Mitchell Blair
Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach Corey Chamblin told everyone who would listen over the past week that his team would not win their game in Edmonton by just showing up at Commonwealth Stadium because the Eskimos were a team that had just one win in seven tries this season. He was right.
The Eskimos, behind a gritty effort by quarterback Mike Reilly, made the Riders work for it ,and thanks to a couple of big plays in the 4th quarter on both sides of the ball Saskatchewan did come away with the two points winning 30-27.
As Chamblin pointed out after the game, it was a real back and forth affair and it was one where he was proud to see his team take every shot they were given and give one back.
“That team is very close to becoming a winning football team. We knew we would have a tough opponent and we talked about being like a clock,” Chamblin said. “Slow and steady, one second at a time, one minute at a time and one play at a time. We did that and at the end the last play was on us.”
The game was in doubt until that last play. On that play, linebacker Weldon Brown came off the edge and plastered Reilly causing him to fumble on a drive where the Eskimos were trying to get in position for at least a game-tying field goal if not more. Earlier in the 4th, Dwight Anderson protected the lead when he intercepted a pass in the endzone that again could have given the Eskimos the lead. Chamblin says it was one of those days where the acquisition of the controversial defensive back in the off-season paid dividends.
“We need guys like D.A to control guys like Fred Stamps,” Chamblin told 620 CKRM’s Carm Carteri. “He is going to go down as one of the best receivers in this game and while he got a couple of touchdowns today, D.A made the big play in the endzone when we needed it. He’s an all-star at halfback and that’s why we went out and got him.”
As mentioned, Brown wrapped the game up for the Riders when he forced Reilly to fumble at the end of the game. Brown was quick to salute Reilly for his performance.
“He’s been improving each and every week,” Brown said. “It was hard to contain him today because he was making some throws and making some runs. In the end though, we made the play we needed. We got that win, we got that win over a divisional opponent and we found a way to come through at the end.”
Darian Durant had a big afternoon going 24 of 30 for 334 yards while Kory Sheets had a big game as well running for 139 yards and two touchdowns. One guy that helped both achieve the numbers they did was offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte. He says while its nice for the guys to get their individual numbers, the more important thing is the win.
“That was a gritty win,” LaBatte admitted. “It wasn’t pretty, but getting to 7-1 is big for us and hopefully we can keep this momentum going as we get ready for Winnipeg. We had some issues today with guys that were banged up, but we made the adjustments we had to grind it out and get the win.”
The win leaves the Riders sitting with the best record in the CFL. They now get ready for the annual home and home series with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that will start at Mosaic Stadium next Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd that is anticipated to be once again over 40-thousand people. Game time is 2 o’clock
GAME NOTES:
- With his 139 yards, Kory Sheets has surpassed the 1000 yard mark on the season. He is the quickest running back in the history of the CFL to get to that mark at the start of the season.
- Chris Milo kicked 5 field goals on the afternoon to make him 21 for 21 this season. With Calgary’s Rene Paredes having his lengthy streak snapped on Friday in Toronto, Milo has the longest streak of consecutive FG’s in the CFL.
- The Riders had three sacks on the afternoon giving them 26 in total after eight games
- The only other time in team history that they were 7-1 was in 1970. They finished that season with a record of 14-2.
