A Fine catch! Roughriders’ quarterback produced positive yards after snaring deflected pass
Mason Fine is the brand-new owner of a highly obscure Saskatchewan Roughriders record.
On Sunday, he registered the longest gain in franchise history on a play in which a quarterback has completed a pass to himself.
Fine alertly snared a pass that was deflected at the line of scrimmage and motored eight yards on the opening play of the fourth quarter against the Ottawa REDBLACKS at Mosaic Stadium, where the home side won 26-24.
There are six plays of that description in Roughriders history. Two of them have produced positive yardage and four have resulted in losses.
Before Sunday, the only previous gain had been registered by Darian Durant, who advanced three yards against the visiting Toronto Argonauts on June 30, 2016.
That was the third reception of Durant’s career. In 2009, he had retrieved his own passes for losses of six (on Sept. 13 at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and five (Nov. 7 versus the visiting Calgary Stampeders).
The Roughriders’ other two solo completions belong to Joe Paopao (for a loss of 11 against the visiting B.C. Lions on Oct. 26, 1986) and Cody Fajardo (minus-four against the Edmonton Elks on Sept. 16, 2022 at Mosaic Stadium).
For Fine, the reception was his first since his senior season (2015) at Locust Grove High School in Oklahoma.
“I just handed the ball off and we did a reverse,” Fine recalled. “I did a wheel route to the right and they threw it to me for about 11 yards.”
As a Grade 9 student, Fine played receiver for the Locust Grove Pirates before moving to quarterback as a sophomore.
There is an accompanying history of Roughriders quarterbacks who have ended up being the intended receiver.
Most memorably, Kerry Joseph caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jason Armstead on July 22, 2006 against Toronto at historic Mosaic Stadium.
That is the longest reception in Roughriders history by a quarterback who actually lined up behind centre before some trickery ensued.
Joseph became the first Roughriders quarterback to catch a touchdown pass since Sept. 9, 1950, when Del Wardien found Jack Hartman for a 20-yard score in Calgary. Hartman had lateralled the ball to Wardien before the Roughriders’ halfback flipped a pass back to the wide-open pivot for a five-point TD.
Twenty years elapsed before the Roughriders again targeted their quarterback after he accepted a snap.
On Sept. 12, 1970 at Edmonton, a gimmick play resulted in Ron Lancaster’s backup (Don Weiss) throwing a screen pass to The Little General, who gained 24 yards.
When the Roughriders next visited the Alberta capital — on Sept. 18, 1971 — Lancaster made another reception. He handed off to Bob Pearce, who threw the football back to No. 23 for a 12-yard gain.
This brings us to a third category: Roughriders quarterbacks who have caught at least one pass while lining up at another position.
This tangent incorporates six different pivots/pass-catchers.
Glenn Dobbs: Moonlighting as a receiver on Sept. 22, 1952, Dobbs caught a 12-yard pass from Doug Belden in Winnipeg.
Ron Adam: Principally a reserve quarterback with the Roughriders, the versatile Adam caught passes for gains of 22 (in 1956) and 39 (1957).
Bob Ptacek: A multi-purpose standout with the Roughriders, Ptacek was a Western Conference All-Star at linebacker (1961) and defensive back (1964). He also completed 299 passes for 4,647 yards and 25 TDs over five seasons in Saskatchewan. Substantially less time was spent at receiver, but he did catch two passes for 31 yards in 1963.
Rick Cassata: Cassata, who was the Roughriders’ backup quarterback in 1968, lined up at halfback against Edmonton on Oct. 30, 1968 and caught a pass from Lancaster for a 40-yard advance at Taylor Field.
Bubba Wyche: The athletic Wyche saw some duty at receiver in 1972, catching at least one pass in three different games. He finished the season with four receptions for 28 yards.
Jeff Bentrim: Late in the championship season of 1989, the Roughriders were inundated with injuries to receivers. As a result, Bentrim was activated and moved to from quarterback to slotback. Bentrim caught four passes for 89 yards during the regular season and also returned 10 kickoffs for 217 yards. He was also deployed as a receiver/returner in the 1989 West Division semi-final, in which the Roughriders defeated Calgary 33-26 at McMahon Stadium. He caught three passes for 37 yards and added a 19-yard kickoff return. Late in the game, Kent Austin found Bentrim for completions of 16 and 11 yards before Brian Walling scored a game-winning, 50-yard TD on a draw play.
We now return you to 2023 …
FAREWELL TO DEREL
The Roughriders announced the release of veteran CFL receiver Derel Walker on Wednesday.
Walker caught three passes for 28 yards, including a touchdown, in the June 11 season opener at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium before injuring a knee late in the fourth quarter. He was subsequently placed on the six-game injured list.
“We just didn’t have a spot for him, unfortunately,” Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “We feel like we’ve got good young receivers in-house and it was a tough decision, releasing a veteran player who’s a good guy through and through and was really a good player for us. But we only have so many spots and we just didn’t have a spot.”
With Walker sidelined, Tevin Jones was elevated to starting status at wide receiver.
Jones is fourth in the CFL in receiving yardage (568) and tied for third in catches (38) despite sitting out the season opener.
The Roughriders are also hoping that wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker, who has yet to play this season after undergoing hip surgery during the off-season, will be able to return to the lineup by Labour Day weekend.
“We’re starting to get a little bit healthier,” Dickenson said, “and Tevin Jones has played really well so we weren’t going to sit him.”
The Roughriders (4-4) are to return to action on Friday against the host Montreal Alouettes (5:30 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
