By: Chris Ribau
The Ticats (1-1) entered Saturday’s game against the Roughriders (2-0) full of confidence and after a big win last week in Toronto, it was justified.
The Roughriders came into Ivor Wynne allowing only 57.5 avg. yards on the ground, while the Tabbies boasted the CFL’s top rusher in RB Jesse Lumsden (225 yds, 2 TDs). But this battle will be remembered for one play.
The Cats, who trailed most of the game, had found a way to fight back and held the lead with under two minutes remaining. In his first start, Saskatchewan QB Darian Durant was trying to orchestrated a last minute comeback and completed a seemingly harmless 6-yard pass through the middle to an open WR Weston Dressler. As Ticat tacklers closed in, he managed to find a seam and break free for 67 yards.
When a touchdown looked imminent, DB Jykine Bradley chased him down and punched it loose one yard from the Hamilton endzone. Both men went down while the ball bounced harmlessly out of the endzone. It was ruled a fumble and Saskatchewan was given possession on the one yard line with only 32 seconds left in regulation. They made it count as RB Wes Cates leaped over the goal line for six.
Both teams answered each other’s best shots, with Saskatchewan landing the last blow before the final bell.
“They showed great mental toughness, and they fought the whole game”, said head coach Charlie Taaffe in his post game press conference.
The Tabbies showed poise and were never out of it even when the score was 17-8 at halftime. RB Tre Smith opened up the third quarter with a pop, returning Jamie Boreham’s kickoff for 28 yards. Smith would finish the game with 214 all-purpose yards, adding to his league leading total.
The second half saw the Tabbies outscore Saskatchewan 20-16, mostly on the back of RB Jesse Lumsden, rushing for 109 yards on 10 carries and one TD in the half.
The one-two punch of Lumsden, who finished with 137 yards and two touchdowns, and Smith is proving to be a potent combination. During the Tabbies fourth series of the game, Smith ran for 25 yards on 2 carries, one of which involved an exicting spin out of the grasp of a Riders defenders behind the line of scrimmage, allowing Smith to bolt for positive yardage. The play set up Lumsden for 2-yard strike up the gut.
The Black and Gold now feel like they can play against any team anywhere, and talk of proving that to other teams across the league was rampant in the locker room after the game. The team is confident and angry and they’ll be looking for redemption next week in Calgary and especially on October 19 in their rematch against Saskatchewan.
