Darrell Davis, Regina Leader-Post
How the heck did that happen?
The Saskatchewan Roughriders don’t have a dependable kicker. They don’t create turnovers and their injury-depleted roster was filled by unknowns.
And their main offensive weapon was short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens, whose three touchdown plunges let the Roughriders sashay Saturday into fuller-than-usual Commonwealth Stadium and somehow avenge a recent CFL loss by beating the first-place Edmonton Elks 28-26.
“The other guys got pushed in and were still able to beat a good team,” Riders head coach Corey Mace told reporters after his squad improved to 5-2 and knocked the Elks to 6-2 before 31,757 fans sporting lots of green jerseys representing each team.
“Shoutout to every one. We truly needed something from everybody on our roster to win this game.”
Running back Quali Conley, playing his third game in the absence of injured starter A.J. Ouellette, backwards-hurdled and spun around would-be tacklers while gaining 97 all-purpose yards.
Little-used receivers Dhel Duncan-Busby, Johnny Johnson III and D’Sean Mimbs made key catches, returns or blocks.
Replacement offensive linemen Erik Andersen and Daniel Johnson were part of a short-yardage unit that helped Stevens score and also run out the clock with hard-earned gains.
“Any time I can have any positive influence on the game, I appreciate it,” said Stevens, who said his “heart sank” when he fumbled the football on a potential scoring plunge before getting another, successful chance because the Elks were penalized for having too many men on the field.
“We got lucky down there.”
Stevens told reporters afterwards he traditionally buys his blockers a box of doughnuts for every touchdown they help him score, so he’s planning to bring three dozen pastries to the locker room while the Roughriders prepare to play host Friday to the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
On defence, backup DBs Jonathan Edouard, Malcolm Bell and James Burgess Jr. played in a patchwork secondary that surrendered only 286 passing yards and one touchdown to Elks QB Cody Fajardo. Newcomer Derick Roberson was one of two players to sack Fajardo.
The former Saskatchewan pivot had shredded the Riders for 510 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-34 victory that opened the home-and-home series.
Once again the reigning Grey Cup champions didn’t intercept a pass — or even force a turnover — and have recorded only two picks this season, both by linebacker Josh Woods.
But Saskatchewan’s defence repeatedly thwarted the Elks inside the red (scoring) zone and effectively used out-of-character blitzes to make sure Fajardo couldn’t move his team within last-play scoring range again.
The Roughriders lost that earlier game on a walk-off field goal after their beleaguered kicker, Alex Hale, missed a 46-yarder.
Hale badly missed a 42-yard field goal in Edmonton and is only 1-for-5 outside the 40-yard line. He’s 12-for-17 overall.
Those are atrocious statistics in the Canadian Field Goal League, where the goalposts are moving backwards 15 yards next season and strong kicking legs will be even more coveted.
The Roughriders attempted only one field goal in the rematch, plus they twice eschewed kicking post-touchdown converts and chose instead to scrimmage for two-pointers.
Mace insisted the two-pointers were attempted “strictly for strategy” and that’s believable this time, but the Roughriders certainly must be losing faith in their rookie kicker and have noticeably adjusted offensive strategies several times this season.
The Roughriders have found replacements at other positions, so they should be able to find a kicker.
Already missing Ouellette, receiver Samuel Emilus, defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. and left guard Zack Fry, during the game the Roughriders also lost cornerback Tevaughn Campbell (arm) and slotback Kian Schaffer-Baker (leg).
Conley and starting receiver KeeSean Johnson dropped passes from Trevor Harris, who threw for 239 yards. Johnson redeemed himself with a fourth-quarter TD catch and the ensuing two-point convert.
“You’re not gonna throw for 500 yards every week, you’re not gonna throw for 400 every week,” said Harris, who also tossed an interception and was held to fewer than two passing majors for the first time this season.
“Last week was a weird week. You never know how the situation will work out.”
Indeed. The Roughriders were a psychologically battered team in the previous game, dealing with the death five days earlier of teammate Jayden Dalke in a vehicle collision.
They wore commemorative “JD” crests on their helmets for the intense, penalty-filled rematch — which was halted for an extra hour at halftime because of a lightning storm — and will meet the Elks at least one more time, in the final game of the CFL’s regular season,
“We knew this was gonna be a tight game,” said Mace. “It probably will be again.”
Oh, ya.
