Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-2) were in Winnipeg Sunday afternoon to face the Blue Bombers (6-4) in Week 11 CFL action. It was the back-end of a home-and-home series which saw the Riders take the opener 35-30 in the Labour Day Classic a week before in Regina. Saskatchewan was also looking for its seventh consecutive win for the first time since 1970. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was sunny and 22 degrees Celsius (74 above Fahrenheit) at the 3:00 pm local time kickoff. The wind was out of the south southeast at 18 km/h gusting to 30.
– The Riders wore their all-white road uniforms with white jerseys, pants and helmets. The Bombers were in the royal blue home jerseys with gold pants and helmets.
– Riders won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Bombers opened with the football.
– Winnipeg’s first series began at their 40 with Drew Willy at quarterback. First play Willy found Aaron Kelly to the Rider 47 but they could get no further. Punt.
– The Riders first series began at their 1-yard line with Darian Durant at QB. It was a 49-yard Bomber punt. Durant moved them down to the Bomber 29 thanks to aerial first downs to Weston Dressler and Jerome Messam. They capped the drive with a 35-yard missed field goal single from Christopher Milo. 1-0 Riders with 6:02 to go in the first quarter.
– The Bombers took over at their 20 after a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Winnipeg linebacker Ejiro Kuale. Willy efficiently moved it downfield and they ended the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run by Nic Grigsby for a 7-1 Bomber lead with 1:48 to go in the first.
– The Riders’ second series began at their 25. Tino Sunseri fumbled the ball on a 3rd-and-inches gamble at the Rider 38 and Winnipeg took over there. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 BOMBERS 0
– The ensuing Bomber series carried over into the second quarter.
AFTER ONE: BOMBERS 7 RIDERS 1
– The first play of the second quarter was a 45-yard field goal attempt by Lirim Hajrullahu. It was blocked by the Riders and CB Rod Williams returned it 65 yards to the house! Weldon Brown had the block. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 1 RIDERS 1
– Winnipeg’s next series began at their 17. A big play in the series was a 47-yard Willy-to-Romby Bryant hook-up to the Rider 35. An uneccessary roughness penalty on the Bombers’ Rory Kohlert took them out of field goal range. Punt. It went for a 49-yard single to tie the game 8-8 with 10:59 to go in the first half
– Riders took over at their 35. 2-and-out.
– Winnipeg took over at their 25 but were 2-and-out. The Riders’ first sack came from MLB Chad Kilgore. The snap was over the punter’s head and he booted out the back of the endzone for a safety. 10-8 Riders with 10-8 left in the first half.
– The Bombers kicked off from their 25 and the Riders took over at their 45. Durant moved the offense to the Winnipeg 28 before settling for a 35-yard Chris Milo field goal. This one was good and the Riders went up 13-8 with 4:37 to go in the half.
– Bombers took it at their 35. 2-and-out.
– Riders took over at their 52 after a Weston Dressler punt return. They made it look easy pounding it on the ground and the series ended with a 13-yard by Anthony Allen touchdown run giving Saskatchewan a 20-8 lead with 1:33 to go in the half.
– Bombers got it at their 30 after a Troy Stoudemire kickoff return. On first down John Chick got his 13th sack of the year taking down Willy for a 10-yard loss. 2-and-out.
– Weston Dressler blew the game open with a 75-yard punt return touchdown! 27-8 Riders with 0:38 to go in the half
– Winnipeg took over at their 16 with 0:33 to go. The clock hit 0:00 on them and that was it.
AT THE BREAK: RIDERS 27 BOMBERS 8
– Bombers opened the second half with the football and started at their 49. Willy calmly moved them all the way down the field and finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Rory Kohlert. 27-15 Riders 2:53 into the third quarter.
– The Riders started from their 13 after Tristan Jackson bobbled the kick but managed to maintain possession. They got one first down on a Durant run but a few plays later he took a big shot from DT Bryant Turner and he was down on the turf for quite awhile. Darian went immediately to the locker room. Tino Sunseri came in for 2nd-and-10 from the 26. He got ’em to the Bomber 28 before Milo stroked a 35-yard field goal. 30-15 Riders with 6:02 to go in the third period.
– Bombers’ second series began at their 33. The Riders’ third sack of the game came from Terrell Maze at the Bomber 47 forcing a punt. It traveled 83 yards for a single. 30-16 Riders with 2:17 to go in the third.
