Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-1) welcomed the BC Lions (0-2) to Mosaic Stadium Saturday night in Week 3 of 2014 Canadian Football League action. Both teams were coming off road losses in Week 2 and were looking to get on track. Here’s how the game went from our vantage point in the broadcast booth:
– It was clear and 21 degrees Celsius at the 7:42 pm kickoff with a northwest wind at 26 km/h.
– The Riders wore their home green uniforms with white pants and green helmets while the Lions were in their white road uniforms with white helmets and orange pants.
– The Rider scratches were offensive linemen Levy Adcock and Corey Watman.
– The Riders won the coin toss and deferred. BC took the ball and the wind to open the game, defending the north endzone.
– BC’s opening series began at their 37 with Kevin Glenn at quarterback. They managed one first down and got to the Rider 51 before punting.
– The Riders’ opening drive started at their 35 after a 53-yard punt single by Lions punter Ricky Schmitt. They got first downs on a Taj Smith reception and Tino Sunseri short yardage run, but punted from the BC 54.
– BC’s second possession began at their 10. They got pair of first downs on touches by tailback Andrew Harris before punting from their 40.
– Riders’ second series began at their 19. 2-and-out including a nine yard loss on a Khreem Smith sack of Darian Durant.
– BC ball at the Rider 53 after a Stefan Logan punt return and Dylan Ainsworth special teams tackle. They got to the Rider 8 before settling for a 15-yard Paul McCallum field goal making him 4/4 on the year. 4-0 BC with 2:19 left in the first quarter.
– Saskatchewan’s third possession began at their 35. They got a first down on a nice Hugh Charles run but had to punt from their own 46.
– BC got it for a fourth time at their 52 after a 38-yard return by Stefan Logan. On the very first play Andrew Harris rushed for a 58-yard touchdown. 11-0 BC with 0:24 to go in the first quarter.
– The Riders’ next series began at their 27 and it carried over into the second period.
AFTER ONE: LIONS 11 RIDERS 0
– The Riders defended the north endzone in the second quarter with the wind at their back. It was an impressive drive down to the BC 11 before settling for an 18-yard Chris Milo field goal. It was an 11-play series which included five first downs
– Lions’ ball at their 35. 2-and-out.
– The Riders got it for a fifth time at their 38 after a 10-yard Marshay Green punt return. They marched the field including a big 38-yard reception by Taj Smith to the Lions’ 3. However the Riders had to settle for a 10-yard Milo field goal. They thought they had a touchdown but on a Hugh Charles reception in the endzone but the ball was knocked free and it was deemed an incomplete pass. Rider coach Corey Chamblin challenged the call, but it was upheld. 11-6 BC with 6:51 to go in the half.
– BC ball at their 28. They got one first down before punting from their 40.
– The Green & White got it back and Marshay Green returned it 42 yards to the BC 47. Four plays later Durant found Taj Smith for a 5-yard touchdown reception giving the Riders a 13-11 lead with 2:31 to go in the half.
– BC ball at their 30. Kevin Glenn moved them to the Rider 59 before punting.
– With 0:38 to go the Riders started at their 17. They got to their 33 before Hugh Charles fumbled and the Lions recovered at the 34. The Lions cashed in with a 41-yard McCallum field goal. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 LIONS 0
AT THE BREAK: LIONS 14 RIDERS 13
– The Lions got the ball to open the second half, defending the north endzone and beginning at their 45. A facemasking penalty on DT Trevor Guyton gave BC a first down up to the Rider 50. They would have had a sack of Glenn on the play. Time count and procedure penalties moved them backwards and a John Chick sack for a 12-yard loss forced a punt.
– The Riders’ first series began at their 16. Anthony Allen replaced Hugh Charles at RB for the series. 2-and-out.
– BC’s second possession began at their 40. They got to the 55 before a Tearrius George sack of Glenn forced another punt.
– The Riders’ second series began at their 12. 2-and-out after Allen and Durant runs.
– BC’s third series commenced at their 45. They were 2-and-out but an O.C. penalty on the Riders sustained the drive. They ended the drive with a 40-yard McCallum field goal attempt however he was wide right and Marshay Green brought it out for now points.
– 3:46 left in the third, the Riders got it at their 11. 2-and-out for a third straight time and Durant took a sack on 2nd-and-10. They conceded a safety to give BC a 16-13 lead.
– BC got it at their 52 with 2:49 to go. 2-and-out. Rider DT Derek Walker was down for a period after taking a Stefan Logan knee to the neck.
– With 1:12 left the Riders got it at their 28. 2-and-out.
AFTER THREE: LIONS 16 RIDERS 13
– BC opened the fourth quarter with the ball beginning at the Saskatchewan 60-yard line after a 20-yard Stefan Logan return. They ended the series with a 30-yard McCallum field goal. 19-13 BC with 11:14 remaining.
– Riders took it a their 35. To this point in the second half they had two net yards and no first downs. Darian aired out a 50-yard pass to Eron Riley right on the numbers but he dropped it on first down. 2-and-out.
– With 9:57 left the Lions took over at their 46 with a six point lead. They had a field goal lined up from 40 yards out but a major foul on the Riders gave BC a first down at the Rider 18. Two plays later Glenn tossed a 20-yard touchdown to Courtney Taylor giving BC a 26-13 lead with 5:31 remaining. It was an 8-play, 64 yard drive.
– Riders got it back at their 32 with 5:32 to go. Durant was picked off by BC’s Josh Johnson around the BC 20 and he returned it to the Rider 41. The Lions in turn, turned it over on downs at the Rider 33 with 1:51 left. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 2 LIONS 1
– The attendance: 32,864.
– Riders were 2-and-out on the ensuing drive. They punted with 1:34 left.
– BC ball a their 52 with 1:23 as the stadium was draining. They were 2-and-out.
– With 0:27 to go Durant brought the offense out starting at their 18. The game ended with a Durant completion to Taj Smith as the clock hit 0:00.
GAME OVER: LIONS 26 RIDERS 13
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER HEAD COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– They gotta reset in the bye week. They gotta reset their minds and come back ready to work. That’s all it is right now. We’re not playing team ball. It’s not a talent issue. Talent doesn’t win or lose you a game. It’s playing together as a team and right now we’re not. We will get better, I just don’t know how long it will take.
– At some point it comes down to fundamentals. Blocking, tackling, holding onto the football. If we need to do more of those drills, we’ll do it. This is on the coaches and the players. We need to dig more out of them. There are some new faces and maybe we put too much pressure on them asking them to do too much early. Hopefully those young guys can grow up pretty soon.
– Right now we have a new group of guys. Sometimes its false intensity. You have to be stable all the way through whether you’re winning or losing. We’re pushing guys as much as possible but they have to get to the place where they’re not dealing with fear like whether they’re in the right gap or whatever. They gotta just lay back and play ball.
– I don’t think it’s learning the game. Some of these guys haven’t started for awhile and they’ve got a lot on their shoulders. They have to step up and play football. They don’t have to have meetings after the game. They need to meet before games and do it on the field.
– Darian can’t do it all. The whole team was off. I can’t put it on Darian. Guys around him need to step up and make plays and help him out.
– There needs to be some personnel changes in some areas. We understand that. At the same time it’s fundamentals. If guys can’t get it, we need to make changes.
– We gotta be better tacklers, especially in the secondary. We have a lot of things that need to be fixed. I’m encouraged it’s still early and there’s time to work these things out.
– I can’t tell you who the back will be when we get back. It’ll be whoever holds onto the ball. It may be a new guy.
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* The Riders’ next game is at home to the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, July 26 in an 8:00 pm kickoff on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.
