The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Family Day festivities evolved into a grand spectacle — a Dole Gala, if you will.
Jake Dolegala, making his second CFL start, threw three touchdown passes to propel the Green and White to Sunday’s 34-29 victory over the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.
“It’s huge,” Dolegala said. “Going into the bye week, guys can rest up. We’re just not feeling sorry for ourselves anymore. We know we’re still in this race and, coming back, we know we’ve got a tough opponent two weeks in a row. I think guys are refocused.”
Some of the focus entering Sunday’s game centred around how the Roughriders would respond to a 41-12 loss to the host Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 11.
That defeat — the Roughriders’ fourth in a span of five games — left them with a 4-5 record at the midpoint of the regular season.
The oddsmakers did not like the Roughriders’ chances of evening their record at .500.
Saskatchewan was a 9½-point underdog against a B.C. team that brought a 7-2 slate to Regina.
The schedule will not get any easier for the Roughriders, whose next opponent — the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — is 8-2 and atop the West Division standings.
The Roughriders and Blue Bombers are to meet Sept. 3 at Mosaic Stadium and Sept. 9 at IG Field.
But the Roughriders’ emphasis was not on external chatter, point spreads or the calibre of the opposition when preparations began for a most challenging three-game stretch.
Instead, the mindset resolved around an opportunity to reverse the team’s fortunes before what turned out to be an energetic audience of 27,483.
“We felt like this was obviously a really big game, so we put a lot of eggs into this basket,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said.
“I thought we came out fired up, playing hard, being physical and really setting the tone early.”
Even so, a many-eggs-in-one-basket game wasn’t over easy.
“We had to hang on at the end and there’s things we can learn from that, but I was really proud of the men in that room,” Dickenson continued. “I thought they just stayed together the entire time and found a way to really will themselves to a victory.”
Nine days earlier, it was the Alouettes who set the tone from the outset, courtesy of a 35-yard opening-kickoff return that sparked a 54-yard touchdown drive.
On Sunday, by contrast, the Roughriders stuffed Lions kickoff returner Terry Williams after a 17-yard advance.
Two plays later, Saskatchewan defensive end Pete Robertson sacked Vernon Adams Jr. and forced a fumble. Anthony Lanier II pounced on the ball on the Lions’ 31-yard line.
Dolegala proceeded to hit Samuel Emilus for a 16-yard gain before finding Kian Schaffer-Baker for a 15-yard scoring strike that, despite some tense moments in the fourth quarter, gave Saskatchewan a lead that it would not relinquish.
At halftime, the Roughriders were ahead 24-13. They fattened that advantage by seven points in the third quarter, thanks in large part to a spectacular, 37-yard TD catch by Emilus.
The Lions roared back and closed the gap to 31-29, creating the kind of nailbiter that has become commonplace at Mosaic Stadium this season.
Adams Jr. matched Dolegala’s TD-pass total (three) while amassing 455 aerial yards.
But when a defensive stand was of the essence, the Lions went in reverse on a possession that they hoped would culminate in game-winning points.
On first down at the Lions’ 42-yard line, B.C. was called for holding.
Needing 20 yards to move the chains, the Lions threw back-to-back incompletions. Adams Jr. was then sacked by Lanier II on third-and-20, when any realistic chance of a victory by the visitors disappeared.
“One of the biggest things for a defensive lineman is a game-turner,” Lanier II said. “It’s as big as scoring a touchdown for a quarterback or a wide receiver or anyone.
“It just feels so good to see us going out and doing it together and being able to have the fans enjoy it.”
That they did, beginning with the Family Day pre-game program and concluding in the aftermath of victory when the spectators were allowed on to the field.
“Every single time we’re out there, we can feel that energy,” Schaffer-Baker said of the fan support. “We just thrive off that. So when the crowd’s all in it, we’re all in it, ready to go.”
The Roughriders are ready for a playoff push, having created some additional breathing room on Sunday.
With five victories — and taking into account cross-over possibilities involving East Division teams — the Roughriders are two up on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-6), Calgary Stampeders (3-7) and Ottawa REDBLACKS (3-7). The Edmonton Elks (1-9) are well back of everyone.
The Roughriders, who solidified their hold in third place in the West, are more concerned about upward mobility.
“We’re 5-and-5 and we’ve got the meat of our schedule coming up, with back-to-back Winnipeg games,” Dickenson noted.
“I just think it keeps us in the conversation and it gives the men in that room confidence, because we can play with the good teams — if we play well, if we play our game, and if we have good practices.
“I think it allows us, as coaches, to really build off of this and hopefully keep getting better.”
Dolegala is the first to acknowledge that he can get better, despite a standout showing on Sunday.
There were a couple of throws he would like to have back but, really, how can anyone quibble with his performance?
Ten games into the season, the Roughriders have already started three quarterbacks.
With Trevor Harris and Mason Fine on the six-game injured list, the Green and White turned to Dolegala leading up to a divisional matchup of immense importance.
He responded by engineering his first victory as a starting quarterback in a professional football career that dates back to 2019.
Until Sunday, Dolegala had not been the triumphant quarterback of record at any level since Nov. 10, 2018.
That afternoon in Loretto, Pa., Dolegala piloted the Central Connecticut Blue Devils to a 30-14 college football victory over the St. Francis Red Flash.
So it had been a long wait for Dolegala, who helped to remove a huge weight from everyone’s shoulders by performing as he did on Sunday.
Asked about Dolegala following the victory over B.C., Schaffer-Baker responded succinctly: “He’s … that … guy.”
And now Schaffer-Baker, Dolegala and everyone else can take a few days to savour the “huge” victory, because (wait for it) here’s … that … bye.
