MOSAIC PLACE RECAP: REDBLACKS 35 RIDERS 13

Johnson scored three rushing touchdowns as the Redblacks downed the Saskatchewan Roughriders 35-13 on Sunday, three days after Ottawa released international running back Chevon Walker, who he replaced in the starting lineup.

“I did what I was supposed to do. This is nothing different for me,” said Johnson, who has now doubled his number of rushing touchdowns this season to six. “The organization gave me an opportunity and I’m ecstatic with my performance.

“Those guys up front did a tremendous job. They went out there and hit everybody in the mouth and I just made the necessary plays to make things happen.”

The Roughriders, who had their second lowest point total in a game this season, fell to 0-9. They scored just five points in a 35-5 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on July 31.

After a tight first half that had Ottawa (5-4) in front 14-10, the game took a huge turn in favour of the Redblacks over a span of three minutes and 44 seconds from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.

Ottawa scored 21 points in that span to take a 35-10 lead and control of the game.

It started with 3:09 to play in the third quarter when Johnson scored a one-yard touchdown run that once converted by Chris Milo, gave the Redblacks a 21-10 lead.

On the ensuing series, Ottawa recovered a Saskatchewan fumble and Johnson scampered in from 36 yards out on the next play for another score and a 28-10 lead.

Another Riders’ fumble late in the third quarter was converted into points on a one-yard run from Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris 35 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Milo then converted his fifth touchdown of the day and the Redblacks were cruising with a 35-10 lead.

Paul McCallum kicked a 28-yard field goal with less than seven minutes to play, cutting the Saskatchewan deficit to 35-13.

The Redblacks defence recorded 10 sacks. They also forced two fumbles and intercepted one pass.

“It was a team effort on our defence and coach (Mark) Nelson called the game really well and the defence played very well,” said Justin Capicciotti, who led the charge with three sacks and six tackles.

“That’s the best time, when you’re up and you know you get to pass rush because you know they have to throw the ball. You get to go after the quarterback.”

The Redblacks scored on their opening two drives to take a 14-0 lead while allowing the Riders to just five offensive plays over their first two series.

Ottawa covered 89 yards in five plays on the opening drive of the game that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Burris to Maurice Price. The conversion by Milo gave the Redblacks a 7-0 lead.

After forcing the Roughriders into a two-and-out situation, Ottawa moved the ball 78 yards in just under three minutes and took a 14-0 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from Johnson.

The rest of the half featured only punts for the Redblacks as the Roughriders possessed the only offensive punch before the break.

They got punt singles of 48 and 70 yards from Ray Early and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Brett Smith to Naaman Roosevelt. Smith then carries the ball in himself on the two-point conversion to complete the eight-point scoring drive.

“We talked about winning the penalty battle and we talked about winning the turnover battle. That was the tale of two teams right there,” Roughriders coach Corey Chamblin explained.

“We came out in the second half and just played losing football in all three phases. (Ottawa) played good football, don’t get me wrong, but we just didn’t have it and we weren’t together. We looked more like individuals than a team in the second half.”

The Redblacks head into their second and final bye week of the season while the Roughriders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sept. 6.

(The Canadian Press)

POSTGAME COMMENTS

CHAMBLIN

– They had two early scores against the D and offensively we didn’t have much then.  Then we settled in and had a chance but the pick changed momentum just a little bit.  We have to play team football, not individual football.

– There was a thought to put (Brett Smith) back in but things transpired that made it a moot point so we stuck with Tino.  I’ll leave it at that.  It started temporary but ended up being longer than that.

– There was some good things in all phases but as a team we lost.  Not enough guys rose to the occasion to win this game.

– Right now we’ve had injuries and changes but for the most part we’re just not playing team football right now.  There is not one set answer.

– We’ve had a lot of change and sometimes it’s hard to preach to new guys and rally around that.  It’s not always positive in situations like that with new guys.  We’re not playing with the crew that we started with but we still have to move forward.

– Every week I come into this whether we’re 8-2 or 0-9, the decision is never mine.  I still come to work and do what I need to do.  The decision doesn’t lie in my hands.

– Brett Smith is healthy for next week.  We’ll sit down and discuss what to do next week.

CHICK

– I can’t put a finger on it.  To me, it’s from within.  It’s inside a person and there is no answer.  All across the board today was undisciplined.  It was a tail of two cities for the last two games.  It wasn’t the same squad out there today but I’d die for all these guys.  From meetings to scheme, we’re doing the right things.  We’ve got the right mental attitude.

– The determination is there.  The pregame stuff is there. It’s the on-the-field presence.  I can’t say it’s any one thing.  Last week we got down to five penalties and this week, I don’t know what it is, we had far too many and took points off the field.  We’d make big plays on defense and then there’s a flag.  You can’t blame that on the coach.  That’s execution.

– It’s always my approach but even moreso now; we have half a season left.  When you’re 0-9, I know what goes on in everyone’s mind from the top down.  I have to find everything I can do to be more professional and help the team win.

DRESSLER

– A lot went wrong.  You watched the game.  We didn’t much good in any phase of the game.  I wish I knew what to tell you.  It’s one of those things wherever we wanted to do, it didn’t work.  Playcalls or execution.

– There’s some penalties we need to clean up.  We did a good job of focusing on that last week but we took a step backwards on that today.  They put us in tough positions.

– We had a couple guys go down on the O-line and when you’re shifting those guys around, they’re just trying to help the team.  It’s makes it tough on a quarterback for sure.

– Any time you lose nine games in a row it’s hard to keep the belief you have what it takes to win games.  We try to keep it in the locker room and you hear what’s going on outside but guys are staying positive and believe we have the players to win games.