OUT OF THE TUNNEL

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium had all the feelings of a playoff game. 

Two of the top teams in the West Division facing off in an incredibly physical affair and in the end, the Saskatchewan Roughriders came away with a 21-6 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The game was about as even as one can get in almost every statistical category except for one big one, the Riders forced three Bomber turnovers while not giving up the ball once.

The defensive game plan was evident from the beginning for the Bombers; load up on the line and stop a very good Rider running game and put a ton of pressure on Cody Fajardo. It almost worked. Fajardo was under pressure all game long, he was sacked four times, and had to play Houdini to avoid even more, not to mention that hard tumble into the opposition bench.

But the number one reason why the Riders won: Cody Fajardo was miles better than a very mediocre Chris Streveler. 

Fajardo finished with 300-yards through the air with a touchdown and added on another 47-yards rushing. His favourite target Saturday night was his favourite target all year long. Shaq Evans had a career high 193-yards receiving and a touchdown.

This was Fajardo’s best game in 2019. Sure he threw for more yards and scores in the Riders victory over the Toronto Argonauts in July but Saturday was very different. First place was on the line against one of the best defences in the CFL, in a complete grind of a game.

Defensively, the Green & White knew what was coming; a steady run-game and a predominantly horizontal passing game. The Bombers had less than 100-yards of offence in the first half as they relied heavily on trying to stay with that game plan.

In the second half, the Bomber offensive line got in gear and pushed around the Rider defensive front and that allowed Andrew Harris to get his game going, but in the end Winnipeg couldn’t overcome the poor play by Streveler.

After Fajardo, the game ball should go to the entire Rider secondary. They victimized Streveler for two interceptions and could have had five or six if the Riders DB’s could hold onto the football. Also, other than Cam Judge’s sack on a blindside blitz, the other two sacks could be attributed to great coverage.

It’s tough to watch a good team like Winnipeg who now looks like they don’t have a shot at ending a long Grey Cup drought. They have a great team but the play of Chris Streveler is a restrictor plate on a dynamic offence. Without Matt Nichols at the controls of the offence, there is no way Winnipeg will take the title in 2019.

This gets us to yet another great battle this Friday night in Calgary. It will be the second and final time this year the Riders and Stampeders will meet and the only time at McMahon Stadium in 2019.

The Riders need to win by 28.

The Riders have vastly improved since Calgary won 37-10 at Mosaic Stadium. In that game, Calgary was able to sack Fajardo five times while holding him to 89-yards passing. 

Calgary won with Nick Arbuckle at the helm and this time around Bo Levi Mitchell will be controlling the offence. This is also an incredibly beat up Stampeder football club with three starting receivers (Markeith Ambles, Kamar Jorden and Canadian Juwan Brescacin) on the six-game injury list and their top running back Ka’Deem Carey also out.

This should be a game the Riders can control from the opening kickoff and come away with the victory but the Stampeders will keep it close and win the season series via points.

One black mark from Saturday’s game was the hundreds of Rider fans dressed as green seats. They announced over 31,000 tickets sold but the scan count would be well below 28,000.

This was a late-season battle for first place in the West Division on a beautiful October night. It should have been a packed house for such a big game. Maybe the shine of the new stadium has finally worn off.

The Riders are on their way to one of the best regular seasons in franchise history at the same time that attendance is declining. 

In the first two seasons at new Mosaic Stadium, the Riders sold out 10 of 18 games and had just one game where they sold less than 30,000 tickets.

In 2019, barring a ticket sales miracle (two of the non-sellouts in 2017 and 2018 were in the final game of the season), the Riders will sell-out just one game, the Labour Day Classic while two of the games check in at less than 30,000 tickets sold.

There are a myriad of reasons for this: higher ticket prices, expensive concessions, a poor economy. The frustrating part is now after many seasons of competitive but unexciting football, this team is a blast to watch because they genuinely appear to be having fun on the field and yet the turnstiles are slowing down.

This Week in Canada West

The Regina Rams started a third different quarterback in 2019 when first year pivot Bryden O’Flaherty went under centre to face the UBC Thunderbirds. He was able to drive down the field for a potential game winning touchdown, but was intercepted by Thunderbird defensive back James Vause in the end zone to seal the T-Birds first win of the season 33-28.

Quarterback Gabe Olivares was solid for the Thunderbirds with 353-yards through the air and a touchdown. The loss makes things incredibly difficult for the Rams to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight year.

Saskatchewan Huskies are starting to find their 2019 stride with their second straight win, knocking off the Manitoba Bisons 49-21. Running back Adam Machart followed up a 171-yard rushing game last week with 219-yards and two touchdowns.

For the first time in years the Canada West version of the battle of Alberta was for top spot. The Alberta Golden Bears held a 16-14 halftime lead on the Calgary Dinos but it was all Calgary in the second half. They scored 20-straight points for the 34-16 victory and took a strangle-hold on second in the conference.

Dinos quarterback Josiah Joseph was great in the victory with 334-yards passing and three touchdowns. Jalen Philpot was his favourite target with 132-yards receiving and a score.

Canada West will now take the Thanksgiving weekend off before the stretch drive to the playoffs.

This Week in the Prairie Football Conference

In the second-to-last week of the regular season, the Saskatoon Hilltops sealed up yet another regular season title with a dominating 49-22 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Rifles. 

Ben Abrook rushed for 206 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory.

The Regina Thunder also enjoyed some home-cooking by rolling over the Calgary Colts 37-9. The victory was their third in a row and keeps pace with the Huskies for second in the conference. If the two teams finish tied after next week’s final games, the Thunder will host the Huskies in the PFC semi-finals.

The Huskies were able to hold off a vastly improved Edmonton Huskies 28-3 at Clarke Park in Edmonton.

Final week of the PFC regular season (all times local):
Edmonton Wildcats at Saskatoon Hilltops 1:00pm SMF Field

Winnipeg Rifles at Regina Thunder 1:00pm Leibel Field
Edmonton Huskies at Calgary Colts 1:00pm McMahon Stadium

Canadian to Watch in the NCAA:

DB – Benjamin St-Juste (Grad Transfer)
Minnesota (Big 10)
6’3” 20
Hometown: Rosemere, Quebec
High school: Cégep du Vieux Montréal

St-Juste started his college career with the Michigan Wolverines but transferred to Minnesota after graduating last year. After this season, he will have another two years of eligibility.

St-Juste has played in all five games for the undefeated Golden Gophers and got his first start of the season this past week in their victory over Illinois. 

In five games this year he has 11 total tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss.

(RODPEDERSEN.CONM STAFF)