Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats kicked off the 2014 CFL season in a Grey Cup rematch late Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium. The Riders were hoping for a similar result as last November’s 45-23 victory over the Ticats in the CFL title game. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– Regina was pounded by incredibly heavy rains on game day as was all of southern Saskatchewan. The Albert Street and Saskatchewan Drive underpass was flooded out two hours prior to game time.
– Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback and NBC’s Football Night in America’s Peter King dropped in on 620 CKRM’s pregame show. He called Rider fans “nutty” and that their love for the Riders is “more intense in its own way” than Packer fans’ love for their team.
– The scratches from the Rider roster were REC #85 Eron Riley and OT #64 Levy Adcock.
– The conditions were not ideal at the 5:08 pm kickoff. There was light rain, the temperature was 15 degrees Celsius and there was a west wind at 39 km/h gusting to 46. However the sun was beginning to poke out.
– The Riders were in their home green uniforms with green helmets and white pants. The Ticats were are in their road white jerseys with black pants and helmets.
– The Roughriders won the coin toss and deferred. The Roughriders got the ball to open the game, and the wind, defending the north endzone.
– Saskatchewan’s first series began at their 40 after a Tristan Jackson return. RB’s Anthony Allen and Neal Hughes both earned first downs on the ground as did slotback Brett Swain in the air, to get to the Hamilton 27 before attempting a 35 Chris Milo field goal. It was good and the Riders led 3-0 after their opening series just 3:48 into the game.
– Hamilton took over at their 35 with Zach Collaros behind centre. 2-and-out after Collaros was sacked by Derek Walker for an 11-yard loss.
– Riders’ second series began at their 39 after a Marshay Green punt return. They moved it all the way downfield and on 1st-and-goal from the Hamilton 2, Durant tossed a touchdown pass to Anthony Allen for a 10-0 lead with 6:04 to go in the opening quarter. It was an 8-play, 71-yard drive.
– Hamilton’s second series began at their 11 after a holding penalty on their Craig Butler on the return. 2-and-out again. Punter Justin Medlock bobbled a low snap and was forced to give up two points. 12-0 Riders with 4:33 to go in the first period.
– Hamilton had to kickoff so the Riders’ third series began at their 49. They got to the Hamilton 28 before Anthony Allen fumbled and the Ticats recovered. Craig Butler forced it. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 TICATS 0.
– Ticats got one first down via penalty before punting to end their third series.
– Riders got it for the fourth time starting at the Hamilton 47 with 0:34 to go. The drive carried over into the second.
AFTER ONE: ROUGHRIDERS 12 TICATS 0
– Riders’ first play of the second quarter was a 1st-and-10 situation at the Hamilton 33 as the Green & White defended the south endzone. Getzlaf got them to the one on the first play. Anthony Allen plunged in on the next play for a 19-0 lead at the 1:10 mark. 4-play, 47-yard drive.
– Ticats started from their 39. On 2nd down Zach Collaros fumbled the ball and Rider DB Terrell Maze jumped on it at the Hamilton 46. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 TICATS 1.
– Riders could do nothing with it and ended up punting. Josh Bartel pinned them with a Coffin Corner kick at the 3-yard line. They managed one first down before punting. Errr, they tried to. The snap went over Justin Medlock’s head and he booted it out of the endzone for another safety. Riders 21 Ticats 0 with 9:41 to go in the first half.
– Riders start at their 46 after the kickoff. 2-and-out after back-to-back Allen runs.
– Hamilton ball at their 47 after a Cary Koch punt return. 2-and-out. Punt. It travelled 57-yards for a single. 21-1 Riders with 6:57 to go in the first half.
– Rider ball at their 35. They got to the Ticat 43 before punting
– Hamilton got it with 3:34 to go, starting at their 14. Collaros was sacked for a fourth time in the game, this time by John Chick at their 23. A time count violation cost them a down. Punt.
– Rider rookie Ryan Smith brought it back 48 yards to the Hamilton 19 with 1:40 left. They had to settle for a 21-yard Chris Milo field goal making it 24-1 with 1:04 left.
– Ticats got it at their 35. They got to the Rider 54 before punting.
– Riders got it at their 20 with 0:04 to go. Durant knelt down twice to run out the clock.
AT THE BREAK: RIDERS 24 TICATS 1
– Hamilton got the ball to begin the second half, defending the north endzone, starting at their 31 after a major foul on their return team. The Riders rung up their fifth sack, this one from Ricky Foley, forcing another punt to cap their first series from their 34.
