FRIENDS OF THE RIDERS TD LOTTERY RECAP: LIONS 24 RIDERS 6
REGINA – An already emotional Saskatchewan Roughriders fan base was given even more reason to shed a few tears on Saturday night.
The day was designed to be a special farewell to the home of their beloved CFL team since 1936, yet the Lions trounced the party with a convincing 24-6 victory.
“Our defence and special teams put us in position to get some scores early in the game and that was huge,” explained Lions quarterback Jonathon Jennings. “There was a lot of emotion going on in this stadium tonight and it was good for us to relax the crowd a little bit with an early score.”
It was a relentless pass rush from the Lions that caused havoc all night for the Riders and ignited a lot of groans and even some boos from the soldout crowd. The defensive unit registered seven sacks and a key turnover early in the first quarter that set up the game’s first touchdown.
The Riders fumbled the ball on their second offensive series and Anthony Gaitor jumped on the loose ball on the Saskatchewan 16-yard line. Two plays later, Jeremiah Johnson scored on a four-yard run. Johnson rushed for 101 yards on the night.
Later in the first half, Jennings connected with Manny Arceneaux on a 36-yard touchdown – the third time in the past two games that combo has hooked up – and the Lions expanded their lead to 15-3.
They led 16-6 at halftime.
“We knew it was going to a dogfight in here,” said B.C. linebacker Adam Bighill, who had two sacks and four tackles on the night. “We knew the fans were going to be hyped, we knew it was going to be loud. Ultimately, we knew what we needed to do and I think we came with one of our best defensive games of the season tonight.”
Solomon Elimimian also had two sacks and finished with 10 tackles for the Lions as their defence prevented Darian Durant and the Saskatchewan offence from gaining any momentum and giving the fans anything to get excited about.
A pair of Tyler Crapigna field goals (42 and 23 yards) in the second quarter was the only scoring from the home side.
After an exaggerated halftime break that featured a Saskatchewan-themed concert at midfield, B.C., poured it on with its first possession in the third quarter.
Jennings connected with Terrell Sinkfield on a 16-yard touchdown strike to swell the lead to 22-6. Jennings finished the night with 241 passing yards, and Arceneaux led a balanced receiving corps with 68 yards.
“This is probably the loudest stadium in the CFL, without a doubt, and any time you can take the crowd out of the game it’s a huge advantage,” Bighill noted. “It’s the worst place in the league to play when this place is loud and the fans are into it. We didn’t give them much of an opening tonight.”
Durant completed 15-of-28 pass attempts for 163 yards. His favourite target was Caleb Holley, who had seven receptions for 80 yards.
The win, however, does open the door for the Lions when it comes to hosting a playoff game. The Lions (11-6) moved into sole possession of second place in the West Division and two points ahead of the third-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who lost earlier in the day to the Ottawa Redblacks. The Lions are four points up on the Edmonton Eskimos.
The final week of the regular season carries significant playoff implications for the Lions, Blue Bombers and Eskimos. Home-field advantage in the divisional semifinal and the crossover team is to be determined next weekend.
The Lions will host the Riders, while Winnipeg will travel to Ottawa. Edmonton will be at home to take on the Toronto Argonauts.
Mosaic Stadium played host to 611 WIFU-CFL regular-season games. The Riders boast a 329-268-13 record at the stadium, but dropped their final two home games of the 2016 season.
With Saturday’s game a sellout, more than 11.6 million fans have watched games at Mosaic Stadium since 1958 when the CFL started tracking attendance.
Andre! Andre! Andre Proiux!, yeah Andre!
#4 for saskatchewan, why he em roll his eyes in disgust when he get sacked? He should learn the fast pass.
Pity the fools who play the hungry hungry Lions of BC.
Jennings doesn't even have to look-off our DBs.
None of them are looking at him, they're all in chase mode.
Why wasn't Brooks penalized for the helmut to helmut hit on Waters?
CFL has become the new XFL. Maybe we can even get Vince McMahon as our next Comish. Couldn't get much poorer. A joke of a league with its missed calls, Judgement calls and overall poor and inconsistent officiating. Not sure if I'll watch anymore. Considering the Riders Oline mailed it in this week, Perhaps I will too. 3rd rate at its best.
Well at least now we know for certain that the four game winning streak was an aberration. The expectations and talent level for 2017 will both be rock bottom. Perfect for opening the new stadium.
What we witnessed tonight was a bunch of amateurish, cowardly little boys get punched in the mouth and embarrassed. Outcoached and out played in all three phases of the game. The OL and tackling were particularly pathetic.
The only Rider employees who can claim they actually do their jobs are those in the marketing department.
When will the humiliation of Rider Nation end?
Can't block, can't tackle, can't catch, can't cover, can't WIN. ☹️️
Can't throw a ball.
Good thing it wasn't a blow out..oh wait. Did the coach really care if the score favored the Lions or was he more interested in trying new players? Hope next year in a new stadium the Rider will be a competitive team.
2016 sucked as bad as 2015 and 2014. At least I remember 2013 and the best Grey Cup other than 1989.
Wow, when the riders had a four game winning streak rider fans made it sound as if the grey cup was in the grasp by next year…play good teams as you did tonight and you find out the real story.
One more game and the nightmare is over.
The tackles were pathetic! Both the OL ones and the whole effun Defense!
Where the hell do we go from here?
Blasphemy…..wtf is with the Grey Cup being touched in a closing ceremony…..oh man.
Evan Wiome…. Just do us a favor and promise you will never ever go to another Riders game. We don't want whining losers in our new Stadium.
Excellent show put on by the organization saying Goodbye to the Grand Old Stadium.
Build up over the winter Riders and next year lets Surprise the hell out of a lot of the Band wagon Jumpers.
We love you guys and we have the best organization in All Of Canada.
Willy… why is it that you feel a reality check by Evan is a bunch of whining? Sometimes constructive criticism is exactly what an orginization needs to hear. Evan's points were precise and right on the money. This organization has slipped big time. This isn't just a hiccup. The Riders were not the number one watched CFL team in 2016. Your proposal of stocking up over the winter means nothing. This 2016 team has had the highest turnover of players in a single season. If they can't find the talent they need when they can audition the players at practise.… Read more »
The Riders are in trouble. Pathetic performance yet again. After Jones is fired after next season what happens next? The future is bleak.
Was disappointed with the closing ceremony. The closing of the hockey rink in Edmonton was way better.
The haters are out in full force, no surprise this is what they live for. Full credit for a nice farewell for the old girl. The only glitch is totally ignoring the pep bands contribution to the team, city and Province. I guess Maz's drum Line get the spot light!
How embarrassing!! They dishonored the game and the fans with that farewell performance. I am the most upset at Chris Jones treating this as an exhibition game and messed around with the QBs.. His childish fishing call that lost the final time out…it all just makes my blood boil. The sold out stadium fans deserved better!
The fans deserved better. Chris Jones let us down by treating this as a exhibition game. His childish challenge that lost the final time out was brutal. All those sacks…i could go on for ever!!
See you in 2017, new year new team