Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) played host to the Montreal Alouettes (1-5) late Saturday afternoon at a soldout Mosaic Stadium (33,427) in Week 8 Canadian Football League action. The Roughriders were after a fourth-straight win while the Alouettes were hoping to snap a three-game slide. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was sunny and 24 degrees Celsius at the 5:07 pm kickoff with a south wind at 15 km/h.
– The Riders were in their new third jerseys from the Reebok Signature series. They were two-tone green with green helmets and black pants. The Alouettes were adorned in their road white uniforms with blue pants and silver helmets.
– The scratches from the Riders’ 46-man roster were OT Levy Adcock and OL Corey Watman.
– Weston Dressler of the Kansas City Chiefs led the Bring ‘Em Out video for the team introduction.
– Montreal won the coin toss and deferred. Saskatchewan took the ball to open the game, defending the south endzone.
– The Riders’ first series began at their 32 after a 15-yard Tristan Jackson kickoff return. 2-and-out after a short pass to Ryan Smith and an incomplete pass to Smith. Punt
– Montreal’s opening series began at their 46. They moved it as far as the Rider 36 before Rider DE John Chick recorded his league-leading 10th sack on QB Alex Brink. 10-yard loss. A 43-yard field goal attempt from Sean Whyte was wide right and returned out by Tristan Jackson to the 19.
– That’s for the Riders’ second drive started. 2-and-out after a Will Ford run and a throwaway by Darian Durant.
– Montreal’s second series began at their 40. They got down to 2nd-and-goal from the 10 but tailback Brandon Whitacker fumbled and it was returned by Rider linebacker Sam Hurl to the Saskatchewan 42. Safety Tyron Brackenridge had the forced fumble. TURNOVERS: ALS 1 RIDERS 0
– Riders’ third series began at their 42. They got to the Montreal 47 before punting. Josh Bartel hit a 57-yard punt single to put the Riders up 1-0 with 1:51 to go in the first period.
– Montreal got it at their 35 for series #3. They moved it just across midfield to the Rider 53 on the final play of the quarter.
AFTER 1: RIDERS 1 ALOUETTES 0
– Montreal had 106 net yards in the first quarter to the Riders’ 14.
– The first play of the third was 2nd-and-3 at the Rider 53 and a TFL from Tearrius George forced them into a punt.
– Ryan Smith replaced the knicked Tristan Jackson on the punt return and fielded a 74-yard punt single from Sean Whyte. 1-1 at the 0:53 mark.
– Riders’ fourth series began at their 35. They got as far as the Montreal 23 before settlng for a 30-yard Chris Milo field goal. It was good, and the Riders went up 4-1 with 9:31 remaining in the first half.
– Montreal’s fourth possession began at their 37 after electing to take a kickoff. QB Alex Brink had some nice runs to get them to the Rider 38 before attempting a 45-yard Sean Whyte field goal. It was good, making it 4-4 with 5:43 to go in the half.
– There were only two penalties aside to this point in the game.
– Rider ball for a fifth time at their 35. A 13-yard reception by WR Rob Bagg got them their only first down before punting with 3:47 to go in the second frame.
– Alouettes took over at their 18. They managed on first down on a 20-yard reception by tailback Brandon Whitaker before punting.
– A 20-yard punt return by Ryan Smith set the Riders up at their 40 with 2:24 to go but a penalty on the Rider return team had them moved back to their 18. They got to 3rd-and-1 at their 39 before punting with 1:20 to go.
– A 39-yard Bartel punt and 2-yard Duron Carter return had Montreal starting at their 34 with 0:55 remaining. They threw an incomplete Hail Mary pass as the clock hit 0:00.
AT THE BREAK: RIDERS 4 ALOUETTES 4
– Montreal got the ball to open the second half, beginning at their 44. On the first play John Chick recorded his second sack of the game for a nine-yard loss. 2-and-out.
– The Riders’ first series of the second half began at their 36 after a Ryan Smith punt return. On the first play Darian Durant heaved a bomb to Chris Getzlaf to the Montreal 47. That’s all they could get, and Josh Bartel stroked a 53-yard punt single to give the Riders a 5-4 lead with 12:02 to go in the third.
– Montreal took it at their 35. The drive ended when Rider LB Macho Harris picked off Brink and returned it 62 yards for the touchdown. However the play was taken off the board as Macho Harris was called for pass interference after a challenge by Als coach Tom Higgins. However on the next play Rider CB Tristan Jackson picked off Brink and returned it to the Saskatchewan 24. TURNOVERS: ALS 2 RIDERS 0
– The Riders’ second series started there with Jerome Messam at tailback. They got to the Rider 51 before punting.