– Rider ball at their 35 for their second series. They got to the Bomber 49 before punting.
AFTER THREE: RIDERS 30 BOMBERS 16
– The Bombers started their third possession of the half on their 7-yard line with the first play of the fourth quarter. They got to their 38 before punting.
– Riders got it at their 32. 2-and-out and Sunseri was sacked in the series on 2nd down.
– Bomber ball at their 37 with 11:54 to go. They got to the Rider 45 before punting. It went for a punt single making 30-17 Riders with 9:49 to go in the game.
– Riders took it at their 35. The report on Durant was that it was an elbow injury. They got to the Bomber 53 before punting
– Winnipeg ball at their 18 with 8:11 left. They got to their 37 before punting with 6:50 remaining.
– The attendance: a sellout – 33,234
– Rider ball at their 37. 2-and-out after a Will Ford run and deep incompletion to Brett Swain. Punt.
– Bomber ball at their 25 with 4:49 to go. Willy again moved it downfield and launched a 29-yard touchdown bomb to Aaron Kelly making it 30-24 with 2:27 remaining.
– Riders started from their 35 after a Dressler return with 2:24 to go. They got only to their own 44 before Jerome Messam fumbled on 3rd-and-1 and the Bombers recovered. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 3 BOMBERS 1
– On first down Willy went for it all and Rider CB Rod Williams picked him off at the Saskatchewan 5-yard line and he returned it to the 28. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 3 BOMBERS 2
– A brawl ensued, seriously, and once it was sorted it the Riders took over at their 43 with 1:26 to go. The Riders’ Weldon Brown and the Bombers’ Stephen Morley were kicked out of the game. The Riders were 2-and-out and had to punt with 1:01 to go.
– Timeout Winnipeg. Then a fan ran on the field and was held by Rider OT Xavier Fulton until security arrived.
– Craziness!
– Winnipeg got it at their 34 with 0:49 to go. 9-yard catch by Denmark. Then on second down Willy was sacked by Tearrius George for a loss of 7. 3rd-and-8 from the 36 with 0:30. Willy picked off by Tristan Jackson at the Winnipeg 45. TURNOVERS: BOMBERS 3 RIDERS 3
– Tino Sunseri and the Rider offense finished the game in the Victory Formation.
GAME OVER!: RIDERS 30 BOMBERS 24
POSTGAME COMMENTS
HEAD COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– Always feels good about breaking records (seven in a row) but just grateful to go 1-0 this week.
– Toward the end they got some drives and their will started to come. But our guys dug deep and any rival game is going to be tight.
– I made sure we came out on time. Even early, to make sure there were no mishaps. Not sure what O’Shea was upset about at the start of the game.
– That was a team win. For all those guys to play like that, especially on the road in a tough place, that’s grit.
– If you let people hang around, they’re like a festering sore. If you play them too many times in a row, it could end up in a win for them.
– Not sure about Darian right now. It’s his throwing arm. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and we’ll rally around him.
RB ANTHONY ALLEN
– It was tough running. It didn’t feel like 115 yards but it’s great to hear.
– They’re a good team. They fight hard. This is a big rivalry and they threw some punches but we delivered the knockout punch at the end.
– It’s real tough to face them three times. You’re going at each other’s throats and that’s what it’s been all three times. Kinda glad it’s over! It’s nice to get some new guys in there and know that we can trust them.
– We just came together after Durant went out. We talked to the defense and told them to get the ball back. They did and then it was up to Tino. We trust Tino and he did a great job.
– I’m the biggest Messam and Ford fan. We have a great thing going. I love when they touch the ball. It’s just a feel, not a rotation. We interchange positions and Will starts the game.
CB ROD WILLIAMS
– 3-0 against them? That’s great. We won with a sweep and it feels pretty good.
– We played great. Our head coach is a defense guy. We the Wolf Pack. We know come crunch time we need to step up and we always do.
– Weldon made the block but coach Dyce called the block. We blocked it and I ran till the whistle blew.
– I’m not surprised Willy went deep but I’m surprised he threw it at me. What you doing Drew Willy? He threw it deep and we capitalized.
– Darian’s our leader. We feed off him but Tino came in and we have faith in him. Hopefully Darian’s back soon though.
* The Riders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 12 next Sunday at 11:00 am Saskatchewan time on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.
