OUT OF THE TUNNEL: “DEAD SILENT”
BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF
Cody Fajardo said in the post-game press conference, “I just remember hitting that thing and the stadium was dead silent and I could just hear the echo of the iron when the ball hit it.”
It’s an echo that can still be heard from the northern reaches of Stony Rapids all the way to Estevan. The only thing in the way of a potential game-tying touchdown wasn’t a bend-but-don’t break Winnipeg defence but a yellow piece of steel.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders lost the West Final to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 20-13 Sunday in one of the more exciting but incredibly disappointing endings to a football game played at Mosaic Stadium (either version).
This game was very weird. The Riders dominated the stat sheet with 466 yards of total offence and, after a slow start, were able to move the ball at will on the Blue Bomber defence. But this may have been the most Richie Hall Defence that a Richie Hall defence has ever played. They bent – boy did they bend – but somehow they just didn’t break.
The Green and White had 10 plays inside the Winnipeg 15-yard line and came away with just a pair of Brett Lauther field goals. The other two drives were late in the fourth quarter and ended with Cody Fajardo getting stoned by the Winnipeg defensive front at the one-yard line and then the final pass off the uprights.
What hurt the Roughriders was the inability to finish drives at point-blank range and the pair of turnovers that ended up in points.
The William Powell fumble in the first quarter helped Winnipeg to a field goal as did Fajardo’s third-quarter interception to William Rose.
It was a sweet victory for many of the Blue Bombers but for Zach Collaros it will taste the sweetest. He was very Collaros-like completing almost 70 per-cent of his passes for 267-yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he didn’t make any big mistakes.
Both offences went to their running quarterback packages a few too many times. The Riders had their problems with Bryan Bennett at the helm and the Bombers with Chris Streveler leading the offence couldn’t get things going either.
In the end, it just felt like things really never really got going for the Riders (despite a few glimpses in the fourth quarter) and all of the good fortune that they had all season long ended with that final Cody Fajardo pass.
Hats off to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They had a game plan and they stuck with it to the end. Going on the road in two of the most difficult places to play in the CFL and coming out with victories is an incredible accomplishment. To win in Calgary and then grinding out a victory in front of a packed house at Mosaic Stadium is something most teams could never think of doing and somehow Winnipeg did it in back-to-back Sundays.
The Blue Bombers will be heading to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2011 and have a chance to win their first championship since 1990. It’s just their third appearance in the last 20 years.
They will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Hamilton made quick work of the Edmonton Eskimos 36-16 in front of a sold-out Tim Horton’s Field. This is their third appearance in the Grey Cup in the past decade, but they haven’t won since 1999.
One of the Grey Cup droughts will end in Calgary next Sunday and one will have their championship misery continue.
It does hurt right now that the Green and White are not in the Grey Cup, but for the health of the league having these two teams battle in the final is a good thing. Both fan bases will travel well and make a whole lot of noise in Calgary. It’s going to be a great week for the CFL’s biggest showcase, it’s just tough that the Riders are not there.
One final hats off to the fans of Rider Nation. The gauntlet was thrown down by many (including here) that you haven’t been coming to Mosaic Stadium of late, but you showed up and were rowdy and boisterous. It was great to see sell-outs in both stadiums that hosted the divisional finals. Well done Rider Nation.
This Week in the PFC:
We usually start with the Canada West but the Saskatoon Hilltops went on the road on Saturday and won their sixth straight Canadian Bowl beating the Langley Rams 11-6.
This was the toughest game of the season for the Hilltops where defence was the story of the game. Both offences combined for just 439 yards from scrimmage with the Rams scoring the lone touchdown.
Ben Abrook was a work horse with 27 carries for 130-yards for the majority of the Hilltops offence. Defensively, Saskatoon had five sacks with Tristan Herring leading the way with 2.5.
What may be more important is that this game wasn’t a blow out. The Hilltops have run roughshod over their non-PFC competition, including last year’s Canadian Bowl where they beat the Rams 58-21.
This is a good thing for the CJFL that the Hilltops didn’t smash all of their opponents and that the BCFC are possibly catching up. It’s been 10 years since a non-PFC team has won a Canadian Bowl (Vancouver Island beat the Edmonton Wildcats in 2009) and sooner or later the other two junior leagues will catch up. It just didn’t happen this year.
This Week in Canada West:
The Calgary Dinos are off to the Vanier Cup with a 30-17 victory over the McMaster Marauders.
Jalen Philpot was the key to the Dinos offence with 130 total yards from scrimmage while Adam Sinagra was solid with 261-yards passing and a touchdown. Defensively Calgary was solid with three sacks and an interception.
They will face the Montreal Carabins for the Vanier Cup next Saturday in Quebec City. Montreal made quick work of the AUS champion Acadia Axemen 30-0.
Canadian to Watch in the NCAA:
DL – Luiji Vilain (Jr.)
Michigan (Big Ten)
6′ 4″ 244lbs.
Ottawa, Ontario
High School – Episcopal (Virginia)
It’s taken a few seasons, but Luiji Vilain is finally starting to see playing time along the Michigan Wolverine defensive line. The true junior had his breakout game in Michigan’s 45-14 victory over Notre Dame with three solo tackles and his first collegiate sack.
Vilain moved to Virgina to play his last two seasons of high school football and was a four-star recruit out of Episcopal High School and played in the Under Armour All-America Game.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF/PHOTO: MATT SMITH, CFL.CA)
