Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) were home to the Calgary Stampeders (11-2) Friday evening at Mosaic Stadium in Week 15 CFL action. It was the first of the two-game season series between the CFL West Division rivals. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
-It was clear and 1 degree Celsius at the 8:07 pm kickoff. The wind was out of the northwest at 15 km/h.
-The scratches for the Riders from their 46-man roster were SB/KR Ryan Smith and DL Trevor Guyton.
-The Riders wore their home green jerseys with white pants and green helmets. The Stamps were in their road whites with red pants and black helmets.
-Rider alumni Tad Kornegay introduced the Riders on the Bring ‘Em Out video at the outset of the game.
-The Stampeders won the coin toss and elected to take the football to open the game. There was a delay to start the game due to a small fire on the SaskTel Maxtron scoreboard. However it was extinguished by a stadium worker.
-Calgary’s opening series, with Drew Tate at QB, began at their 35. They were 2-and-out after a Jon Cornish run and a Mo Price reception.
-Seth Doege got his first pro start at QB for the Riders as they began at their 16 after a 3-yard Weston Dressler punt return. They managed a first down after a pair of Anthony Allen runs but ended up punting from their 34. Sederrick Cunningham of the Stamps returned it 65 yards for a touchdown but it came off the board due to penalty.
-Calgary’s second series began at their 47. They learned they clinched a playoff berth earlier in the night with Ottawa’s 42-20 win over Winnipeg. The Stamps moved it to the Rider 20 before Tearrius George collected his 11th sack of the season when he took down Tate for an 8-yard loss. They ended up attempting a 51-yard field goal attempt by Rene Parades after Calgary REC Nik Lewis took a 15-yard deadball foul. The ball didn’t make it to the uprights, and the game remained scoreless.
-The Riders took it at their 25 for their second series with 6:57 to go in the first period. 2-and-out and Doege fumbled, which OT Ben Heenan recovered at the Rider six-yard line. Rider punter Chris Milo conceded a safety and the Stamps went up 2-0 with 5:35 left.
-Following the kickoff, Calgary began their third series at the Rider 54. 2-and-out after two touches by Cornish.
-Rider ball at their 12 with 3:49 to go. Doege got going with a 22-yard hook up with Rob Bagg for a first down to the Rider 54. The series carried over into the second.
AFTER ONE: STAMPS 2 RIDERS 0
-On the first play of the second quarter Doege was picked off by Stamps LB Keon Raymond who caught a tipped ball off Weston Dressler’s hands. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 STAMPS 0
-Stamps took over at their 54. 2-and-out. It was their third of the game to the Riders’ one.
-A 2-yard Weston Dressler punt return had the Riders starting from their 15 with 13:16 remaining in the half. 2-and-out after a Dressler run and incomplete pass intended for Brett Swain.
-Calgary took over at their 35 after a holding penalty on the punt return team. It was their fourth 2-and-out.
-Rider ball at their own 45 with 11:06 to go in the half. On 2nd-and-7 Doege was picked off by Stamps CB Fred Bennett at the Calgary 44. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 2 STAMPS 0
-Tate moved them to the Rider 43 thanks in part to a 20-yard Mo Price reception. They wound up with a 50-yard field goal attempt from Parades but again it was short and they came away with no points. Still 2-0 Calgary with8:24 to go in the half.
-Riders got it at their 11 after a Tristan Jackson return of the MFG. Doege was picked off for a third time as they scrimmaged from their 33 and Stamps DB Jamar Wall returned it to the Rider 11. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 3 STAMPS 0. Back-up Tino Sunseri started to warm-up.
-It took the Stamps two plays before Tate found Price on a slant for an 11-yard TD. 9-0 Calgary with 6:09 to go in the half.
-Tino Sunseri came in at QB for Saskatchewan for their next series with 5:48 to go, and starting from their 30. They got a first down two plays in after a Dressler reception and Jerome Messam run to convert on 2nd-and-2. Then Sunseri took a sack at the Calgary 54 on 2nd-and 13, and the Riders had to punt.
-Stamps started their next series at their 28. Three straight Cornish runs got them to their own 54. They moved it down to the Rider 21 before attempting a 28-yard Parades FG. It was blocked by Rider S Tyron Brackenridge as the clock hit 0:00. There was a facemasking penalty on the Stamps on the play, meaning the Riders had to run one more play.
-On that play, the Riders scrimmaged from their 25. Sunseri knelt down and that was it.
