Mitchell Blair
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have had one-sided wins over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium and they have eked out victories. Sunday’s 35-30 victory will fall into the latter as the Riders made it 10 straight Labour Day wins in dramatic fashion.
Trailing by two with three minutes to go in the game, the Riders took the ball at their own 35 and moved 75 yards in eight plays with running back Anthony Allen putting it in the endzone on an 8 yard run with 73 seconds to play for what was the winning points.
For Allen, it was a sign that he has regained the confidence of the coaching staff after losing his job early in the season because of fumbles.
“It was so big to get that, “Allen confided as the music played in what was a happy dressing room. “It meant so much to me to have that opportunity. The coaches showed a lot of trust in me to give me the ball in that situation and I didn’t want to let them down.”
The touchdown also left Head Coach Corey Chamblin smiling because of what Allen has gone through
“I think he has learned a lot from what he went through early this season.” Chamblin said. “He’s moved forward and we have moved forward. He knows what his role is and when he was asked to come through today he did and I’m happy for him.”
Allen was one of three players to feel a sense of redemption on this day. The second was quarterback Darian Durant. While Durant has played error-free football and led his team to victories, the team has struggled to put the ball in the endzone. The leader of that offence has said in the past there will be a time when they will have to bail the defense out because of points being given up and on this day, that happened.
“We repaid some of that debt today. “ Durant said. “The defense has been doing a great job for us all season and today they didn’t play the way they wanted to and they’ve been lights out all season for us. I’m just glad today was a day that we could get things going, make some plays, put some points on the board and do what we had to get the win.”
Durant also had a big part to play in the 3rd player to leave Mosaic feeling a form of redemption. After dropping a pass in the 4th quarter, Taj Smith redeemed himself by getting wide open and hauling in a 59 yard touchdown pass that gave the Riders a 28-27 win midway through the 4th quarter. Durant said he wanted to give the receiver another chance after the drop and he was more than happy to have him capitalize on that chance.
“We saw that earlier in the game and we were just waiting for them to give us the right coverage, “Durant explained. “Taj came back to the huddle after that drop and said come back to me because I’ll make a play and he did that.
Like Allen’s touchdown, Chamblin was very happy to see Smith come through after what could have been a crucial drop.
“It was awesome. As that ball was coming down, I was just saying ‘Taj, catch this one’ and he did. It’s great to see player’s come through like that after battling some adversity.” Chamblin said.
The win leaves the team at 7-2. It’s a record Chamblin concedes he didn’t think they would have when the team broke camp at the end of June.
“No I didn’t,” Chamblin said. “That shows what a phenomenal job we’ve seen when it comes to this team coming together. We were just trying to find our way and this team has done a great job of coming together and moving forward. I’m really enjoying this season and watching the guys grow, come together and take the next step in their careers.
There’s no time for either side to think about this one as the two will meet again next Sunday afternoon at Investors Group Field for the third and final time in the regular season with the green-and-white looking to keep their win streak alive and start the second half of the season on a positive.
GAME NOTES:
- Weston Dressler saw considerable action in his first game back with the team since returning from the NFL. He caught three passes and returned two punts.
- The Riders went into the game leading the CFL is rushing yards per game with just under 144. They improved on that by running for 160 with Jerome Messam having the most yards at 64.
- John Chick was held without a sack for a second, but the #1 team in getting to the quarterback registered four sacks giving them 36 on the season.
- The Riders offence is now on a streak of 63 possessions without turning over the football