– Montreal’s third series began at their 30. They got one first down before punting.
– An 18-yard Ryan Smith punt return had the Riders starting at their 35 for their third possession. 2-and-out after incomplete passes to Chris Getzlaf and Taj Smith. Punt.
– A 60-yard rocket punt by Josh Bartel sent the Alouettes to their 22 to start. 2-and-out after a Whitaker run and a deep incompletion to S.J. Green.
– Rider ball at their 48 after a 21-yard punt return by Ryan Smith. A 22-yard Durant-to-Rob Bagg pass set the Riders up 1st-and-10 at the Montreal 30 on the final play of the quarter.
AFTER THREE: RIDERS 5 ALOUETTES 4
– On the first play Durant launched a 30-yard touchdown to Rob Bagg as the Riders scored their first offensive TD in nine quarters. 12-4 Riders with 14:24 to go. It was a 4-play, 62-yard drive. Bagg had 90 yards on 6 catches to this point.
– Als took over at their 30. They marched it to the Rider 45, thanks in part to a 15-yard major penalty on Tristan Jackson, but wound up punting.
– With 12:31 to go the Riders started from their 6-yard line. A 25-yard run by Messam got them out to their 30 to take the heat off. They got to the 53 of Montreal before punting with 8:48 to go.
– Montreal, down eight, got the ball again at their 17. The noisy stadium caused a time count violation for Brink, and they went 2-and-out.
– The Riders got the ball at the Als’ 34 for their next series after a 15-yard no yards penalty on Montreal. There was 7:10 remaining. They got down to the Als 25 facing 3rd-and-1 and backup pivot Tino Sunseri converted to keep the drive alive. However a John Bowman sack of Durant pushed them back to force a 39-yard field goal attempt. It was wide right and Duron Carter returned it 122 yards for a major. 12-11 Riders with 3:14 remaining.
– With 3:06 remaining the Riders started at their 41. 2-and-out. Josh Bartel hit a 73-yard punt single to give the Riders a 13-11 lead with 2:16 to go.
– Montreal ball at their 35, down two. They were worn down to 3rd-and-4 from their 46 with 1:40 to go. John Chick took Brink down again to cause a turnover on downs. TURNOVERS: ALS 3 RIDERS 0
– Riders took over at the Montreal 45. Back-to-back runs by Darian Durant, one for 17 yards on 2nd-and-15, got them a first down at the 33 with 0:45 remaining. Then with 0:16 remaining and facing 3rd-and-2 at the 25, they lined up a 32-yard field goal attempt. It sailed through the uprights with 0:12 to go.
– Montreal took it at their 35. With 0:04 to go, the Als went 1st-and-10 from their 25 after a penalty. Brink threw 10-yard pass and then they tried the rugby play. However they fumbled and the Riders’ Tristan Black recovered with no time left. TURNOVERS: ALS 4 RIDERS 0
GAME OVER!: RIDERS 16 ALOUETTES 11
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– That team has the makings of a good team. They played well. I told the players we won’t be perfect in this game and Montreal changed some things up. They were fighting for their jobs and were reaching to put everything in
– We go to Jerome Messam as our short yardage guy. During the flow of the game you hope the other guy can get it, but that may be something we change.
– I stayed up all last night worrying about S.J. Green and Macho Harris did a good job on him.
– The offense is a concern. We want to be a high-flying offense, but we’ll look at it and make the necessary adjustments.
– It was a tough game on offense. Noel Thorpe does a good job of defensive football. It was good defensive football, and both teams had troubles on offense.
– I wasn’t scared when he brought back that missed field goal. I didn’t get scared, but I didn’t like it. It was a good test; are we going to be a team that quits when the going gets tough or are we going to be a team that fights to the end? We fought to the end.
– I didn’t hear the cheers from the fans, but that’s good. We’re all a family and we stick together.
– There will be a time when the offense is lights out and we’ll need the defense. We’ll come along offensively and we’re playing really well on defense. I saw some sparks. We’ll work it into a flame.
– It was a guaranteed win! Right Murray? It doesn’t matter how we win. Well, it does matter, but at the end of the day it matters on the scoreboard. One week is always different from the next.
– I don’t have an update on Sam Hurl. He was having an illness, but I don’t know exactly what caused him to leave the game.
– It’s funny because I thought we didn’t play well during the game and I saw there were only four points up there. We’re doing good. Each week we’re progressing but we took a step back in our tackling today.
– Some of our backs are nicked up. We’ll have to look at our rotation but whoever carries the ball best will be in there.
* The Riders visit the B.C. Lions next Sunday at 5:00 pm on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.
