Mitchell Blair
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have one more home game in 2013 and what a home game it will be. The Riders will play on the Mosaic Stadium turf next Sunday night in the 101st Grey Cup when they take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after walking into Calgary and crushing the Stampeders 35-13 in a game they had control of right from the get-go.
‘We’re going to throw a big party in Regina!” an emotional Corey Chamblin said. “This is a very surreal moment for us to win it here. My biggest challenge as a coach since I left here is to win here so it was fitting to win here and protect our house for the Grey Cup.”
It’s been a long and bumpy road for the football team this season, but Chamblin told 620 CKRM’s Carm Carteri this was right where they wanted to be.
“We went through a lot of ups and downs, but we never wavered. We are right where we want to be.” Chamblin said. “I went and got the players that I thought would help us do it. We made a lot of moves on defense bringing in some quality players and you saw what they did today allowing just 13 points. That’s why I went out and got those guys, it’s for games like today and the game we will play next week.
Like he was in the Western semi-final against the B.C Lions, Darian Durant was at the top of his game as he went 24 for 30 on the afternoon for 280 yards and three touchdowns—all in the first half. He says it was just a case of his team being focussed knowing what they had to do.
“We are battle-tested! We have a lot of guys in that room who have won Grey Cups and lost Grey Cups.” Durant said. “It means so much to me to have the opportunity to play next weekend at home. This organization has been through a lot and I’m so proud of everyone. Those guys talked a little bit of smack at us this week, but they can’t have that dressing room—it’s ours!”
Durant also says after failing to bring the title home in 2009 and 2010 that it’s time for the drought to end, but he knows it will be a challenge.
“It’s all about winning. I’m not worried about the storylines. We’ve been here one too many times.” Durant said. “It’s time for us to capitalize on our own field. That’s our goal. We are playing the Grey Cup at home and that’s what we wanted to do from the time we came to training camp.”
Durant was also quick to snap back at the Stampeders for suggesting they would be coming to Regina and take over the Riders dressing room.
“We knew we were the better team so don’t come talking trash about how you’re going to sit in our locker room and how you’re not worried about us.” Durant exclaimed. “We came to your house and we defended our locker room and sent you home.
While the offence was moving at peak efficiency, the defence was making play after play after play as they forced Calgary into turning the ball over seven times. Terrell Maze had a huge interception in the first half and he says it was just a case of everyone being on the same page right from the first snap of the game.
“Everyone was playing hard for each other,” Maze said. “You could see it right from the start. We were running for the ball and even though they made some plays, we didn’t quit and we forced a couple of big plays to really squash any momentum they had. We knew we had something to prove to them and we did.”
Grey Cup week will officially commence on Wednesday when the two coaches face the national media in the annual head coaches media conference. Riderville.com will have that and everything else you need to know in the battle for the 101st Grey Cup between the Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the football team looks for its 4th overall championship and their first since 2007.
GAME NOTES:
- The Riders had the football for 40:42 seconds to easily win the time of possession battle
- Kory Sheets tied a season high by running for 178 yards
- When the Riders have scored 30 or more points in 2013, they are 10-0
- In two playoff wins, Darian Durant is 43 of 53 passing for 560 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions
