CFL SIM: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBRAWL!

REGINA – They’re calling it the Mosaic Massacre. Or the Meltdown at Mosaic. Either way, the Friday Night Football CFL SIM match-up between the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders featured a wild CFL Esports first.

In a computer-generated game on Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football and broadcast on Facebook Live, the West Division-leaders engaged in a heavyweight slugfest throughout. However nobody saw coming what happened near the game’s conclusion.

Saskatchewan’s Brayden Lenius opened the scoring at 13:55 of the first quarter, hauling in a 67-yard touchdown pass from Cody Fajardo for a 7-0 lead after the opening period. A 45-yard field goal from the Stamps’ Rene Parades in the second quarter made it 7-3 Riders at the break.

That’s when we were entertained by Saskatoon singer Lisa Moen at halftime as part of the RP Show Summer Concert Series.

Into the third quarter, a 31-yard Brett Lauther field goal put Saskatchewan up 10-3 however Bo Levi Mitchell found Michael Klukas for a 24-yard touchdown at the 10:09 mark. A 2-point convert attempt was successful, and the Stamps went up 11-10 going into the fourth quarter.

A Rider safety gave the visitors a 13-10 lead but Lauther tied it up at the 9:45 mark of the fourth quarter making it 13-13.

A Lauther missed field goal on the final play of regulation time sparked a wild melee on the field, and it was a 12-on-12 brawl lasting for a full five minutes! It was an odd glitch in the video game and the hosts had no idea when – or if – the game would be completed.

Order was eventually restored and the teams went to overtime. Brett Lauther notched a 20-yard field goal on the Riders’ first possession for a 16-13 advantage, however it was short-lived. On first down of Calgary’s first possession, Bo Levi Mitchell fired a 35-yard touchdown strike to Michael Klukas in the left corner of the north endzone to put the game on ice.

Final score: Stampeders 19 Roughriders 16

The victory upped Calgary’s record to a CFL SIM-best 11-3 while Saskatchewan dropped to 9-4.

Other Week 15 CFL SIM games feature Edmonton (6-6) at Montreal (3-9), Ottawa (5-8) at Toronto (9-3) and Hamilton (3-9) at Winnipeg (5-7). All games will be simulated at www.twitch.tv/nhacker49.

(Nelson Hackewich/Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football)