The Saskatchewan Roughriders were facing a third-and-next-postal-code predicament.
A gain of at least 24 yards was needed to move the chains.
As it turned out, there wasn’t any need to reposition the yardsticks — because a desperation pass turned into a 69-yard touchdown.
Mason Fine’s deep throw was deflected by Calgary Stampeders defensive back Jonathan Moxey before being caught by the Roughriders’ Tevin Jones, who motored the remaining 16 yards for a game-tying touchdown last Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.
“Honestly, it was a lot of luck on that touchdown pass,” Fine acknowledged. “I’m not going to lie.
“It’s not so much about me making a great play. It was really just heaving it up for a Hail Mary.”
Brett Lauther followed up with a convert that gave the home side a 31-30 lead with 42 seconds remaining in the CFL game.
Alas, a Mosaic Miracle was not to be. The Stampeders had just enough time to march into field-goal range, whereupon Rene Paredes connected on a 50-yarder to give Calgary a 33-31 victory.
But still … how about that Hail Mary?!
“In my eyes, it was the ball and me, and that was it,” said Jones, who was outnumbered by three nearby Stampeders defensive backs.
“After I caught the ball and after I scored, I saw thousands of fans and everything else. At that time, it was a tunnel vision.”
Initially, it appeared that Moxie would intercept the ball, but it eluded his grasp and, fortuitously, landed in the receptive hands of Jones.
At that moment, what was going through his mind?
“Score … score … score … score. I’ve got to score.”
After the game, though, Jones second-guessed himself.
“At the time, I thought we won, but I should have looked at the clock and at least just went down at the one-yard-line or something like that, so we could get a little more time,” he said in the Roughriders’ locker room on July 15.
Hindsight was 20-20 after Jones made the score 30-30, but his split-second decision was the right one.
Now, suppose that the Roughriders had needed a only field goal in that situation. By all means, crumple to the turf on the one-yard line, extinguish most of the time that remains, and kick a rudimentary eight- or nine-yard field goal to win the game.
However, six points were of the essence, and a touchdown is not a given.
Remember the Roughriders’ regular-season opener? The Edmonton Elks enjoyed a seemingly advantageous first-and-goal situation from the one-yard line and still couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone in three tries.
The last yard can be the longest, so take the points, turn the game over to your defence, and hope for a stop.
HAIL MARY/EVAN JOHNSON 2.0
The completed Hail Mary was the second in Fine’s football career.
The first one took place on Dec. 2, 2017, when he was playing for the North Texas Mean Green in the Conference USA championship game against the Florida Atlantic Owls in Boca Raton, Fla.
North Texas was trailing 34-3 before Fine guided the Mean Green to back-to-back touchdowns.
For starters, Fine threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Turner Smiley.
The Mean Green next reached the end zone on a one-yard run by Evan Johnson, who was a running back for North Texas from 2017 to 2020.
(Coincidentally, Regina-born guard Evan Johnson has been a teammate of Fine’s since he broke into the CFL in 2021.)
After Evan Johnson scored for North Texas, the Mean Green went for a two-point conversion.
The play appeared to be a bust from the outset, as Fine was quickly greeted by two Florida Atlantic pass rushers. He retreated … and retreated … and retreated to the Owls’ 22-yard line before firing the ball toward the end zone as a last resort.
As was the case last weekend, Fine’s pass was tipped before being caught. Rico Bussey Jr. made the grab for two points.
“On two-point conversions, you don’t want to take a sack or anything, so you’ve just got to throw it up,” Fine explained earlier this week.
As for Jones, the Hail Mary was the first of his football career.
SMALL WORLD
The timing of the Roughriders’ most-recent Hail Mary was rather interesting.
Present at Mosaic Stadium for the Roughriders-Stampeders game were John Hufnagel and Joey Walters.
Hufnagel is the Stampeders’ President and Football Consultant. Walters, his former teammate with the Roughriders, brought his wife (Patricia) and son (Leo) to Regina so the entire family to experience football in Saskatchewan for the first time.
In fact, Hufnagel and Walters had a lengthy chat at the Hotel Saskatchewan before heading to Mosaic Stadium.
