Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-3) were in Edmonton Friday evening for a Week 14 showdown with the Eskimos (8-4). It was the first of three regular season meetings between the clubs in the final six games of the regular season. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was clear and 9 degrees Celsius at the 8:00 pm kickoff with a northwest wind at 12 km/h.
– The Riders wore their “all-white” road outfits with white jerseys, pants and helmets. The Eskimos were in their home greens with gold pants and helmets.
– The scratches for the Riders from their 46-man roster were REC Brett Swain and OT Levy Adcock.
– The Riders won the coin toss and deferred. Edmonton got the ball to open the game.
– The Eskimos’ first drive, with Mike Reilly at QB, started at their 35. Two-and-out after a pair of Reilly passes.
– The Riders opening series, with Tino Sunseri at QB, started at their 28. They got to their 37 facing 3rd-and-1 and went for it. However back-up Seth Doege couldn’t convert and the Riders turned it over on downs. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 ESKIMOS 0
– On the very first play Eskimo tailback John White took it 36 yards for the score. 7-0 Edmonton at the 3:04 mark.
– The second Rider drive began at their 39. 2-and-out.
– Eskimos got it for a third time from their 23. Reilly calmly moved them all the way down to the Rider 20 before settling for a 27-yard Hugh O’Neill field goal. 10-0 Esks with 2:43 left in the first.
– Riders had the Esks kickoff following the field goal and their third series began at their 29. 2-and-out and Tino Sunseri was sacked for the first time.
– Eskimo ball for their fourth drive at their 46. The series carried over into the second period.
AFTER ONE: ESKIMOS 10 RIDERS 0
– On the first play of the second quarter the Riders registered their first sack as Hilee Taylor took down Mike Reilly forcing a punt.
– The Riders’ fourth series commenced at their five after a holding penalty on the punt return team. 2-and-out.
– The Riders gave up a safety from punter Chris Milo and the Esks went up 12-0 with 13:06 to go in the half.
– The Esks added to their lead with a single on a 46-yard missed field goal by Hugh O’Neill on the ensuing drive. 13-0 Edmonton with 10:33 to go in the half.
– The Riders took it for a fifth time at their 39. They got to the Eskimo 44 but Sunseri’s pass was tipped by receiver Chris Getzlaf into the hands of Edmonton safety Ryan Hinds. They took over at the Edmonton 14. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 2 ESKIMOS 0
– The Eskimos moved it to their 34 before punting. QB Mike Reilly had 65 yards rushing to this point in the game.
– Riders’ sixth series began at their 40 with 7:11 to go in the first half. They got to the Edmonton 52 before punting.
– Rider punter Chris Milo pinned the Esks at their 4-yard line for their next series. Eskimo tailback John White ripped off a 63-yard run to the Rider 46 but they ending up punting.
– A 55-yard punt single by O’Neill gave Edmonton a 14-0 lead with 2:52 to go in the half.
– Rider ball at their 35. They got to the Edmonton 50 before punting with 0:48 remaining.
– With 0:05 to go the Eskimos took over at their five. Reilly knelt down twice to kill the clock.
AT THE BREAK: ESKIMOS 14 RIDERS 0
– Riders got the ball to open the second half, starting at their 34 after a Tristan Jackson kick return. 2-and-out and Sunseri was sacked for a fourth time at their 26.
– Eskimos’ first series began at their 43. They got to the Rider 38 before attempting a 45-yard field goal. Hugh O’Neil was good, making him 2/3 on the night, and the Esks went up 17-0 at the 4:46 mark.
– Riders took it at their 35 for series #2. They got to their 50, via a roughing the passer penalty, and had to punt.
– The Eskimos’ second drive began at their 10 after Milo’s punt got past returner Kendial Lawrence. They got to their 34 before punting.
– Rookie Rider QB Seth Doege from Texas Tech came in to pilot the next series which began at the Edmonton-52 after a Weston Dressler punt return which drew a horse collar tackle penalty. 2-and-out after an Anthony Allen run and an incomplete pass to Weston Dressler.
– Edmonton ball at their 23 for their third possession. Riders got their second sack of the game when David Lee took down Reilly. They wound up punting from their 37.
