Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
Whoops.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ final road game of the 2009 regular season didn’t exactly go according to plan. Quarterback Darian Durant was on the hook for three first quarter turnovers and it set the tone for the day as the Riders were blown out 24-6 in Hamilton Saturday afternoon. That included back-to-back fumbles lost on Saskatchewan’s first two drives and a later first quarter interception. As a matter of fact, the Riders turned the ball over on three of their first nine offensive plays.
Fortunately for the green guys, the loss turned out to be meaningless as they clinched at least second-place later that night with Calgary’s 28-26 win at B.C. setting up a one game showdown for first-place in the CFL West this Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium between the Riders and Stampeders in a 6:00pm CT kickoff (TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network).
The underlying story in the Hamilton game — a story not publicized by the Riders — was that the club was ravaged by the flu leading up to the game and they traveled with 48 players in the event of last minute scratches due to illness. Defensive back Lance Frazier was a game day deletion and was replaced by WR Chris Jones on the 42-man active roster. Frazier had been hospitalized the week before due to dehydration from the illness. In fact half a dozen players missed practice leading up to the game due to sickness including kicker Luca Congi, who missed field goals from 55 and 50 yards against the Ticats in the loss.
“Frankly it didn’t seem like our heart was into it,” said Rider linebacker Mike McCullough, who missed Tuesday’s practice with the flu. “It’s just one of those games where you just want to forget about it the second it’s over. We want to look ahead to Calgary. As long as we’re the team we know we can be, we’ll be okay.”
Durant wasn’t one of the players affected by the flu bug, but he had one of his worst offensive showings of the season. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by backup Steven Jyles, but Jyles was unable to rally the club to victory. However Durant will be back under centre for this week’s game against Calgary.
“Well Darian Durant is still the number-one quarterback and certainly I would expect him to play much better,” said Rider coach Ken Miller. “He turned the ball over so ball security is, as always, a major thing. And the other thing is we just have to manage the game better.”
Durant, who may be the leading candidate to win the team’s 2009 M.O.P honour, saw a silver-lining in the loss.
“We needed a game like that to bring us back down, to show us what we need to do to get better, and to give us something to work towards,” Durant explained.
Mike McCullough doesn’t necessarily agree with that perspective.
“Yes and no,” the Kingston, Ontario product reasoned. “You never want to lose a game. I suppose we can use it as fuel for next game if you want to take some positives out of it but at the same time no one wants to get beat, especially that way.”
Miller admitted the team is concerned about its inability to move the ball along the ground of late and tailback Wes Cates had only 20 yards rushing against Hamilton and 58 yards the week before against the B.C. Lions. However Cates will continue to be the warhorse the rest of the way.
“Really, his load has been monitored pretty closely this year,” Miller said. “His number of carries are down so we feel like he’s ready to carry the load. Wes is a thoroughbred and now’s his time to run.”
RIDER NOTES: Saturday’s game at Mosaic Stadium is not yet a sellout, however only single tickets remain available in most sections … Early in the week, the forecast for the game calls for +8 degrees Celsius and sunny … Clinching home field in at least the division final means the Riders will host a playoff game for a third straight season which hasn’t happened since the 1970s … A win over the Stampeders Saturday night will ensure first place for Saskatchewan for the first time since 1976 … Defensive back Eddie Davis missed the Hamilton game with a torn meniscus (knee) and likely won’t be back until playoffs … Rider head trainer Ivan Gutfriend confirmed on the weekend SB Weston Dressler (fractured fibula) and punter Jamie Boreham (herniated disc in his neck) will not return this season.
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