Those very same individuals collaborated on a Hail Mary to conclude an Oct. 18, 1981 game against Edmonton at Taylor Field.
Trailing 41-23, the Roughriders advanced to Edmonton’s 35-yard line before Hufnagel launched a long pass toward the south end zone. Walters made a leaping grab in tight coverage for a touchdown that concluded the scoring.
And there they were last Saturday, watching another Hail Mary.
AND GET THIS!!!
The score of the oft-mentioned Roughriders-Stampeders game evoked memories of another 33-31 nailbiter — that of Oct. 16, 1977.
There are a few then-and-now ties between the twin 33-31s.
In the lineup for that 1977 thriller were Walters and fellow Roughriders receiver Steve Mazurak, both of whom were at Roughriders versus Calgary nearly 46 years later.
There is also a link between the 1977 Edmonton team and this year’s Stampeders.
Calgary defensive back Tre Roberson, one of the aforementioned three players who was in the vicinity of Jones when he caught the Hail Mary, is the grandson of Edmonton legend Larry Highbaugh.
Highbaugh, a Canadian Football Hall of Famer, figured prominently in the frantic final few seconds of the Oct. 16, 1977 contest.
“With 27 seconds left on the clock and his team ahead 33-29. (Edmonton head coach Hugh) Campbell had inserted Larry Highbaugh into the lineup on a third-and-25 (play) from the Edmonton 16-yard line,” Ray Turchansky wrote in the Edmonton Journal.
“The instructions were to take a long snap from Bob Howes and prance around in the end zone until the snow fell, if need be.
“But the snap skipped merrily past the fleet backfielder into the end zone, and only after great confusion was it determined he indeed had recovered and conceded a two-point safety touch before the ball was knocked to a Roughrider.”
A reminder of that crazy play was brought to my attention by Saskatoon-based Roughriders history buff Keith Willoughby.
When the chaos unfolded, Keith was 11 years old and sitting in Section 26 at Taylor Field.
A sapling of 13 at the time, I was sitting in Section 10, Row 10, Seat 10 … overlooking the 10-yard line! (Why didn’t I sit there when I was 10?)
ONE MORE 33-31 REWIND
As was the case last Saturday, a down-to-the-wire Roughriders/Stampeders game that ended with 33-31 on the scoreboard was played on Nov. 7, 1976.
Hufnagel and Mazurak were at that one, too.
With Hufnagel starting at quarterback, Calgary assumed leads of 24-0 and 27-8 before Ron Lancaster engineered one of his patented comebacks.
On the final play at McMahon Stadium, The Little General found Rhett Dawson for a three-yard TD pass that gave the Roughriders a 32-31 lead — and first place in the Western Conference. Bob Macoritti’s obligatory convert completed the scoring.
Earlier, Hufnagel had gone 11-for-22 for 148 yards, including an 11-yard TD pass to Tom Forzani. Cyril McFall’s convert, at 4:50 of the second quarter, put Calgary up 24-0.
Saskatchewan capped its comeback by scoring two touchdowns in the final six minutes.
An a-MAZ-ing 23-yard catch by Mazurak, who somehow held on to the ball despite being clobbered by defensive back Dennis Meyer near the sideline, set up a 37-yard TD toss to Leif Pettersen.
Lancaster to Dawson finished the job.
Another 33 years would elapse, to the very day, before the Roughriders again secured top spot in the West.
On Nov. 7, 2009, Saskatchewan locked up that elusive pennant by defeating Calgary 30-14 at historic Mosaic Stadium.
The Stampeders’ Head Coach and General Manager at the time: John Hufnagel.
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Trevor Harris, Kalie Harris, Trenton Harris, Trace Harris, Tripp Harris, Mario Alford, Mason Fine, Jason Pirtle, Duane Cook, Al Johns, Steve Mazurak, Nick Mazurak, Taylor Bryan, Luke Della, Bob Achtymichuk, Ceiligh Dodds, Cathy Sali, Keith Willoughby, Bob Rasmuson, Jonathan Halvorson, Karlie McGeough, Caleb Blundell, John Phillips, Miles Brown, John Lipp, Neal Hughes, A.J. Allen, John Hufnagel, Pat Kelly and Darrell Romuld.