– Riders took over from their 42 with Doege behind centre. Tino’s line was 6/12 for 27 yards and the pick. 2-and-out after a Rob Bagg reception and an Allen run.
– Eskimos got it at their 15 with 0:35 to go in the third. The series carried over into the fourth.
AFTER THREE: ESKIMOS 17 RIDERS 0
– The Riders took it at their 52 a minute into the fourth. 2-and-out for a third straight time under Doege. He was sacked at his 50 to snuff out the drive.
– Eskimos got it at their 16 with 13:04 to go. A facemasking penalty at Rider LB Chad Kilgore got them a first down, but they ended up punting from their 43.
– Rider ball at their 22 with 10:05 to go. 2-and-out. Hang on. Corey Chamblin challenged on a non P-I call and he was correct. Riders got a first down at their 39. Dressler was interfered with. They got to the Edmonton 45 before punting.
– With 6:24 to go the Esks took over at their 11 but they were 2-and-out. Reilly heaved it out of bounds on 2nd down to alleviate pressure.
– Rider ball at their 50 with 5:07 to go. First play Doege finds Dressler at the Edmonton 35. 40-yarder. On the next play Doege was picked off by Edmonton DB Aaron Grymes at the Edmonton 5. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 3 ESKIMOS 0
– The attendance: 42,161
– From the 5, Reilly again marched it downfield with huge gains by John White on the ground and Fred Stamps in the air to the Rider 10. From there John White hauled in a 10-yard screen pass and took it to the endzone. 24-0 Edmonton with 0:52 to go.
– The Riders got it at their 36 with 0:47. Doege got drilled on the front numbers on first down, taking the sack by Eddie Steele. Anthony Allen got a pair of rushing first downs to the Edmonton 54 with 0:10 to go. Taj Smith got drilled on the next play and left the field with an expected rib injury.
– It came down to 0:01 left. 2nd-and-10 at the EDM 54. Doege threw an incomplete pass as time expired.
GAME OVER: ESKIMOS 24 RIDERS 0
POSTGAME COMMENTS
RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– It’s always tough. We weren’t consistent on first down and we didn’t stop their run game on defense. We didn’t have enough fire in the tank to get it done.
– That game could’ve been a blowout. It was 17-0 for awhile and we had a chance but we couldn’t get anything going. It’s been 28 years since a shutout. We just have to be a better football team.
– We got some young QBs and they need to get some experience. It’s not coming at a good time but we have to get things moving.
– Their QB looked for one thing and if he didn’t see it, he took off. We gotta do a better job stopping him in the future.
– We’d stop them and then do things to keep them on the field. We know how to play professional football and we need to get back to that.
– We had some bright spots but to win games we have to put it all together.
S TYRON BRACKENRIDGE
– It was a tough one. Especially being shutout. That’s now how we approach games. We gave up big plays and penalties including a stupid, selfish one on me. We have to stop them on defense. That’s our motto.
– Reilly found a way. At the end of the day, they came out with more energy and we shot ourselves in the foot. We gave up big plays too. It is what it is. It’s just very undisciplined.
– They came out with a lot of fire and we did too. We had a lot of fans and they were loud when we made plays. At the end of the day, they played better and the score shows it.
– We’re gonna rally, learn from this game and move forward.
K/P CHRIS MILO
– I’m one person in a 12-person scheme. The guys did a great job covering and hats off to them. They made me look great tonight. Chad Rempel threw bombs back to me and he was great. The guys were flying downfield and they didn’t get returns. There’s always positives to take. You can’t win them all and it’s been a great season. We’ll bounce back.
– I think we’re just trying to find ourselves. There’s been a lot of change the past few weeks, including on defense and at quarterback. Not to compare teams but we got a really, really good team this year and somewhat better than last year as far as bonding. There’s more encouraging and not so much negativity. It’s a very mature team and we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the year.
– We’ve lost nine games and only lost four. That should be looked at. We’ve had a tremendous season. Next week we’re home to Calgary in front of our fans and there will be a big push over the next five games.
• The Riders host the Calgary Stampeders Friday evening on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.
