What started as a slow paced game might go down as the game of the year after the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa Redblacks went toe-to-toe on Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium.
The Riders' overcame a 29-17 fourth quarter deficit to knock off the expansion Redblacks 35-32 in double overtime to improve to 9-3 on the year.
The win was big in a number of ways for the Riders as it allowed them to bounce back from last week's loss in Hamilton, but also came during a week when three other West Division teams lost to their East Division foes.
“The biggest thing is, it's not about what the others do, you have to stay focused on where you are and I thought the guys did a good job of fighting to do that,” said head coach Corey Chamblin. “They won a game that could have easily been a loss, but they fought back and found a way to win it.”
The game had a bit of everything throughout with Ottawa running multiple trick plays, a wacky overtime session that included a missed field goal that almost led to a game-winning rouge and a blocked field goal by Brian Peters to win the game.
“It was a super crazy game,” said defensive end Ricky Foley. “If you had to describe the CFL to somebody, you'd just show the last ten minutes of this game. Hope it was good for the fans, we'll take it, but we've got some work to do.”
It didn't look promising for the Riders early in the game as they trailed throughout the first half and found themselves in a 22-10 hole heading into halftime. Tino Sunseri and the Riders' offence found their groove in the second half and were able to charge back against the Redblacks, who had controlled the play through the first three quarters.
“The offence had our back today,” said defensive tackle Tearrius George, who finished with three sacks and five tackles in the win. “Sunseri stepped up and he had our back until we could come in and do something.”
After throwing for just 26 yards in the first half, Sunseri finished the game 20-of-32 for 260 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Sunseri settled in during the second half and was able to pick up his first career CFL win as a starter.
“Each quarter he's getting stronger,” said Chamblin. “He did what he needed to do and he moved the ball and he helped us win it.”
“The more and more plays that I'm getting in there, Coach Cortez is getting more and more comfortable with me,” said Sunseri. “He's allowing us to take those shots down field. Our team came up and our offence did what we had to do to be able to go down the field and score.”
Sunseri was able to find that groove thanks to some big plays by Weston Dressler. The slotback had his biggest game since returning from the CFL as he finished with seven catches for 125 yards, including a highlight reel 60-yard TD grab early in the fourth quarter that pulled the Riders within five.
“This week of practice, I started to get more comfortable and doing some more things whether it's with the waggle and within routes, reading defences a bit quicker,” Dressler said after the game. “I'm definitely getting there, but still working on somethings.”
Dressler provided the initial spark for the Riders in the second quarter when he took a punt return back 78 yards for a touchdown, his second return touchdown of the season.
“It was a breakout game for Dressler,” said Chamblin. “They're all competitors and they all know what they need to do for us to be successful.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Ottawa kicker Brett Maher hit a 24-yard field goal that put the Redblacks in front. Both teams had been responding well to scores from the other team throughout the second half and the Riders answered right back.
Taj Smith drew a pass interference penalty on a deep pass to the end zone, which put the ball at the one for the Riders and Anthony Allen finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pass by Sunseri to Dressler evened the game.
In overtime, Henry Burris was picked off by Marshay Green on the first play of the extra frame. The Riders failed to capitalize however with Chris Milo missing a 37-yard field goal and Ottawa punting the ball back out of the end zone to avoid the rouge.
The second overtime started with the Riders picking up a 22-yard field goal from Milo and Ottawa couldn't answer.
“This is disappointing, we found our butts off all game,” said Burris after the game. “We had a chance to pull off a big win here and we can't have those crazy things happening at the end.”
Burris ended up going 23-of-38 for 282 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He could have more, but his receivers were plagued by drops throughout the game.
The Riders running attack was held in check for the most part as they failed to reach 100 yards on the game. Allen was the top rusher with 15 carries for 52 yards, while Will Ford added two carries for five yards and Jerome Messam finished without a carry or reception.
The Riders will get the next two days off before starting a short week with practice at Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday. Saskatchewan heads to Edmonton for a Friday Night Football meeting with the Eskimos.
Thu, Apr 25, 10:00 AM
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