Saskatchewan is now just one point back of Winnipeg for top spot in the West Division with one game left in the CFL season
With a 39-8 win over the B.C. Lions in front of 28,683 fans on Saturday night in Regina in Week 19 of the CFL season, the Roughriders ensured at least a second-place finish in the CFL’s West Division as the Green and White improved to 9-7-1 while B.C. dropped to 8-9.
With one game remaining, the Riders are now just one point behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-7) for the top spot in the division. With Winnipeg and Saskatchewan on a bye next week, first place will be decided in the final week of the season as the Riders take on the Calgary Stampeders on Oct. 26 while the Bombers take on the Montreal Alouettes earlier that day.
If Winnipeg wins, the Bombers will host the West Final on Nov. 9 while Saskatchewan will take on the Lions in the semifinal on Nov. 2. However, if the Bombers lose and the Riders win, the West Final will be at Mosaic Stadium while the Bombers will host the Lions one week earlier.
Saturday night’s game started with quite a bounce that went in Saskatchewan’s favour, which was the first of six turnovers forced by the Green and White.
On the Lions opening drive of the game, B.C.’s William Stanback bobbled a pass that deflected off his foot, off a pair of Rider defenders and into the hands of linebacker A.J. Allen, who returned it 48 yards for the touchdown to open the scoring.
Saskatchewan’s defence appeared to force another turnover on B.C.’s second series of the game as defensive back Deontai Williams intercepted Nathan Rourke however the CFL Command Centre stepped in to rule the pass as incomplete.
After the Lions punted the ball into Saskatchewan’s end zone for the rouge, Riders’ quarterback Trevor Harris generated a pair of first downs before Brett Lauther kicked a 45-yard field goal to put Saskatchewan up 10-1 just 6:32 in.
On Saskatchewan’s next series, Lauther nailed a 53-yard field goal before the Lions responded with a 11-play, 70-yard drive capped off by fullback David Mackie plunging into the end zone from two yards out to make it 13-8.
After a pair of first-down passes to Samuel Emilus, which put the receiver over the 1,000-yard mark on the season, Harris connected with KeeSean Johnson and Jerreth Sterns for two more first downs to get to B.C.’s four-yard line.
However, after back-to-back incompletions the Riders settled for a field goal as Lauther made his third of the night to put Saskatchewan up 16-8.
As the Lions looked to respond, B.C. got down to Saskatchewan’s 19-yard line before the Riders defence forced a turnover on downs after a failed third-down gamble.
After the Riders punted the ball away, Saskatchewan’s offence got the ball right back as safety Nelson Lokombo hit Lions’ receiver Justin McInnis, who fumbled the ball which was scooped up by linebacker C.J. Reavis.
Harris then found Emilus for a 37-yard gain before connecting with Sterns for a six-yard touchdown pass to put the Riders up 23-8 with 21 seconds to go in the first half.
Instead of letting the clock run out, the Lions decided to try and make something happen with 16 seconds left in the half, however Rourke was picked off by Riders’ linebacker C.J. Avery, who returned it 40 yards to the B.C. 10-yard line.
With just three seconds left in the half, Lauther kicked an 18-yard field goal to put Saskatchewan up 26-8 at the break.
After a failed onside kick-off attempt to begin the second half by B.C., the Riders started with the ball on the Lions side of the field.
Following a 23-yard run by A.J. Ouellette, who was making his return to the lineup after a six-game absence, Harris took a sack before throwing an incompletion, leading to Lauther kicking his fifth field goal of the night to make it 29-8.
After a punt by the Lions, the Riders put together another scoring drive, capped off by Harris finding Kian Schaffer-Baker for an eight-yard touchdown pass to put Saskatchewan up 36-8.
As B.C. looked to get back into the game, the Lions turned the ball over on downs after another failed third-down gamble on Saskatchewan’s 17-yard line.
The Riders turned that into another three points as Lauther connected from 43 yards out to make it 39-8 early in the fourth quarter.
From there, the Lions turned to third-string quarterback Chase Brice on their next drive while Riders’ backup Shea Patterson entered the game for Saskatchewan.
More to come…
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.