The Roughriders were able to hold off a fourth quarter surge from the Blue Bombers to win the Labour Day Classic 19-17 on a thrilling last second field goal.
After some early mistakes from the offence, quarterback Cody Fajardo was able to lead the unit from the Rider five yard line 87 yards down the field and into field goal range, setting up a 26-yard field goal from kicker Brett Lauther to seal the game.
Fajardo, playing in his first Labour Day Classic with the Roughriders, said it was a memorable experience helping move the ball down the field in the final three minutes.
“Offensively we didn’t have to score a touchdown there, we have a great kicker and we just had to get it past mid field, give him a great opportunity and he was going to go out and win the game for us,” said Fajardo.
After throwing two interceptions in the victory, Fajardo said there is still room to improve moving forward.
“I felt like my energy could have been a lot better tonight,” said Fajardo. “I think we did a great job of responding and not letting those turnovers crush us more.”
Coach Craig Dickenson recognized that the afternoon game wasn’t his quarterback’s best effort of the season, but also credited his presence helping lead the game winning drive.
“He’s growing each week, it wasn’t his best game,” said Dickenson. “The guys really rally and feel like they have a chance when he’s behind centre and he did just enough at the end to get us in position to kick the field goal.”
After just four rushes for starting running back William Powell through the majority of the game, the Riders decided to let him run on the game winning drive, touching the ball four times for 39 yards as the Green and White marched down the field.
“We’ve pulled off a long game winning drive before and we knew that we could do it again, and everyone rallied together,” said Powell. “We drove the ball down the field like we had to.”
The defence was led by linebacker Derrick Moncrief who brought energy to the afternoon contest, finishing with six tackles, including a bone shaking sack on Winnipeg quarterback Chris Streveler in the first quarter.
“We were bend but don’t break,” said Moncrief. “We already knew we had to carry the team because they have a tough defence too, and we just want to make plays down the stretch.”
The defensive unit held fast throughout the afternoon, with defensive end Charletson Hughes adding another two sacks to his season totals, and defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy added another interception, jumping a screen pass from Streveler.
The Riders only touchdown of the afternoon came from wide receiver Shaq Evans as he found a soft spot in coverage and walked into the end zone for six points, late in the first quarter.
Winnipeg answered with their own big drive in the second quarter, after a stutter step from running back Johnny Augustine made defensive back Ed Gainey lose his footing, resulting in a 55 yard gain into Rider territory. Streveler capped the drive off with a strike to wide receiver Kenny Lawler in the back of the end zone to draw closer to Saskatchewan.
Streveler added another touchdown on a sneak from the one yard line to give the Bombers a brief lead, setting up the suspense of the Rider’s final drive.
The teams will square off again next week in the Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg.
Although Saskatchewan was able to pull out the victory on the long weekend, Dickenson said they are expecting an even bigger challenge next week in Winnipeg.
“It’ll be a good rematch, we know that,” said Dickenson. “It’ll be a lot harder to win a game over there. If we play like we did tonight we won’t win.”
After a defensive slug fest on Saturday, the players are looking towards another physical contest next week.
“This was a dog fight, that’s the kind of game it’s going to be,” said Riders safety Mike Edem.
The victory is the Riders sixth in a row, moving them to 7-3, and puts them within two points of the Bombers at the top of the West.
