The Roughriders made new memories in 2017

Whether it was opening a new stadium or opening eyes with some spectacular plays, the Saskatchewan Roughriders had a memorable year in 2017.

During the calendar year, the Roughriders played host to the inaugural CFL Week at Evraz Place, cut the ribbon and welcomed the masses to new Mosaic Stadium, turned in some of the plays of the year in the league, and ended a two-year playoff drought.

Here’s one man’s list of 10 moments that helped make 2017 noteworthy for the Roughriders and their fans. The events appear in chronological order.

Welcome home: Before Saskatchewan played host to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in its regular-season home opener on July 1, Roughriders players were giddy about the notion of opening their new $278-million home.

“It’s going to be an unbelievable beginning to a new stadium,” receiver Rob Bagg said. “But every game is going to be like that. I know this one’s going to be the one where you’re going down in the record book as (having) the first-catch-first-touchdown kind of thing.

“Aside from that, this stadium is going to be rocking every single game and it’s going to be a fun place to play.”

A sold-out crowd of 33,350 jammed Mosaic Stadium for the Roughriders’ home opener and the teams didn’t disappoint.

Saskatchewan scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally from a 37-23 deficit to force overtime. But Justin Medlock’s 28-yard field goal on Winnipeg’s second possession of extra time lifted the Bombers to a 43-40 victory.

“The 13th Man came out to support us,” Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn said. “We’ve just got to make sure that we start giving back to them and put some wins on the board.”

The Roughriders registered eight straight sellouts and finished the season as the CFL’s leaders in attendance.

The numbers game: Glenn’s 17-year odyssey through the CFL reached a statistical milestone July 22 in Calgary.

With a 23-yard completion to Naaman Roosevelt early in the third quarter of a 27-10 loss to the Stampeders, Glenn became just the seventh quarterback in CFL history to exceed 50,000 career passing yards.

He joined Anthony Calvillo (79,816), Damon Allen (72,381), Henry Burris (63,369), Ricky Ray (60,429), Danny McManus (53,255) and Ron Lancaster (50,535) in the CFL’s 50,000-yard club.

“I credit it to all the guys I’ve ever played with,” said Glenn, who in his career has thrown passes on behalf of the Roughriders, Stampeders, Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes.

“From the first time that I stepped on the field in the CFL getting that opportunity, there has been a slew of people who actually have been part of my success in this league.”

Glenn finished the season with 4,038 passing yards, giving him 52,867 for his career — the sixth-highest number in league history. His nine wins gave him 103 for his career, moving him into a tie for seventh all-time.

Sticky fingers: Glenn had a pretty good view July 29 when receiver Duron Carter made the season’s most spectacular play.

Late in the first half of a game against the Toronto Argonauts, Glenn lobbed a pass towards Carter in the Argos’ end zone. Carter cut inside defensive back Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, jumped, put up his right hand and stopped the ball’s flight backhanded. He then caught the ball as he landed, never once using his left hand.

“That may rank as one of the top catches that I’ve ever seen in 17 years,” Glenn said of the 18-yard TD reception.

Carter made 73 catches over the course of the regular season for a team-high 1,043 yards. He also tied Roosevelt for the team lead with eight touchdown receptions — but the one-handed, backhanded grab against Toronto stood out.

“My dad (former NFLer Cris Carter) always told me that I had to make a Pro Bowl first before you can catch one-handed,” Carter said, referring to the NFL’s all-star contest. “I haven’t made a Pro Bowl, so I try not to catch it with one hand. Sometimes I just stick one up there.’’

That’s a handful: Ed Gainey put four up Aug. 13.

The Roughriders’ defensive back, who didn’t have an interception in Saskatchewan’s first six regular-season games, set a franchise single-game record with four picks against the visiting Lions.

Gainey intercepted two Jonathon Jennings passes in the first quarter, one Jennings aerial in the second quarter and an Alex Ross pass in the fourth quarter. Gainey also returned one of the thefts 49 yards for a touchdown.

“I started off slow these first six games of the season and I expect a lot more out of myself,” Gainey said after making the first four interceptions by a Saskatchewan defensive back in the regular season.

“These past two weeks I’ve been able to get my hands on some balls and wasn’t able to bring them in … I didn’t think (his interception total) was going to be four, but they came and I took advantage of them.”

Gainey posted a league-high 10 picks during the regular season, tying him for second on the Roughriders’ all-time single-season list.

On the road again: Entering a game Aug. 25 against the host Edmonton Eskimos, much had been made of the Roughriders’ inability to win a road game against a West Division opponent.

Saskatchewan had lost 15 straight regular-season away games versus division rivals going into Commonwealth Stadium. But the Roughriders ended that streak in a big way, dumping the host Eskimos 54-31.

Asked if the contest was a “statement game,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones replied: “That’s up to y’all to decide all that, whether it’s a statement or not. We just wanted to win the next game, which happened to be here on the road against a very good opponent, a very well-coached football team.”

Saskatchewan finished the 2016 regular season with a 2-7-0 road record and a 1-9-0 mark against West Division teams. In 2017, those numbers improved to 5-4-0 and 4-6-0, respectively.

A labour of love: The 53rd edition of the Labour Day Classic featured something new.

For the first time, the annual clash between the Bombers and host Roughriders wasn’t played on Taylor Field. Instead, new Mosaic Stadium was the site of the grudge match between the geographical rivals.

“It’s going to be absolutely electric,” Roughriders president-CEO Craig Reynolds said in advance of the Sept. 3 clash. “We’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time.

