Rod Pedersen
It was the biggest game of the year for the Saskatchewan Roughriders Thursday evening in their Week 7 contest at Winnipeg. The Riders went in at 3-2 after their Week 6 victory at Ottawa (38-14) while the Blue Bombers were 5-1 and considered the CFL’s best team. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was sunny and 27 degrees Celsius at the 7:37 pm CT kickoff at Investors Group Field with a humidex of 31 degrees. The wind was out of the southwest at 15 km/h, gusting to 30.
– The scratches for the Riders from their 46-man roster were OL Dan Clark and RB Anthony Allen.
– The Riders wore their “all-white” uniforms for the second straight week with white jerseys, pants and helmets. The Bombers were in their home navy jerseys with gold pants and helmets.
– The referee was Andre Proulx.
– The teams came together at the introductions and had to be separated by the officials. Bomber receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino instigated it.
– The Riders won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Blue Bombers took the ball to open the game.
– Winnipeg’s opening drive, with Drew Willy at quarterback, began at their 40 yard line. They got two first downs before John Chick got his league-leading 7th sack of the year. The next play Rider DB Mark Legree picked off Willy and returned it to the Rider 52. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 1 RIDERS 0
– So Saskatchewan’s first drive started at their 52. First downs on a Will Ford run, and catches by Chaz Schilens and Chris Getzlaf to the WPG 32. A holding penalty and a sack of Durant put them in 2nd-and-25 at the Bomber 47. A screen pass to Will Ford got them to the WPG 35 and it allowed Chris Milo to stroke a 42-yard field goal for a 3-0 Rider lead with 7:46 to go in the first.
– Bombers’ second series began at their 30. 2-and-out.
– Riders’ second drive began at their 21 after a 5-yard Tristan Jackson punt return with 6:29 to go in the first. Durant was 3 of 3 passing for 26 yards in the opening series. A holding penalty on first down moved them back to their 11. A procedure penalty then moved them back to their 6. They managed to move it to their 24 before punting.
– Winnipeg’s third series began at the Rider 50 after an Aaron Woods punt return. The tackle was made by the Riders’ Scott McHenry. They got to the Rider 33 but another Chick sack of Willy forced a 41-yard Lirim Hajrullahu field goal. 3-3 with 1:00 to go in the first.
– The Riders took it at their 35 for their third series. 2-and-out after Durant threw one away, and then rushed for just 2 yards. Punt.
– Winnipeg ball at their 32 with 0:04 to go in the first period. It carried over into the second.
AFTER ONE: RIDERS 3 BOMBERS 3
– Winnipeg opened the second quarter 1st and 10 at their 47. They got to the 55 before punting.
– Rider ball for a fourth time at their 49 with 12:58 to go in the second. Tristan Jackson brought the punt back 29 yards. 2-and-out after a Ford run and pass knockdown by EJ Kuale.
– Bomber ball at their 11 with 11:42 to go in the half. It was their fifth drive. They marched it all the way downfield and Drew Willy capped the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. 99-yard drive. 10-3 Winnipeg with 5:07 to go in the half.
– Rider ball at their 45 after an illegal kickoff. They managed to get to the Bomber 41 on a 23-yard Chris Getzlaf reception before attempting a 49-yard field goal. However Chris Milo was wide right and Demond Washington returned it out to the 8 for no points.
– Winnipeg took over there with 2:34 to go in the half. 2-and-out after a Grigsby run and an incomplete pass. Punt.
– Rider ball at the Winnipeg 35 with 1:40 to go. A too many men penalty moved them back to the 45. 2-and-out.
– Winnipeg ball at their 35 with 1:06 to go in the half. They got one first down on a Grigsby reception before punting.
– With 0:37 to go the Riders took over at their 23. 2-and-out after a Durant run and an incomplete pass to Jerome Messam. Punt, and it ran out the clock.
AT THE BREAK: BOMBERS 10 RIDERS 3
– The Riders took the ball to open the second half, beginning at their 31. They were 2-and-out. A procedure penalty took them out of a potential 3rd-and-inches play.
– Winnipeg’s opening series began at their 29. They got to the Rider 51 before punting.
– Riders’ second series began at their 19 with 9:03 remaining. Messam was the tailback for another series. They managed one first down before punting from their 38.
– Sellout crowd of 33, 234
– Winnipeg ball at their 38 with 6:38 left in the third frame. 2-and-out and Willy was nearly picked by S Tyron Brackenridge on a tip by LB Weldon Brown.
– Rider ball at their 17 after an unnecessary roughness penalty on Rider LB Kevin Regimbald on the punt return. 5:24 to go in the third. Messam again was the back. They had a 23-yard romp for a first down but they had to punt from their 43.
– Winnipeg ball at their 27 with 3:00 to go. On 2nd-down Drew Willy fumbled and Rider DL David Lee returned it 11-yards for the score! DT Tearrius George with the forced fumble. 10-10 with 1:59 to go in the third. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 2 RIDERS 0
– WBB returner Demond Washington fumbled the ensuing kick return and the Riders recovered at the Winnipeg 24. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 3 RIDERS 0.
– 1st-and-10 Riders from the Bomber 24. They got to 3rd-and goal from the Bomber-2 when the clock hit 0:00.
