OTTAWA — Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders undoubtedly weren’t alone in their consternation on Friday night when the Ottawa Redblacks took advantage of every Green and White mistake to build a 10-0 first quarter lead.
You better believe the team itself was feeling it, too, especially after dropping a 40-34 decision to the Toronto Argonauts in their previous outing.
But in the end, the Riders did what they’ve done so many times over the last two seasons — regroup, adjust and get to work. That led to a huge second quarter comeback, followed by a third quarter surge that saw Saskatchewan pull away once and for all.
That all led to the most important message from the game for head coach Corey Mace: put themselves in a position where they can celebrate each other’s successes, especially after getting away from that positivity in recent outings.
“You know, I feel like we lost sight of that a little bit,” Mace told the Rider Broadcast Network’s Luc Mullinder after the 27-22 victory. “So that was huge for us, just celebrating each other's success and having fun. That locker room, it sounds like it should.”
The Riders based their comeback on a handful of huge plays, with players like KeeSean Johnson, Samuel Emilus and Dhel Duncan-Busby coming up with big catches at important times to help Saskatchewan claw their way back into the game. Then you had Nick Wiebe’s strip and scoop on an Ottawa punt return and Jaxon Ford’s potentially game-saving stop on a third-and-one late in the game, and it was all just enough to get the job done.
That fact all that was needed was initially a product of some of the ugliest football the Riders have played this season — with first-series interception, Ottawa driving the field with ease afterwards and a blocked punt leading to the Redblacks early lead.
“I don’t know what it is about this place, but weird stuff happens when we play here,” head coach Corey Mace said of the slow start and rapid recovery. “What I thought is when we needed to decide a ball, to make a play, we responded when we needed to. As always, tons of [stuff] to look at, to get better at, but we needed to get it, we did that.”
Another important factor in Saskatchewan’s success not only in Friday’s game but all season has been the performance of the team’s newcomers. Players like Quali Conley, who ground out 57 yards on the ground and had some big runs at opportune times, and Mathew Sexton, whose punt return touchdown in the third quarter gave the Riders the lead for good.
“These guys, just everybody's role is extremely important,” Mace said of seeing so much balance in the line-up at the moment. “Everybody's working to be better at what they do and then having to step in if they have to anywhere else to be prepared to do that. So that's just the workers' mentality these guys have.”Now, Saskatchewan turns their attention to what could be their toughest test of the season when they face Bo-Levi Mitchell and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats next Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.
Mitchell is off to another torrid start for the 2-1 TiCats, having the league’s second-best quarterback efficiency rating at 139.7 while throwing for eight touchdowns and a single interception through his first three games.
Mace plans to have the team spend plenty of time in the film room in the lead-up to the contest while taking advantage of the longer week to prepare as much as possible.
“Obviously they've got an explosive offense, they’ve got a really good defence, they're well-coached,” Mace said. “So it's going to be another tough battle, but I find whoever the opponent is, man, we're always in for it if it's tough or whatever.”
Game time on Sunday, July 12 is 5 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.
