Riders-Generic-2014-2

There will be no repeat champion in 2014 as the Saskatchewan Roughriders came up short in Western Semi-Final.

The Riders defence didn't give up a touchdown, but Saskatchewan ended up falling 18-10 to the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium, ending their season.

Kendial Lawrence’s 72-yard punt return for a touchdown midway through the second quarter and three early field goals from kicker Hugh O’Neill were the difference in the game for Edmonton.

Mistakes and ineffectiveness on offence finished off the Riders as Kerry Joseph threw a record-tying five interceptions in the loss, going 7-of-17 for 120 yards, a touchdown and the picks.  He was pulled for Tino Sunseri in the third quarter.

Joseph found a wide open Korey Williams in the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown with 44 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.  That would be all the scoring the offence would do with Joseph under centre.

Sunseri couldn't finish much better, throwing for 100 yards on 7-of-15 passing.  He led the team to a 30-yard field goal from Chris Milo late in the third quarter.

Saskatchewan’s defence held the team in the game during the first half, holding Edmonton to three field goals (37, 42, 49 and 21 yards) and a single by O’Neill.

Edmonton switched to Mike Reilly in the second half, he finished the game 6-of-8 for 53 yards.  He also rushed for six yards on three carries.  Matt Nichols started the game for Edmonton, could only produce 59 yards passing on 12-of-23 attempts with one interception.

Running back John White wore out the Riders defence in the end, rushing for 134 yards on 19 carries in the win.

The Eskimos had pressure all game on the Riders’ quarterbacks, finishing with seven sacks.  Saskatchewan generated pressure on defence throughout the game and forced five two-and-outs from Edmonton, but the offence couldn’t produce pushing the time of possession to the Eskimos 32:22-27:38.

Safety Tyron Brackenridge had a big day to end the season, posting 12 tackles and a sack for the Riders.  Weldon Brown hauled in the interception for Saskatchewan in the end zone right after a Joseph pick in the second quarter.

The Riders will clean out their lockers early this week to finish off the 2014 season.