category in the entire (CFL) stats line. Hats off to our offensive staff.”

The offensive rebound was especially impressive considering the unit had struggled mightily in a 31-0 loss to the host Bombers on Oct. 13. Saskatchewan quarterback Zach Collaros managed just 69 yards passing before being replaced early in the third quarter of that game and the Roughriders recorded a season-low 170 yards of net offence.

“It’s definitely important to help the team and we were able to do that tonight,” said Collaros, who completed 24 of 35 pass attempts for 352 yards Saturday.

“The past is the past; we’re going to enjoy this one tonight, forget about it tomorrow and get ready for a great B.C. opponent that’s really on a roll lately.”

The Lions improved to 9-7-0 on Friday with a 42-32 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos (8-9-0). That clinched a playoff spot for the Lions.

On Saturday, the Roughriders opened the scoring at 2:01 of the first quarter on Brett Lauther’s 50-yard field goal.

The Stampeders took the lead just over three minutes later, when Romar Morris fielded a Josh Bartel punt and went 78 yards for a touchdown. Rene Paredes converted the punt-return TD — the fourth allowed by Saskatchewan this season.

The Roughriders wasted little time responding.

“Anytime you can come into this stadium and beat a team like Calgary that has had so much success, it’s a great team victory and something to be proud of.”

After Cameron Marshall returned the kickoff 58 yards to the Calgary 47, Collaros completed two passes to Jordan Williams-Lambert for 43 yards. That set up Tre Mason’s four-yard TD run.

The major snapped the Roughriders’ streak without an offensive touchdown at 152 minutes 39 seconds. Their last TD on offence was Nick Marshall’s one-yard run at 4:30 of the third quarter of the Roughriders’ game Sept. 30 against the Montreal Alouettes.

On Saturday, Lauther added the convert and Saskatchewan led 10-7.

Calgary replied on its next possession with a 25-yard field goal by Paredes that tied the contest at 12:30.

The Roughriders regained the lead 45 seconds into the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Lauther, who also hit a 49-yarder at 11:38 to give Saskatchewan a 16-10 lead.

The latter three-pointer followed a 15-play drive that covered 62 yards and killed eight minutes six seconds.

Lauther completed the first-half scoring with a 31-yard field goal on the final play, giving the Roughriders a 19-10 lead at the break.

The Stampeders took the second-half kickoff and drove 81 yards in nine plays, the last of which was a four-yard TD pass from Bo Levi Mitchell to Lemar Durant at 4:55. Don Jackson added the two-point convert to cut the Roughriders’ lead to 19-18.

A 20-yard field goal by Lauther at 10:29 gave Saskatchewan a 22-18 lead and it held that advantage through three quarters.

Nick Marshall’s one-yard TD run and Lauther’s convert gave Saskatchewan a 29-18 lead at 4:24 of the fourth quarter. The 11-play, 85-yard drive followed an interception by Mike Edem in the Roughriders’ end zone late in the third quarter.

“If they score right there, it’s a different football game,” Jones said. “That’s why you play every single down. It’s a great play when the ball comes down and it’s your play.”

After Mitchell found Markeith Ambles with a 13-yard TD pass at 9:05, the Stampeders went for a two-point convert. But Ed Gainey stopped Ambles short of the end zone and the attempt failed.

The teams traded punts after that, but Saskatchewan managed to kill most of the game’s final three minutes. Calgary got the ball back with just 10 seconds left and couldn’t get near the Roughriders’ end zone.

Cameron Marshall, who was playing his first game since Aug. 25, played much of the second half in place of an injured Mason. Marshall rushed 11 times for 76 yards for the Roughriders, who got 113 yards on five catches from Williams-Lambert.

Mitchell was 18-for-25 passing for 221 yards for the Stampeders, who got eight catches and 84 yards from Ambles.

“I don’t know about statements,” Collaros said when asked if Saturday’s victory was a signature win. “But anytime you can come into this stadium and beat a team like Calgary that has had so much success, it’s a great team victory and something to be proud of.”