Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders visited the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday’s 2014 CFL Western Semi-Final at Commonwealth Stadium. It was the first step for the Riders in the playoffs as they attempt to defend their 2013 Grey Cup title. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was cloudy and minus-10 degrees Celsius at the 2:37 pm MT kickoff. With a NNW wind at 17 km/h, with the windchill it felt like minus-17.
– The scratches for the Riders from their 46-man roster were DB Rod Williams and WR Dan DePalma.
– The Riders wore their “all-white” road uniforms with white jerseys, pants and helmets. The Eskimos were in their home greens with gold pants and helmets.
– The Eskimos won the coin toss and deferred. The Riders gave up the ball and the wind to open the game.
– Matt Nichols started at QB for the Eskimos whose opening drive began at their 37. They got to the Rider 30 before attempting a 37-yard Hugh O’Neill field goal. It was good and the Eskimos led 3-0 at the 3:17 mark.
– The Riders took the ball at their 35 for their opening series with Kerry Joseph behind centre. 2-and-out after a Steven Miller run and Anthony Allen reception.
– Edmonton’s second series began at their 37. 2-and-out.
– Rider ball at their 22 after a Weston Dressler punt return. 2-and-out again after a pair of touches by Anthony Allen.
– Edmonton’s third possession began at their 38. 2-and-out and Nichols was sacked by Rider S Tyron Brackenridge.
– The Riders’ third series began at their 29. Their first first down of the game came on an Anthony Allen 11-yard run. On second down Kerry Joseph faced a full blitz and threw up an interception to Eskimo DB Aaron Grymes who returned it to the Rider 39. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 ESKIMOS 0
– The Eskimos turned it into a 42-yard field goal. 6-0 Edmonton with 3:47 remaining.
– Riders took it at their 35 and on first down Joseph was picked off by Edmonton safety Chris Rwabukamba at the Edmonton 44. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 2 ESKIMOS 0
– The Esks started from their 44. On the final play of the 1st quarter Bowman dropped a 35-yard touchdown bomb.
AFTER ONE: ESKIMOS 6 RIDERS 0
– The Eskimos opened the second quarter with a 42-yard O’Neill field goal attempt into the wind. However he missed it left and Tristan Jackson conceded the single. 7-0 Eskimos at the 0:16 mark.
– Riders started out at their 35. On 2nd down Rider WR Rob Bagg tipped a Joseph pass into the hands of Eskimo defender Cauchy Muamba at the Rider 44. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 3 ESKIMO 0. However the Eskimos were 2-and-out.
– The Riders got it at their 15 after a Weston Dressler punt return. They were 2-and-out and Joseph was sacked for the first time in the game on the possession.
– Edmonton ball at the Rider 31 after an illegal punt by the Riders’ Josh Bartel. Again they had to settle for another field goal as Hugh O’Neill stroked an 18-yarder and Edmonton’s lead swelled to 10-0 with 8:03 to go in the half.
– The Riders got it at their 36 after a Tristan Jackson kick return. 2-and-out for a fourth time.
– And then the Rider cover unit broke down as Eskimo returner Kendial Lawrence returned the punt 84-yards for a touchdown. 17-0 Edmonton with 6:20 to go in the half.
– Riders got their best drive start of the game here at their 46. Joseph threw his fourth pick of the game as Edmonton LB Ryan Hinds stole it and returned it to the Rider 30. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 4 ESKIMOS 0.
– On the very next play Matt Nichols was intercepted by Rider defender Weldon Brown in the endzone. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 4 ESKIMOS 1
– So the Riders started from their 25. They managed to get to their 52 before punting.
– With 1:32 to go in the half the Eskimos started from their 15-yard line for their worst drive start of the game. 2-and-out.
– With 1:02 to go the Riders started from the Edmonton 54. On second down Joseph heaved a 54-yard bomb to Korey Williams for the TD with 0:44 to go! The Riders were on the board, trailing 17-7.
– With 0:38 to go the Eskimos started from their 42. The drive ran out the clock.
AT THE BREAK: ESKIMOS 17 RIDERS 7
– The Eskimos got the ball to open the second half, and the wind, defending the north endzone. Their opening series began at their 29. They managed one first down before punting from their 45.
– The Riders’ first series began at their 28. Joseph was sacked for a 7-yard loss but then Chris Getzlaf got a 34-yard pickup to midfield. They wound up punting from the Edmonton 50.
