Redblacks rally from 12-point deficit to beat Riders 33-32

Too many field goals and not enough touchdowns.

It was as simple as that for Kevin Glenn when explaining the Roughriders loss to Redblacks last night.

There were six of them total, and kicker Tyler Crapigna nailed all of them but each one represented a would-be touchdown, of which the Riders had only two.

“If we score touchdowns, that game was a different story,” said a resigned Kevin Glenn after the game Friday night.

The Redblacks took the lead in the game exactly once before winning in with two seconds left on the clock.

The Roughriders handily one the time of possession battle, Glenn threw for 387 yards and Duron Carter caught for 231.

Normally this would be the recipe for a win for any team, but with the time ticking down the Riders coughed the ball up to the Redblacks with 1:46 left on the clock.

The defence stood tall, forcing Ottawa to third down and long, however not once, but twice Trevor Harris and the offence were able to convert.

“They made the right call at the right time,” said defensive back Jovon Johnson. “Trevor moved around in the pocket a little bit to buy himself some time and he found a spot that was open and they made the play.”

Those conversions helped get the Redblacks to the Riders nine-yard line where Riders defensive back Ed Gainey nearly intercepted Harris, but instead, the team was penalized for pass interference putting the ball on the one-yard line.

Quarterback Ryan Linley, who was behind centre for the Redblacks when the Riders staged own come from behind victory in Ottawa just two weeks ago, ran the ball in for the game-winning touchdown.

“Got to give Ottawa credit, they came here and did to us and what we went out there and did to them: coming back in the second half and winning by one,” Glenn said.

The Riders started the scoring with a 30-yard field goal early in the first quarter teed up by a 52-yard return by Christion Jones to open the game.

After that, both offences struggled to move down the field until Harris pushed his team into field goal range with 5:03 remaining the opening frame.

The teams took a 3-3 tie into the second quarter, when the Roughriders started to pull away.

Crapigna nailed at 21 yarder, his second field goal of the night, to put his team up 6-3. Then when the Redblacks turned the ball over on downs hit his third from 34 yards out to extend the Riders lead.

Catches by fullback Spencer Moore and receiver Duron Carter moved the Riders down the field and a pass interference call put the Riders in the red zone, however, Glenn was intercepted in the end zone by Jonathan Rose to end the drive.

After a quick two and out Glenn and the offence got the ball back and after two catches by Carter – including at 38 yarder – Glenn hit Kienan LaFrance for the first touchdowns of the game.

The Riders went up 16-3 with too much time life and Ottawa marched down the field for their own touchdown to bring the game within six heading into halftime.

The second half the of the game started much like the first with Crapigna splitting the uprights from 18 yards out to start the scoring for the Riders.

Ottawa stalled on the Riders 41 on their next drive also settling for a field goal. Maher was good from the 48-yard line to make it 19-13 for the green and white.

The Redblacks took the lead for the first time on the Riders next possession when Antoine Pruneau picked off Kevin Glenn and ran it 46 yards to the end zone.

Trent Richardson hit his longest rush in his short CFL career on the next play, but the Riders red zone woes continued and Crapigna hit his fifth of the night from 35 yards away to retake the lead.

On the next possession, the Riders engineered an 80-yard march down the field highlighted by a 45-yard catch by Carter and ended with Glenn hitting Caleb Holley in the end zone.

With nearly a full quarter left the play, the Riders took a comfortable 29-20 lead, made even more comfortable with Crapigna’s sixth field goal of the night to make it 32-20 with 6:12 remaining.

But after that, it began to come off the rails.

Harris pressed down the field and was intercepted by Muamba for the second time that night, but A.C. Leonard gets penalized for rushing the passer and the interception doesn’t hold.

Three plays later Greg Ellingson was in the end zone and the Redblacks were down by just five points.

The Riders offence wasn’t able to burn enough of the clock after that and gave the ball back to the Redblacks with 1:46 left in the game.

Harris used 1:44 of it to seal the win for his team and leave Mosaic Stadium in stunned silence.

That stunned silence rolled over into the locker room, where Glenn was almost at a loss for words to describe how he felt after the game slipped away.

“That’s a tough one. When you’re up and you have the momentum, that’s the CFL game. It’s never over. Down 12 with two minutes and something left and they pull away by one.”

“We’ll just reiterate to the guys that we can’t let these kinds of games slip away from us,” he concluded.

“We’ve got to put them away.”