– Riders’ first series of the second half began at their 31. They got to the Ticat 28 before attempting a Milo 35-yard FG. It hit the wind and fell short. The returner fumbled it and the Riders’ Levi Steinhauer jumped on it at the Hamilton 10. TURNOVERS: TICATS 2 RIDERS 1
– So the Riders second series began 1st-and-goal at the Ticat 10. First play Durant hit Swain in the left flats to blow the game open at 31-1 with 8:36 to go in the third.
– Hamilton’s Brandon Banks brought the kickoff 45 yards back to the Rider 43. On first down he was sacked by Foley for a sixth Rider QB takedown. On the next play Rider rookie Derek Walker sacked Collaros. That’s seven sacks if you’re counting. Punt.
– Medlock pinned the Riders at their 2-yard line to start their third possession. They were 2-and-out after two Anthony Allen runs. Punter Josh Bartel gave up a safety and Saskatchewan kicked off. 31-3 Riders with 4:31 to go in the third frame.
– Ticats from their 35. They punted
– Riders took over at their 33 with 1:24 to go. Their series crossed over into Hamilton territory as the quarter ran out.
AFTER THREE: RIDERS 31 TICATS 3
– Their first play of the fourth was 1st-and-10 at the Hamilton 48. Anthony Allen was at 111 yards rushing to this point. Durant was picked by LB Rico Murray at the Hamilton 40 who returned it to the Rider 28. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 2 TICATS 2
– Rider safety Tyron Brackenridge intercepted Collaros in the endzone on the ensuing drive and returned it to the 7. TURNOVERS: TICATS 3 RIDERS 2
– Saskatchewan went 2-and-out on the next series, forcing a punt with 11:45 to go.
– Ticats go from their 45 after a Brandon Banks punt return. They got down to the Rider 4 thanks to a P-I call in the endzone. They ended up going for it at 3rd-and-4. Collaros hooked up with Luke Tasker for a TD toss making it 31-10 with 7:20 to go.
– Saskatchewan started their next series at their 5-yard line. They were 2-and-out after a pass to Neal Hughes and an Anthony Allen run.
– Hamilton ball at the 55 with 5:15 to go. 2-and-out after two incompletions. Punt.
– Rider ball at their 32 with 4:12 to go and Tino Sunseri in for Darian Durant at quarterback. Durant was unofficially 14/21 for 132 yards, two TDs and 1 INT. The Riders went 2-and-out in the series and were forced to punt.
– With 2:20 left Hamilton got it at their 51 with Collaros still in the game. On the first play the Riders recorded their ninth sack, this one from Tearrius George. 2-and-out.
– Rider ball at their 32 with 1:48 left and Tino calling signals. 2-and-out after two Anthony Allen runs.
– Hamilton ball at their 35 with 0:45 to go. A tenth Rider sack, a third by Foley on Collaros, ended the game on 3rd-and-4.
FINAL SCORE: RIDERS 31 TICATS 10
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– I’m happy in some phases. I told the guys we can celebrate the things we did well but there are some things we can do better.
– Anthony Allen (156 yards) got the edge to start because he’s a hard outside runner and he showed it today. I’m not sure yet what we’ll do with the roster at that position next week.
– I thought they played with great effort and executed what we asked them to do. The new receivers had a great start. The elements played right to Anthony Allen and he got it done. There’s room for improvement, he missed a block, but I thought he did a good job.
– We had a dominant team at times on defense last year. We want to do that moving ahead. We were aggressive but they allowed us to be aggressive at times. We want to win. That’s the biggest thing. They’re coming together nicely with the mindset that we want to win.
– 10 sacks are good. That gives them confidence going forward. It starts up front. We won’t be able to do that every week but it’s a standard that we’ll try to match.
– I didn’t get a ring for this win. It didn’t feel like a Grey Cup rematch. They had Zach Collaros, not Henry, and they had Craig Butler. They had some animosity it felt like at times, but no it wasn’t a true rematch.
– I thought Darian managed the ball well. He was a leader on and off the field today.
– The message was that we need to understand where we are now. There will be a lot of teams coming after us because of what we did last year, but also for the way we came out today.
– Before it’s all over, I think our secondary will be very good. They’re in the top tier but you can’t say they’re the best yet. They will be the best on some plays.
* The Roughriders visit the Toronto Argonauts in Week 2 action on Saturday in a 1:00 pm kickoff on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.
