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In a back-and-forth battle, the Saskatchewan Roughriders emerged as the victors in the rematch with the Edmonton Elks.
While the offences exploded in the first meeting between the two last week, big plays were hard to come by on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
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Saskatchewan walked out of Edmonton with a 28-26 win.
“It was very odd. The (lightning) delay there at halftime and getting the guys and keeping them locked in and keeping them engaged. The plus about that is you get to talk a bit more about game plan as you head into the second half,” Riders head coach Corey Mace said.
“Ultimately we knew it was going to come down to being a tight game. it probably will be when we see them again to end the year. They are a good team.”
It was an important win for the Riders as it not only prevented the Elks from increasing their lead in the CFL West Division standings, but now the season series will need to be decided in the third meeting between these two clubs in the final week of the regular season.
Saskatchewan got a hat trick of touchdowns from short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens in the game. Once again, he was also called upon late in the game to close it out and finished with 13 carries for 29 yards.
“It’s awesome. Any time I can have any sort of positive influence on the game, that’s what I’m striving for,” Stevens said.
The three touchdowns mean the offensive line will get their fill of sweets this week.
“After every touchdown, (the group) gets a box of doughnuts so it’s going to be an expensive trip to Tim Hortons this week,” Stevens said.
After surrendering 510 yards and four touchdowns to Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo in the first meeting, the Riders defence held him in check despite Rolan Milligan Jr. missing this game after injuring his knee in practice. Fajardo had 286 yards and a touchdown in this game.
“They are a great team. It came down all the way to the end and we just found a way to put it all together,” defensive back Marcus Sayles said.
Saskatchewan was once again able to bottle up running back Justin Rankin, who only had 29 rushing yards in the game. He did have 48 receiving yards in the game.
Running back Quali Conley started his third game of the season as A.J. Ouellette (knee) was added to the six-game injured list. He had 61 yards on the ground and also showed off his athleticism with a backwards hurdle over a defender.
While it was an uncharacteristically quiet night for wide receiver KeeSean Johnson, he scored an important touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Riders and then caught the ensuing two-point conversion.
With Sam Emilus (foot) being ruled out just ahead of game time and Kian Schaffer-Baker leaving in the third quarter, quarterback Trevor Harris still played an efficient game as he completed 19 of 24 passes for 239 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
“We just couldn’t get into an offensive flow throughout the first half and even midway through the third quarter. The first drive of the second half, the interception is like a punt at that point,” Harris said.
“I thought we really responded towards the end of the game. When we needed drives, our receivers really stepped up in terms of Sam being down right before the game, (Schaffer-Baker) being down and Wiebe being kind of touch-and-go.”
Dhel Duncan-Busby led the way for the team as he had four catches for 66 yards.
Kicker Alex Hale’s struggles continued as he missed from 42 yards out on a field goal attempt. He is one-for-five on field goals over 40 yards. Hale did make both convert attempts.
Saskatchewan’s defence recorded three sacks in the game, with Josh Woods, Caleb Sanders and Derick Roberson taking Fajardo down. It was Roberson’s first CFL game after signing with the Riders last week.
Along with Schaffer-Baker, the Riders were also without Tevaughn Campbell after he was hurt early in the game.
“We have players all over this team. We already have that mindset that when one person goes down, the next person is going to step up and there’s not going to be any dropoffs,” Sayles said.
Penalties were an issue for both teams in the game. Saskatchewan committed seven infractions for 80 yards while Edmonton had 10 penalties for 92 yards. A number of the Elks’ penalties came at inopportune times for Edmonton. A too-many-men penalty erased a Stevens fumble.
On the Riders’ final drive, Edmonton received a roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness penalty that allowed Saskatchewan to run out the remaining clock.
Saskatchewan (5-2) will take on the Ottawa Redblacks (0-7) on Friday.
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