AFTER THREE: RIDERS 10 BOMBERS 10
– They settled for a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. A 10-yarder from Milo to make it 10-3 Saskatchewan at the 0:15 mark.
– Bombers took a kickoff and started at their 34. They got to the Rider 45 in two plays but a John Chick sack forced them into a punt situation from the 47. It went for a 49-yard punt single. 13-11 Riders with 12:46 to go.
– An unnecessary roughness penalty on the Riders’ Rod Williams after the play put them back at their 20 to start out. Jerome Messam was again the back but he took himself out after being shaken up after earning a first down on 2nd-and-1 at the Rider 53. Will Ford came in.
– Messam came back in for a 2nd-and-1 at the Winnipeg 46. He got seven yards down to the Bomber 39. They settled for a 40-yard Milo FG attempt with 7:30 to go in the game. It was good, putting the Riders up 16-11.
– Winnipeg took it at their 35. A 59-yard Willy to Clarence Denmark hook-up got ’em to the Rider 12. On the next play Rory Kohlert caught a 12-yard TD pass in the back right corner of the endzone with 5:25 remaining. Bombers 17 Riders 16. The two-point convert attempt failed.
– Rider ball at their 33 with 4:54 to go. They got to the Winnipeg 54 before punting with 2:57 remaining. They called a timeout on 2nd-and-4 from the 54 but a Durant hot pass was knocked down by WPG LB E.J. Kuale and nearly intercepted.
– Winnipeg ball at their 19 with 2:44 to go. On 2nd down Terrell Maze caught a PICK SIX and returned it 25 yards for the score! TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 4 RIDERS 0. Saskatchewan led 22-17 with 2:16 left after the two-point convert attempt failed.
– With 2:10 the Bombers started from the Rider 51 after a major foul on the Riders’ Tristan Black after the return. Too aggressive on the out-of-bounds tackle apparently. On 2nd-and-10 Mark Legree picked Willy and returned it to the Winnipeg 51. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 5 RIDERS 0
– Riders took over there with 1:52 remaining. A 20-yard romp on 2nd-and-5 from the 46 by Jerome Messam finished the Bombers. With 0:53 to go the Riders lined up a 32-yard Milo field goal. It was wide left and went for a single. Whoops, hold on Nelly. 23-17 Riders with 0:30 to go.
– Winnipeg ball at their 35. A 20-yard hook-up to Clarence Denmark was negated due to the fact Drew was over the line of scrimmage. A Derek Walker sack then took Willy down at the 17 with 0:16 to go and 2nd-and-23.
– Time ran out on the Bombers as they tried a rugby play and ending up fumbling it away. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 6 RIDERS 0. Saskatchewan stole the “W” as the final gun sounded.
GAME OVER: RIDERS 23 BOMBERS 17
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER HEAD COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– That’s a win. That’s like a championship win. That was a tough win to get. This place was so loud. For us to pull this out, I’m extremely pleased.
– Wow. Some of those plays I don’t even know. We did such a job on defense. The guys turned it up in the second half. When it was tight going into the fourth, they turned it up a notch.
– Huge. Huge. There is no words for how huge than win is to be on a short week, only one true practice, the loudest stadium in the league, that was huge.
– We knew there would be penalties in this game. There was a lot noise, confusion, guys couldn’t hear things on our sideline.
– We got two good tailbacks. It was a change up. Each team we play will have a different defense. We put in the horse and the horse did his job.
– I don’t even remember half the picks. That’s a miracle if Terrell Maze caught anything! I’m just so happy we got the win.
– The first thing I’m doing is going everyone the day off to enjoy their families. Then we’ll get back to work for Montreal.
DE JOHN CHICK
– It felt good but it took till the last minute. We knew going in it would. They showed good things on film and we knew it would be a Grey Cup-type of game and it would go down to the last minute.
– It’s technique. Honestly a lot of my stuff is the same but today it was working. Everyone else balled out and it makes it seem easy but it’s all working together.
– Very good to see Drew Willy but it was also fun to get to him!
– Tough week on the road, two road games in a row and it’s all about keeping focus. It’s a lot easier said then done. We knew we had to do tonight and we started slow but we did what we needed to do in the end.
– Physically it was okay. You’re used to this so you just have to check yourself everyone morning with what I have and hope that it goes okay.
RB JEROME MESSAM
– Carmelo how you doing? It felt great. Felt great.
– I wanna say hats off to my offensive line. They’ve done a great job and have been consistent the past number of years. I’m just pleased to be here and be a part of it. Coach Cortez called a great game too. These guys are behind me and it gives me energy.
– All it is is I’m just healthy. It took me two years to feel like I did in 2011. We have a lot of positive energy and something’s brewing.
– Seeing John Chick and what he does every day to prepare is very inspiring.
– I feel happy for Will Ford. We had a job to do and we wanted to outshine their backfield. Hats off to them, but we played a bit better. We had to lock in after 10 days on the road and stay focused and we did that.
* The Riders improved to 4-2 with the win while the Bombers fell to 5-2. The Riders’ next game is Saturday, August 16 against the Montreal Alouettes at 5:00 pm at Mosaic Stadium.