– Edmonton’s second series began at their 12. 2-and-out.
– The Riders’ second possession began at the Edmonton 49. After a 9-yard sack on first down, Kerry Joseph was picked off for a fifth time as Edmonton LB Dexter McCoil returned it to the Rider 54. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 5 ESKIMOS 1
– Mike Reilly came in at quarterback for the Eskimos for the ensuing series with 8:37 left in the third. They got to the Rider 31 before attempting a 38-yard O’Neill field goal. However it was wide and went for a single. 18-7 Eskimos with 6:36 left in the third.
– Tino Sunseri came in to quarterback the Riders for the next series starting from their 35. He got them down to the Edmonton 23 before settling for a 30-yard Chris Milo field goal. 18-10 Eskimos with 1:23 to go in the third.
– The Esks took it at their 35 with Reilly but were 2-and-out. Reilly was sacked by John Chick on second down to force a punt.
– Riders took it at their 50 for the final play of the third quarter.
AFTER THREE: ESKIMOS 18 RIDERS 10
– They got the Eskimo 52 and gambled on 3rd-and-2. Tino’s pass to Getzlaf was incomplete and the Riders gave it up on downs. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 6 ESKIMOS 1
– Edmonton was 2-and-out and had to punt.
– The Riders got it at their 35 after a Dressler punt return and an unnecessary roughness penalty on a late hit on him. 12:57 remained. Sunseri hit Dressler for a 15-yard gain to the 50 before punting.
– A Bartel punt pinned the Eskimos at their 12 with 11:18 remaining. They moved it to their 33 before punting.
– The Riders took over at their 40 with 8:20 left. 2-and-out.
– Edmonton ball at their 36 with 7:17 to go. They got down to the Rider 41 but a John Chick sack (his second) pushed them out of field goal range at the Rider 53. Punt.
– The attendance 26,237.
– With 3:18 to go the Riders started from their 24. They ended up punting from their 50 on 3rd and 26 with 2:00 to go.
– The Eskimos got it at their 37 with 1:44 to go. The Eskimos strung together one first down after another to run out the clock and earn a trip to Calgary for the CFL West Final next Sunday. They ended the game in the “V” Formation.
GAME OVER: ESKIMOS 18 RIDERS 10
POSTGAME QUOTES FROM RIDER HEAD COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– We had a chance to win that game but they were a high-powered team and they smothered us in a couple phases. They won.
– Defense played hard. They were strong and didn’t give up. In the end we didn’t get it done and whenever you lose a turnover battle like that, you won’t win.
– Sometimes that’s just how the story ends. Kerry will always remember that but that’s a part of football.
– It should’ve been a blowout. We held them to three at times and we were real strong there.
– By the time Reilly came in, he just had to not do anything stupid and he didn’t. That’s the way it went.
– I thought we over-achieved. I thought we were an average team coming out of training camp but they fought like hell to get to the Grey Cup. They just came up eight points shy.
– It was a part of Tino’s growth process. I was pleased with what he did but unfortunately it just wasn’t enough.
LB BRIAN PETERS
– Obviously it hurts. That’s a game we let slip through our fingers. We had a great defensive game plan but we gotta finish everything. It was a difference of a few plays and special teams was obviously one of them. It was a close game you’ve got to win.
– I think the defense played fantastic. Everyone wishes they could take a few plays but the turnover battle is a huge component of a football game. We could’ve taken it away more. But we stopped them for the most part.
– The season? We had some ups and downs. We were hot for awhile and then we got cold. We thought we had momentum going into this game but we came up short. We’re a tough, fighting team and that’s what we’ll be coming back next year.
– Tino played fantastic. The kid has a cannon. He took shots and tested them deep. That kept them honest. The kid’s a stud. Just let him get comfortable and watch what he can do.
SB BRETT SWAIN
– We came in here with a mindset of taking this to the Grey Cup. It was all in and unfortunately we fell short. We’ve gotta give credit to Edmonton. They played a heckuva defensive game. We just fell short.
– It took a little too long for us to make the adjustments. We’d dug such a big hole it was tough to get out of. Some of those balls were bouncing their direction. During the year it was bouncing our way. When you look at it, we just fell short.
– Man I had fun this season. I really enjoyed it up here. It was everything I was hoping for when I came up here. I hope it can continue. It will be a tough off-season with this loss. Coach Chamblin said we have a full off-season to think about how to make ourselves better and to learn from the mistakes we made.
