Vancouver-
On Friday night, the Saskatchewan Roughriders let it be known that winning a season’s series in the CFL is no small feat.
After two home defeats to the BC Lions in the past four weeks, the Riders rode a rebounding performance from Cody Fajardo to a 23-16 win at BC Place.
“That’s a good win and we did a lot of good things,” said Fajardo, who hit 19 of his 24 passing targets, threw 321 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 38 yards. “We have a lot of things to improve on, but we needed that. That locker room needed that more than you know.
“It’s a good feeling in there – a lot of guys laughed and we worked really hard. We’ve left some really good players behind us and we’ve found a way to work it out.”
“It looked like the man we know and love,” said Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson, after pulling his starter before halftime last week. “I feel very strongly that he is the right man and I feel very good about his achievements and I am very proud of him. He got the match ball. We only handed out one tonight. And he got it. ”
With the Riders missing top receivers Duke Williams and Justin McInnis with injury, sophomore receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker led Saskatchewan’s charge with 170 passing yards. That included an 85-yard touchdown catch shortly before halftime that gave his team the lead it wouldn’t give up.
“Every time that ball is in the air, my mentality is, I always have to come down with it,” Schaffer-Baker said.
The Riders also rushed for 164 yards. Frankie Hickson took 128 in a bigger role, with Jamal Morrow sidelined with a broken hand.
“It feels great,” Hickson said. “You never want anyone to get hurt, especially not someone on your own team. If one goes down, the other has to get up again. I’m just glad I was able to do that for the team.”
The Lions came into Friday’s game knowing that their starting quarterback, Nathan Rourke, had successfully endured his foot surgery earlier in the day. With a five-game winning streak, 26-year-old Michael O’Connor made his first career with CFL.
He went 6-for-15 for 94 yards, but left the game in the second quarter with what Campbell described after the game as a leg injury that is still being assessed by team doctors. He was replaced by Antonio Pipkin, the linchpin of the third string, who went 9-for-17 in the air for 112 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 26 yards.
“Michael made some really good throws in the beginning,” said Lions coach Rick Campbell. “And Pip comes in — that’s a tough, tough situation to get into. He knows what he is doing and he knows the transgression. But he literally has very, very limited reps practicing and clearly not playing.
“So good for them to compete. And they kept swinging to the end.”
After seeing the Lions with Rourke so recently, Dickenson was confident in how his opponent would prepare.
“We knew they didn’t have to change the game plan, but toned it down,” he said. “We felt like if we could pressure the quarterbacks, maybe we could get them to throw a few at us, which they did. We just couldn’t intercept.”
The loss dropped the Lions to 8-2 in the standings, ending their five-game winning streak. BC also lost two players to hamstring injuries – key defender TJ Lee, trying to chase Shaffer-Baker during his touchdown play, and wide receiver Lucky Whitehead in the third quarter.
The Lions are now entering a farewell week, during which Job One will get healthier.
“No one should come back (unable) to practice if they haven’t come in and been treated,” Campbell said. “We have to take advantage of this farewell week that comes at a good time. We need to get guys as healthy as possible, both mentally and physically, to play a lot of important football.”
Defense ruled early on Friday. The Lions were leading 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, on the first of Sean Whyte’s three field goals.
Saskatchewan registered the first points of the game with 8:35 to play in the first half, when Brett Lauther scored a 20-yard field goal after Fajardo hit Schaffer-Baker with a 49-yard dart that sent the Riders to the BC 13- yard line.
Pipkin took over the next ball possession for the Lions, but the Riders quickly got the ball back. They scored the first major of the game with 3:57 left before halftime, when Fajardo connected with Schaffer-Baker for an 89-yard scoring play.
With the Lions trailing for the first time in the game, Pipkin efficiently pushed the ball into the field. But a pass attempt to Rhymes in the end zone failed, causing Whyte’s third field goal.
The riders took over with 1:17 to go before halftime and quickly made their way to the field goal position. Lauther hit his second of the game to give the visitors a 13-9 lead as they entered the locker room.
Lauther added another field goal midway through the third quarter. With 1:01 to go, Fajardo completed a strong series of passes with a 26-yarder to Tevin Jones, extending the lead to 23-9.
In the fourth, Pipkin made a strong passing drive, then scrambled out of the pocket from the seven-yard line to hit Jacob Scarfone in the end zone. That narrowed the lead to one possession with 5:59 left to play, but the home side couldn’t get any closer.
YARDSTICKS: According to the CFL, Friday’s game is the only time a club has ever started two different pure Canadian quarterbacks in consecutive games. The only other time two Canadians went below center in consecutive games was in September 1955, when Bill Stevenson of the Calgary Stampeders was replaced by emergency starter Lynn Bottoms, a regular halfback – Bryan Burnham’s catch in the first quarter extended his personal reception streak. to 102 consecutive games … Saskatchewan will host the West Division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium next Sunday as BC has its final bye week.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 26, 2022.
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