Mitchell Blair
Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant has had his fair share of detractors over the years. Even in a year where he was named the CFL’s Western Division all-star quarterback and led the CFL in touchdown passes, there are some who wonder if Durant has what it takes to be the on-field leader of this team. I’ts gotten so bad that on Twitter, some have started using the hashtag “Darian’s fault” when saying something out of his control has gone wrong. On Sunday night, the Rider quarterback answered his critics and then some as he brought his “A” game to the table when the team needed him most and as a result, they are one win away from being in the 101st Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium.
Durant threw a fourth quarter touchdown pass to Weston Dressler and had two huge runs to keep drives alive as the Riders overcame a 9 point deficit to beat the B.C Lions 29-25 in the Western Semi-Final to set up a much anticipated date against the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Final.
“Darian played like the Darian of old today.” an exhausted Head Coach Corey Chamblin said. ”That’s the Darian Durant that stopped me from going to a couple of title games. He stepped up to the plate when we needed him. He just stood up and took the game over.”
Durant was 19 of 23 on the afternoon for 270 yards and two touchdowns while running for 97. Durant said after the game it was a case of not leaving any card unturned when it gets to games like this.
“I knew in the back of my head what I had to do, “Durant confessed. “I haven’t been running the ball all year and I knew coming into the playoffs that I might be able to be a secret weapon. Having last week off really helped me get better and put me in a position to feel a lot better. We hadn’t shown any quarterback draws all game and the fourth quarter was the time to call it and it worked perfectly.
Weston Dressler had both touchdown catches for the Riders and he says even though the Riders went into the 4th quarter down by nine, there was no sense of desperation.
“It didn’t seem bad to us. It was a nine point game, but that’s not a lot in the CFL especially when you have a full quarter to play.” Dressler said. “There’s a lot of confidence on this team no matter what situation we are in and we’re going to find a way to win it.”
Dressler was also quick to point out the performance of the starting quarterback and what his efforts meant on this afternoon.
“It’s pretty hard to hate on a performance like that.” Dressler said with a smile. “He single-handedly took over at times and got some first downs at times when we needed them. He’s our leader and he’s going to take as far as he can. He always seems to be under control and composed no matter what situation were in. He showed a little more emotion today, but I think that’s just that playoff mentality coming out. He played a great game.”
The defence had some problems containing the running back duo of Andrew Harris and Stefan Logan, but when the team needed a stop, the defence came through. One of those stops came when Dwight Anderson delivered a hellacious blow of Emmanuel Arceneaux in what arguably might have been the play of the game as the moods of both team seemed to change after that.
“Everyone told me it was a great hit, but I was covering my guy and looked back to see him coming my way so I peeled off and put it to him.” Anderson explained. “The guys have all told me I rocked him, but I need to see it before I can really comment on it. It felt great though.”
Someone else who was feeling great at the end of the game was Alex Hall. Acquired by Winnipg in a late season trade, he says it’s a lot of fun and that his unit brought it up a notch or two in that final quarter.
“They had a great game plan and they were executing,” Hall said. “We just buckled through and came through in the crunch. The offense saved our butts a little bit for the way they played, but it seemed that once the second half arrived, we could stop them which is what we did. “
The win sets up a Western final that everyone wants to see as the Riders will look to knock off the Calgary Stampeders and come back to Mosaic Stadium for the 101st Grey Cup. The winner of the game will play the winner of the Toronto Argonauts-Hamilton Tiger-Cats eastern final as the Tabbies needed overtime to eliminate Montreal in the East semi.
Next Sunday’s game from Calgary will begin at 3:30 pm Central Time, 430 pm Eastern.
GAME NOTES:
- In 5 division semi-finals game, Darian Durant has thrown 14 TD’s and only three interceptions
- Despite the cold weather, the offenses both ran smoothly with the only turnover of the contest being Saskatchewan failed to convert on a 3rd and short in the 4th quarter
- Just under 31-thousand fans took in the game on a day that hit minus 11 for a daytime high
- With his 2 TD’s today, Weston Dressler now has 7 in his last 5 games against B.C