AT THE BREAK: STAMPS 9 RIDERS 0
-The Riders got the ball to open the second half. Sunseri was at quarterback as they started at their 36. They were 2-and-out after two plays that went for losses. They punted from their 33.
-The Stamps’ first series began at their 36. They got to the Rider 50 before punting. It went for a 63-yard Rob Maver punt single and it swelled Calgary’s lead to 10-0 with 10:03 to go in the third frame.
-The Riders’ second series began at their 35. 2-and-out after an Anthony Allen rush and incomplete pass to Dan DePalma who was in the game for the injured Taj Smith. Punter Chris Milo couldn’t get the punt off and the Riders turned it over at their 27. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 4 STAMPS 0
-Three plays into the third Calgary series, Tate fired an 8-yard touchdown to Anthony Parker for a 17-0 Calgary lead with 7:28 to go in the third.
-The next Rider series began at their 15. 2-and-out.
-Calgary ball at the Rider 54. They moved it downfield with little trouble and capped the drive with a 15-yard Drew Tate touchdown run to open a 24-0 lead with 3:38 to go in the third.
-Riders got it at their 38 after the Tristan Jackson KOR. On the second play Sunseri hooked up with rookie WR Dan DePalma for a 66-yard catch-and-run play. Dressler caught the two-point conversion pass and it cut Calgary’s lead to 24-8 with 2:12 left.
-Calgary took over from their 31. Riders thought about an onside kick, but decided against it. 2-and-out after a pair of runs.
-Rider ball at their 40. First play – Sunseri 57-yards to Chris Getzlaf to the Calgary 13. Two plays later Tino Sunseri plunged in from the one. Dressler caught another two-point pass and the Stamps’ lead was cut to 24-16 on the final play of the third quarter.
AFTER THREE: STAMPS 24 RIDERS 16
-Stamps started the fourth quarter from their 44 after the kickoff. Receiver Simon Charbonneau took a hard hit from Rider DB Marshay Green at the SK 35 and was down for an extended time. It was a 2-and-out.
-Rider ball at their 9 after a penalty on the punt return team. Sunseri moved them right down and ended the drive with a 1-yard Jerome Messam touchdown run. Anthony Allen caught the two point convert pass and we got a tie game with 8:27 left! 24-24. It was a 10-play, 101 yard drive taking 4:45 off the clock. To this point, Tino was 10/12 for 217 yards.
-The attendance: 33,031.
-Calgary ball at their 49 with 8:08 to go. Drew Tate was picked off by Rider CB Tristan Jackson at the Rider 17! TURNOVERS: RIDERS 4 STAMPS 1
-Rider ball at their 17 with 7:08 to go. First down toss to Swain (17 yards). Then 12 more to Swain to the 50. Tino did a head-first slide to the Stamps 52 bringing up 3rd-and-2 with 4:00 to go. Punt.
-Calgary ball at their 25 with 3:38 to go. Tate calmly tossed first downs to Mo Price and Nik Lewis as they moved it downfield and milked the clock. With 0:34 to go Rene Parades stroked an 8-yard field goal but the Riders took an illegal substitution penalty giving them a first down from the one.
-Tate rushed in giving the Stamps a 30-24 lead with 0:32 to play.
-With 0:26 to go Rider up-man David Lee took the kickoff to the Rider 40. Sunseri to Rob Bagg to the Calgary 44 with 0:18 remaining. Then a 7-yarder to Dan DePalma to the 37 with 0:09 left. With 0:00 left Sunseri was sacked by Calgary DE Shawn Lemon to end the game.
GAME OVER: STAMPEDERS 31 RIDERS 24
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
-We’re not looking for moral victories. You want to make sure each and every night that you’re able to win. We did some good things in there. I’m very encouraged and I thought guys stepped up and improved their play. There’s a chance we can get it going in the right direction.
-The guys had a good week of practice and thought we’d start faster. We have young QBs and by the time they caught up, it was too late.
-I’m not naming a starting QB yet. They’ll go back to practice and the only thing that will decide on a starting quarterback is a win.
-We should’ve gone for it on 3rd-and-1. We have to have confidence we can do that. My biggest threat is that. Whether we win or lose, we have to be aggressive. We can’t be soft there. I’d rather be damned by doing. I live my life to be aggressive and that’s the way we’re going to play for the rest of the season.
*The Riders’ next game is Thanksgiving Day Monday in Montreal in an 11:00 am kickoff against the Alouettes.
