Brett Lauther and his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates savoured that long-distance feeling on Sunday.
Lauther’s 54-yard field goal with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as the Roughriders posted a 26-24 CFL victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS before 26,625 spectators at Mosaic Stadium.
“It was an amazing kick by Brett,” Roughriders defensive lineman Lake Korte-Moore said, “and a whirlwind of emotions at the moment.”
Just 38 seconds before Lauther’s decisive kick, Ottawa had assumed a 24-23 lead on an eight-yard field goal by Lewis Ward.
After Ward’s fifth field goal of the game, Mario Alford returned the kickoff 37 yards to the Roughriders’ 50. The home side then advanced to Ottawa’s 46 before Lauther’s go-ahead kick.
“There were a lot of emotions, high and low,” Roughriders quarterback Mason Fine said. “I’m proud of our team for sticking together, not pointing fingers, and finding a way to win at the end.”
One key was Lauther’s composure as he prepared to attempt a clutch three-pointer.
“You just have to go out like it’s the first kick of the game,” he said. “If you make it bigger than what it is, then it’s going to be bigger than what it is.
“I see the hard work that is put in by everyone in this organization and I owe it to everyone to try to put that kick through.”
After Lauther connected, his perfectly positioned 68-yard kickoff was returned only 17 yards by Tobias Harris.
“That was super-important,” Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “We had to kick off with them having a chance and I felt like the kickoff was good and our coverage was excellent.
“And you need that because, in this league, 15 or 20 seconds is enough to run two or three plays.”
On first down from his team’s 29-yard line, REDBLACKS quarterback Dustin Crum found ex-Roughrider Shaq Evans for a gain of six.
Crum was then sacked by Micah Johnson for a loss of five, whereupon a desperation pass on the final play of the game was broken up by middle linebacker Larry Dean.
When the final gun sounded, Saskatchewan emerged with a 4-4 record. Ottawa dropped to 3-5.
Ottawa opened the scoring with a single at 2:56 of the first quarter after Ward was short on a 52-yard field-goal attempt.
The Roughriders answered with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was punctuated by Jamal Morrow’s five-yard scoring run at 7:37 of the first quarter. Lauther added the convert.
Ward countered with a 51-yard field goal at 10:10 of the opening frame.
Ward’s 35-yard field goal, at 2:17 of the second quarter, created a 7-7 tie.
A 19-yard field goal by Lauther at 4:33 of the second frame put the Roughriders ahead 10-7.
The lead was pared to 10-8 when Richie Leone launched a 74-yard punt single with 2:34 left in the first half.
The Roughriders capped their second possession of the first half with a 42-yard TD pass from Fine to Shawn Bane Jr., who scored at 2:05 of the third quarter. Lauther’s convert gave the home side a 20-8 lead.
Ward’s 32-yard field goal, at 7:06 of the third quarter, reduced the Riders’ lead to 20-11.
Lauther answered with an 18-yard field goal that gave Saskatchewan a 23-11 advantage at 10:03 of the third quarter.
Ward’s 28-yard field goal made the score 23-14 at the end of the third frame.
Ottawa scored its first TD of the game when Douglas Coleman III returned a fumble 45 yards to pay dirt at the 55-second mark of the fourth quarter. Ward followed up with the convert.
Clinging to a two-point lead, the Roughriders gambled on third-and-one from their 19-yard line and did not move the chains.
The defence, so sturdy all night, held Ottawa out of the end zone and forced the REDBLACKS to settle for an eight-yard field goal — albeit a go-ahead kick, but an outcome that reduced the degree of difficulty facing Saskatchewan during its final possession.
“That was part of the reason I went for it way down in our own end,” Dickenson said. “I knew that if we could hold them to a field goal, we’d have time to go kick one ourselves — but we had to hold them to a field goal.”
And they did, barely, as REDBLACKS running back Jackson Bennett advanced five yards to the Roughriders’ one-yard line before being felled by safety Jayden Dalke. Ottawa opted to attempt a field goal on third-and-goal from the one-yard line.
Saskatchewan registered six sacks, its season high, with three of them coming from Anthony Lanier II. It was his second career three-sack game.
Micah Teitz led the Roughriders with eight defensive tackles, one more than Dean.
Dean’s third stop of the game moved him ahead of ex-Roughrider Reggie Hunt and into 36th place on the CFL’s all-time defensive-tackles list. Dean now has 518 career tackles.
Fine completed 23 of 37 passes for 296 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He registered his first win as a starter in his fourth career game as a front-liner.
His busiest target was Jerreth Sterns, who caught seven passes for 71 yards in his CFL debut.
Sterns’ final reception was a five-yarder that moved Saskatchewan into range for Lauther’s decisive kick.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Sterns said. “Mason made great throws and the O-line did a great job.
“The other receivers were balling out all night, so I’m grateful to be out here with those guys.”
Bane Jr. had six catches for a team-high 88 yards while registering a TD catch for the second game in succession. After eight games this season, he has 47 catches for 615 yards. Twenty-six of those receptions have been registered in the last three games.
The Roughriders are to return to action on Friday against the host Montreal Alouettes (5:30 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