“(At the start of the year) you look at the calendar and you circle two dates right away. The first one is July 1 (the home opener) and that was an amazing atmosphere. The second one is Labour Day and, ironically, we’ve played Winnipeg both times.”

Saskatchewan got the better of the Bombers on this day, scoring 24 first-quarter points and cruising to a 38-24 victory. The Roughriders’ third straight win gave them a 5-4-0 record, matching their victory total for all of 2016.

“I don’t know if there’s any sort of satisfaction, but things are feeling pretty good because of the little roll we’re on right now,” offensive lineman Brendon LaBatte said. “It’s just crazy how the belief has changed.

“When you get on a roll, you can really feel that the expectation is to win rather than hoping that, if we play our best, we’ll have a chance to win. I feel like there has been an attitude adjustment with this team.”

It’s a start: With Glenn nursing an injured right hand, backup quarterback Brandon Bridge got the start Sept. 15 when the Roughriders visited Hamilton.

The product of Mississauga, Ont., was impressive, completing 21 of 31 pass attempts for 231 yards and three touchdowns in Saskatchewan’s 27-19 victory.

Bridge became the first Canadian QB to (a) start a game for the Roughriders since Eric Guthrie on Nov. 6, 1977 and (b) throw a TD pass for Saskatchewan since Guthrie on Oct. 30, 1977.

Bridge also became the first Canuck to start and win a CFL contest since Calgary’s Greg Vavra on Oct. 14, 1985.

“It feels pretty good,” Bridge said. “Obviously, it has been such a long time. Like I’ve said earlier, I’m trying to open up doors for the younger generation who are Canadians who want to play quarterback. I’m trying to lay that first stone so it’s an easier path for them.”

To that end, Bridge met with CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie in December to discuss the possibility of changing the ratio to benefit teams who want to deploy Canadian quarterbacks.

Bridge appeared in 12 regular-season games in 2017, throwing for 1,236 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also relieved Glenn in the East Division final against Toronto and helped the Roughriders overcome a 17-3 deficit to take a 21-18, fourth-quarter lead.

Bridge’s TD pass to Carter in that game was the first scoring toss by a Canadian-born quarterback in a CFL post-season contest since Russ Jackson of the Ottawa Rough Riders threw one in the 1969 Grey Cup game.

Turning the tables: As the season progressed, Jones started using Carter as the Roughriders’ backup cornerback.

That led to another signature moment of the regular season: Carter’s 43-yard interception return for a touchdown in Calgary on Oct. 20.

With Kacy Rodgers II nursing a leg injury, Jones decided to start Carter on the corner against the Stampeders while also using him on offence. That revelation prompted Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to suggest on Twitter that the Stamps would go after Carter throughout the game.

Carter played exclusively on defence in the contest — and he made the play of the game early in the fourth quarter.

Mitchell threw a pass right to Carter, who started to his right, reversed his field, picked his way through a few would-be tacklers and crossed the goal line.

“I just stayed true to my coverage and (Mitchell) put one right in my hands,” Carter said. “I figured nobody on offence was out there ready to tackle, so it was an easy touchdown.”

Carter finished the season with nine defensive tackles, one interception and one knockdown in addition to his offensive totals.

Many happy returns: The victory in Calgary was notable for more than just Carter’s pick-six.

Not only did the Roughriders snap an 11-game losing streak to Calgary, but they also qualified for the CFL playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“It’s huge for us,” LaBatte said after Saskatchewan improved to 9-7-0. “It’s huge for the guys in the room and the guys who have been working away at it, but I think it’s big for our fans and the province.

“I know it has been gloomy around there and to finally punch our ticket and know that we’re at least a .500 team is just a good turnaround for the province.”

Saskatchewan went 3-15-0 and missed the playoffs in 2015. The following season, the Roughriders again missed the post-season after going 5-13-0 in the regular season.

Despite beating Calgary, the Roughriders didn’t know where they would finish in the West Division standings or where they would play their first playoff game.

As it turned out, Saskatchewan finished fourth in the West and became the 10th team from that division to cross over to the East Division playoffs. None of the previous nine crossover teams reached the Grey Cup game.

A triumphant return: Sparked by returner-turned-tailback Marcus Thigpen, the Roughriders beat the host Ottawa Redblacks 31-20 in the East Division semifinal on Nov. 12.

That victory put Saskatchewan in the East final against the hometown Argos.

“It’s the first step,” safety Jeff Hecht said after the Roughriders beat Ottawa. “The guys are enjoying the win, but we didn’t come here to be East semifinal champions.

“Our whole plan all year was to get into the tournament, play our best ball at the end of the year — which I think we’re doing — and get off to a great start.”

With Cameron Marshall and Trent Richardson sidelined by injuries, Thigpen got the start as Saskatchewan’s international tailback. The former NFL return man rushed 15 times for 169 yards — the fourth-highest single-game total in franchise playoff history.

One week later, however, Cody Fajardo’s one-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds left in regulation time lifted Toronto to a 25-21 victory over the visiting Roughriders in the East final.

That ended a season in which Saskatchewan won twice as many regular-season games as it had the previous year and posted a playoff victory for the first time since the 2013 Grey Cup game.

“We showed what we’re capable of,” fullback Spencer Moore said. “We proved a lot of people wrong even getting to this point in the playoffs. Obviously, I’m proud of that and I’m proud of the effort the guys put out today. We fought right to the end, but it hurts. It always hurts.”