Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
Note to the rest of the CFL: Watch out for the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the second half of the 2009 season.
The Riders kicked off the “back nine” by embarrassing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 55-10 in the Banjo Bowl Sunday afternoon before a sold out Canad Inns Stadium crowd.
The game came on the heels of a 29-14 shellacking of the Bombers one week before in the Labour Day Classic meaning the Riders kicked ’em by a combined score of 84-24.
In Winnipeg, Michael Bishop and the Bombers committed eight turnovers to the Riders’ one and even that blemish came on a careless Darian Durant pass which was intended to go out of bounds but was snagged by a Bomber linebacker. Otherwise, the Rider quarterback had a perfect day.
“We got in a situation where we were able to take the ball away and the score got out of hand,” Rider coach Ken Miller said humbly after the game.”You wouldn’t expect that to happen every week. If you look at the score and realize the turnovers were 8-1, you realize it was based on takeaways and not team strength.”
Really, it was a horrible atmosphere in the stadium as the game got out of reach. Bomber fans began to leave at halftime when it was 26-7 and those who stayed booed coach Mike Kelly and Bishop mightily. Fans were seen with paper bags over their heads, and anti-Mike Kelly signs were everywhere.
“I feel bad for the players,” Kelly said after the game.” “That may seem like a weird statement but I know how hard they work every day. Nobody ever says ‘I’m going to fumble the ball twice today’, or ‘I’m going to throw as many interceptions as I can’.”
Oh well, that’s their problem. As for the Riders, they upped their record to 6-4 and are tied with Calgary for first in the CFL West with eight games to go. The Riders now have to be seriously considered as a Grey Cup contender.
“Man this is beautiful,” smiled Durant. “I thought this team was due for a win like this. We work so hard and we came into the second half of the season and said we wanted to be the best team in the CFL. This is giant step towards that.”
Durant has started each of the Riders’ 10 games this year and gotten better each time out. If you look at his progression from June till now, it’s meteoric.
Now the Riders oppose Richie Hall’s Edmonton Eskimos in back-to-back games beginning Sunday at 2:00 at Mosaic Stadium. The Eskimos have lost two straight games – both to Calgary – and hold down third in the West at 5-5.
Hold on Rider fans! This is gearing up for a heck of a stretch drive.
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