Darrell Davis
Regina Leader-Post
One of the worst weeks in Saskatchewan Roughriders history is over.
It ended with an exciting, to-and-fro CFL game Thursday night at Mosaic Stadium, where Edmonton Elks kicker Vincent Blanchard nailed a 57-yard field goal on the final play to defeat the emotionally exhausted Roughriders 36-34.
Life can be cruel. So can football.
Despite doing the best they could to prepare for a game during five, tragically painful days following a highway collision that killed two people — teammate Jayden Dalke and 22-year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru of Regina — the Roughriders were never guaranteed a victory against their top-flight opponent. If there’s such a thing as karma, it doesn’t work that way.
“We felt we were going to win it up until the very end,” Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris said during a postgame media gathering.
“A play here, play there, call here, call there. I’m probably going to be waking up all night thinking about the last play.”
Although he passed for 386 yards and four touchdowns, Harris was upset about underthrowing a potential, go-ahead touchdown pass in the final minutes.
Saskatchewan instead got a short field goal before its defensive backfield — which haphazardly surrendered 510 aerial yards and four touchdown passes by Elks QB Cody Fajardo — let Edmonton barge into Blanchard’s range for the final, gut-wrenching kick.
The first-place Elks improved to 6-1 while the Riders, the reigning Grey Cup champions, fell to 4-2 as they prepared for an Aug. 1 rematch in Edmonton.
A victory wouldn’t have completely soothed the Roughriders’ pain.
Nor would it have assuaged the anger that has grown outside the organization following the RCMP’s accident report, which stated that Dalke was driving in the wrong direction on a divided highway with cannabis and alcohol in his vehicle.
After telling the media about their plans to honour Dalke with a pregame ceremony and by wearing his initials on their helmets, the Roughriders subsequently contacted Rajyaguru’s friends and family, presumably to express condolences and gather information about him for the testimonial.
The pregame event was tastefully done, led by a tribute to Rajyaguru, with the teams plus representatives from both families on the field for the short video that was shown to an announced crowd of 28,513.
“It was tough, but obviously we knew it was coming,” said Riders head coach Corey Mace.
“Being out there, seeing both victims being represented and seeing a little bit about both gentlemen, it’s just so sad, bro. It’s just so sad.”
When lining up in their first punt formation, a unit that had typically been led by Dalke, the Roughriders sent only 11 men onto the field and let the play-clock expire before being penalized.
Elks head coach Mark Kilam, a long-time assistant alongside Mace with the Calgary Stampeders, graciously declined the penalty as Saskatchewan linebacker Nick Wiebe came onto the field as the group’s 12th player. Wiebe, according to Mace, had suggested the possible tribute earlier in the week.
“(Dalke) should be calling the punt protections and he should be out there with us,” said Wiebe. “Thinking about that all game was tough on the guys, for sure.
“But I’m proud of the way these guys battled today. I love everybody in this locker room and we’ll shake it back next week.”
Wiebe, Mace, Harris, linebacker Jameer Thurman, general manager Jeremy O’Day and president Craig Reynolds were among the Roughriders who presented themselves as leaders during the past week. They showed the organization, in its worst days, has a conscience.
They may not even realize how much they contributed to a team and fanbase struggling to move forward. They can all spend the next few days out of the spotlight while grieving, remembering and regrouping, maybe even feeling buoyed by their resilience.
Of course a 116-year-old, community-owned franchise has gone through hardships, including a 1956 plane crash that killed Mel Becket, Mario DeMarco, Gordon Sturtridge and Ray Syrnyk on their way back to Regina from an all-star game in Vancouver.
The team has lost legendary players Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Garner Ekstran and Dale West, plus former president Jim Hopson and popular coaches Ken Miller and John Gregory.
Running back Joe McKnight is another rare example of losing an active player, after he was shot during a New Orleans traffic altercation between the 2016-17 CFL seasons.
To keep it in context, Harris’ throw, a poor performance by Saskatchewan’s secondary, a missed 46-yard field goal by Alex Hale, a ridiculous offensive pass interference call against Riders receiver Sam Emilus and another Replay Centre mistake that didn’t award an obvious fumble recovery to the home team — those don’t matter very much.
Thursday’s game was just one loss in an 18-game season. The other, real-life losses are way more important and much tougher to accept.
