Mitchell Blair
One mistake can cost you a football game. That is what happened to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their season finale Saturday night as they dominated the Edmonton Eskimos yet lost 30-26 in a game that had no effect on the final standings.
With the team up by three late in the 4th quarter, Jamal Miles took a Ricky Schmitt punt back 79 yards to give Edmonton a late lead, and while 3rd string quarterback Tino Sunseri did lead the team back into Edmonton territory, he was sacked on the game’s final play with the ball at the Edmonton 25.
It was a game that was disappointing to lose, but defensive end John Chick knows what the bigger picture is.
“This was a game you wanted to win, especially going into the postseason, but we showed some good things out there.” Chick said. “We have things that we have to work on, but we are still a very confident bunch going into the playoffs. We know B.C will come in here hungry, but I think we will be ready to protect our house.”
Head Coach Corey Chamblin was disappointed not to win the football game even though it meant nothing at the end of the day.
“We did some good things so don’t get me wrong, but its real hard to keep the guys hungry when you know what you have next week.” Chamblin surmised. “I hated using the word meaningless this week because it wasn’t and a lot of guys did accomplish some good things, but it was hard getting guys to go all out this week knowing they have a bigger game that means a whole lot next week.”
Amongst the highlights in the loss was the play of 3rd string quarterback Tino Sunseri. The University of Pittsburgh grad saw his first CFL action by playing the second half and he impressed Chamblin with his play.
“Seeing Tino grow throughout the season during practice and then looking at him in the heat of the moment was great.” Chamblin said. “I thought he looked poised out there and he gained a lot of experience that will help him in the future. I thought he performed very well.”
As for Sunseri, he was more than happy to get out there and finally have an opportunity to show what he could do.
“It was great being back on the field playing again,” Sunseri stated. “I’ve been doing as much as I possibly can all season long and to have this opportunity was great. I wish I would have had a little more time at the end of the game, but that is the hand that was dealt to me and unfortunately we were a couple of plays short from winning the football game.”
The loss means the Riders finish the regular season with two straight losses giving them a record of 11-7. They will host the B.C Lions in the Western Semi-Final next Sunday afternoon in a 330 start with the winner advancing to Calgary to meet the Stampeders in the Western final. The winner of that game comes back to Regina for Grey Cup 101.
GAME NOTES:
- Taj Smith caught a late pass from Tino Sunseri to surpass the 1000 yard mark joining teammates Chris Getzlaf and Weston Dressler. It’s the first time since 1993 the team has had three 1000 yard receivers.
- The Riders defense allowed a league low of 398 points this season
- The Riders offence had 36 first downs. That is the most of any team in one game this season
- This is the 20th time the Riders have ended up the season finishing 2nd in the West.
