Photo Electric Umbrella/Derek Elvin
The Northern Pikes performed at halftime of a CFL game that, appropriately enough, was decided by a hit single.
Seldom, if ever, has a rouge elicited the kind of raucous response that was seen and heard on Thursday, when Brett Lauther’s kickoff single proved to be the difference as the Saskatchewan Roughriders edged the Edmonton Elks 12-11 at Mosaic Stadium.
The single, registered with 62 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, followed a Mitch Picton touchdown and a Kendall Watson two-point convert that had allowed the Roughriders to erase an 11-3 deficit.
Lauther boomed a kickoff that travelled 74 yards — beyond the reach of returner CJ Sims — before landing on the Elks’ six-yard line and rolling, rolling, rolling into the end zone.
Instead of pursuing the pigskin with the requisite urgency to avert a tie-breaking single, Sims allowed the ball to roll to a stop five yards shy of the end line.
Sims, playing in only his third CFL game, was then surrounded by four Saskatchewan players — Frankie Hickson, Deontai Williams, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon and Brian Harelimana.
The latter player ultimately felled Sims to give the Roughriders a one-point cushion, when the best-case scenario for the home side had appeared to be a defensive stop that would extend the game into overtime.
“You’re not thinking they’re going to literally let it go for a single, but he obviously didn’t know (the Canadian kickoff rules),” Lauther said.
“I kind of feel bad for him but at the same time, in my mind, I was trying to put it back as far as I can so we could gain field position and they don’t get into field-goal range.
“I put a little extra on that one, just to see if that would happen. Obviously, too, we got pretty lucky there, but I’m just happy it happened.”
As one who has been kicking footballs since his high school days in Truro, N.S., the 32-year-old Lauther did not recall a game-determining scenario that was comparable to that of Thursday.
It was also a novel storyline for Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson, who has a wealth of experience in the realm of special teams.
“I’ve seen a lot of games and coached in a lot of games, and I don’t think I’ve seen a game end like that — ever,” he said. “But our guys kept playing. It was a crazy game. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked.
“Give Edmonton credit. I thought they did what they needed to do to give themselves a chance to win. I just felt like they called a good game.
“Our guys couldn’t find a rhythm, but we found a way at the end to score on that last drive and then tie the game. And then to win it on a single on a kickoff is certainly a unique and exciting way to do it.”
The 12 points scored were the fewest by Saskatchewan in a victory since July 21, 2001, when the B.C. Lions lost 12-7.
That fine evening at B.C. Place, the Roughriders received timely contributions from the Preston brothers — Rock and Roell. So let’s just regard the Northern Pikes’ rocking and rolling on Throwback Thursday as a lovely coincidence.
One doesn’t have to rewind nearly as far to document how long it had been since Saskatchewan held an opponent to 11 or fewer points.
That was on Aug. 21, 2021, when the Roughriders downed the visiting Ottawa REDBLACKS 23-10.
Ottawa was limited to 14 first downs, whereas Edmonton moved the chains 21 times and dominated the time of possession (37:02 to 22:58).
Ottawa eked out 206 yards during that late-summer contest in 2021. Edmonton, by contrast, put up 369 yards.
One more comparison: The REDBLACKS of Aug. 21, 2021 were only 1-for-8 in second-down situations when seven or more yards were required. Edmonton was 8-for-16 on second-and-seven-plus on Thursday.
In other words, it was hardly an airtight performance by the defence, but it is nonetheless a supreme stretch to quibble about 11 points allowed in the traditionally wide-open CFL — especially on a night when the weather did not provide the slightest impediment.
When it counted, Nic Marshall again impeded an Alberta-based team from winning a nail-biter.
On June 24, Marshall’s end-zone interception sealed the deal as Saskatchewan downed the host Calgary Stampeders 29-26 in double overtime.
On Thursday, the Roughriders returned to live combat following a bye week and again rejoiced over a Marshall moment.
The veteran cornerback intercepted Taylor Cornelius on Saskatchewan’s 43-yard line with 26 seconds left to lock down the Roughriders’ third victory in four games this season.
Cornelius had earlier rushed for a one-yard touchdown that helped Edmonton assume an eight-point lead.
On the next possession, quarterback Trevor Harris briskly marched the Roughriders to the Elks’ 20-yard line before being intercepted in the end zone by Marcus Lewis.
Back-to-back two-and-outs followed for the Roughriders’ offence, which then possessed the ball for just three plays before punting once more.
Saskatchewan’s final series did not begin auspiciously, to say the least. Harris was sacked before, crucially, he scrambled away from pressure and found Samuel Emilus for 16 yards on second-and-15. Eight plays later, the Roughriders were in the end zone — finally! — courtesy of a four-yard collaboration between Harris and Picton.
As a punctuation mark, Harris connected with Watson, who absorbed a crunching hit from Nyles Morgan and maintained possession to register two well-earned points.
Cue the rouge heard around the world — or Rider Nation, anyway — and what you have is a clutch demonstration of complementary football.
Personnel on offence, defence and special teams all contributed in the waning minutes.
“One of the pillars we’ve talked about all year with our team is being together,” Dickenson said. “I think it really showed up big-time in this game, because it could have gone a lot of different ways.
“There was definitely some frustration on the sideline, but I didn’t hear a single word of negativity. I thought the guys were building each other up and just encouraging each other to keep playing, and we did.
“We worked hard and it turned for us there at the very end.”
It helped that the resilient Roughriders would not let their “Hopes Go Astray” (Northern Pikes, 1988) and continued to “Believe” (Northern Pikes, 1993).
“It’s a gritty win,” Picton said. “A lot of guys in this room believe in each other. I love everybody in this room.
“You never count out a bunch of guys who believe in each other and want to play together.”
Sort of like the close-knit Northern Pikes, whose signature song title — “She Ain’t Pretty” — aptly described a considerable portion of Thursday’s proceedings.
The result, however, was another testament to team harmony.
“We’re just really happy we came out with a win here,” Harris said. “Ugly, but we’ll take it.”
