Rod Pedersen
The 7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders played host to the 1-7 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sunday afternoon in Labour Day Classic XLVII. The Riders were after their third-straight win by the Bombers were out to snap a six-game losing streak. It was the first game of the prairie rivals’ annual home-and-home series. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was overcast and 19 degrees Celsius with a southeast wind at 5 km/h at the 2:00 pm kickoff.
– The Riders wore their home green uniforms with green retro helmets and white pants. The Bombers wore their gold road uniforms with navy pants and gold helmets.
– The Rider scratches from their 46-man roster were: WR Jordan Sisco, LB Carlos Thomas, DB Diamond Ferri and DE Hilee Taylor.
– Winnipeg won the coin toss and elected to take the football to open the game, defending the north endzone. Their opening drive began at their 16-yard line with Justin Goltz at quarterback. They were 2-and-out.
– Saskatchewan’s first drive started at their 50. Quarterback Darian Durant and the offense were 2-and-out.
– Bombers’ second series began at their 18. They got their first first down on an 11-yard run by Goltz. On the next play Rider DE John Chick recorded the Riders’ first sack of the game. They had to punt.
– Riders’ second series commenced at their 39. They were 2-and-out again after a couple of Kory Sheets’ touches.
– Winnipeg’s third series began at their 38. They managed one first down before punting.
– Saskatchewan took over in the scoreless first quarter at their own one-yard line. 6:41 remained in the opening period. On first down Kory Sheets was tackled in the endzone for the game’s opening points. 2-0 Winnipeg.
– Winnipeg took over at their 36. They were 2-and-out.
– Riders’ fourth series began at their 44. Their first first down came on a Durant-to-Taj Smith 10-yard reception. They moved it all the way down to the Winnipeg three before back-up pivot Drew Willy handed off to Kory Sheets for a 3-yard touchdown score. 7-2 Riders with 0:28 to go in the first. It was a 7-play, 66-yard drive.
AFTER ONE: RIDERS 7 BOMBERS 2
– Riders’ second sack came from John Chick on Goltz 1:37 into the second quarter. It forced the Bombers into a punt, and Mike Renaud nailed a 55-yard punt single making it 7-3 Riders.
– By this point of the game the clouds burned off and the sun was out. The temperature rose to 21 degrees.
– Saskatchewan was 2-and-out on their first series of the second quarter.
– Bombers took the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by third-string quarterback Jason Boltus with 9:46 to go in the half. 10-7 Bombers after a 51-yard drive.
– With 2:39 to go in the first half Darian Durant was intercepted for the first time this year, by linebacker Henoc Muamba, who returned it to the Riders 35. They cashed in with a 6-yard touchdown run by Justin Goltz, making it 17-7 Winnipeg with 2:01 to go in the first half.
– Riders got it back with 1:30 to go in the half as Durant fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Geroy Simon. It was a 3-play, 67 yard drive. 17-14 Winnipeg.
– With 1:24 to go the Bombers took over at their 35 with their lead cut to three points. They managed a first down before punting. It was a 59-yard punt single from Mike Renaud making it 18-14 Winnipeg.
– Riders took it at their 35 with 0:45 left in the half. They were 2-and-out.
AT THE BREAK: BOMBERS 18 RIDERS 14
– Saskatchewan got the ball to open the second half, defending the south endzone, beginning at their 34 yard line. They moved it all the way down the field capping the drive with a 1-yard Kory Sheets touchdown giving Saskatchewan at 21-18 lead at the 4:00 mark.
– Winnipeg’s first series in the second half began at their 25. They got one first down before punting.
– Riders took over at the Bomber 54. They got to the Bomber 40 before attempting a long 47-yard field goal. Kicker Chris Milo was good, making him 22/22 on the year, and Saskatchewan went up 24-18 with 5:40 left in the third.
AFTER THREE: RIDERS 24 BOMBERS 18
– The attendance was announced at 44,910.
– Saskatchewan went up 31-18 with a 12-yard Darian Durant-to-Taj Smith touchdown reception with 13:05 to go. It was an 11-play, 82-yard drive.
– On the next Winnipeg series Bomber quarterback Justin Goltz scored on a 46-yard touchdown run making it 31-25 Riders. It was a low snap at his ankles, and he picked it up and took it to the house.
– The Riders got their second turnover of the game, a Dwight Anderson inteception of Goltz with 7:39 to go, and the Riders got it at the Winnipeg 43. Saskatchewan cashed in with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Durant to Smith. 38-25 Riders with 6:00 left.
– Riders’ Spencer Moore blocked a Mike Renaud punt with 4:21 left and Saskatchewan got it at the Bomber 23. Saskatchewan’s Chris Milo capped the ensuing drive with a 23-yard field goal making it 41-25 Saskatchewan.
– Goltz was picked off by Rider DB Terrell Maze with 2:18 to go, who returned it to the Bomber 10. Just a few plays later Durant found Geroy Simon in the endzone with a 5-yard pass making it 48-25 with 2:07 to go.
– Drew Willy came in to quarterback the Riders with 0:38 left, starting at their 22. They handed off a couple of times to Kory Sheets, and then ended the game in the Victory formation.
GAME OVER: RIDERS 48 BOMBERS 25
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– It’s all about adjustments. They came in with a good game plan but once we saw what they did, we started having some success.
– That’s how it is. Somedays you’ll have penalties, some days you won’t. That’s gonna happen. It’s just football.
– Not worried about injuries. This is a team, and you’ll have injuries so you have to have players step up.
– Us scoring to open the staff may have been the turning point.
– Like I told ’em, we took their best shot and we figured it out. Every game will be different, every half will be different. We can’t blow teams out all the time in the first half. They have a good team and they’re close but we were the better team today.
– We talked about looking past these guys. We had to create some space and we did that in the second half. They couldn’t keep up.
**The Riders visit the Blue Bombers Sunday at 2:00 pm in the Banjo Bowl on TSN and 620 CKRM.
