Another week and another wild finish to a Saskatchewan Roughrider game. As inevitable, games going down to the last seconds are not always going to end in Rider victory.
The Riders lost 33-31 to the Calgary Stampeders during the July 15 game.
The third and 24 play was one of the few plays I have ever experienced that brought me to my feet in the press box. It was so dramatic and unexpected.
As Mason Fine released the pass, I could see it was headed towards three Calgary defenders and a lone Rider receiver, Tevin Jones. I was sure it was going to be intercepted.
Tre Roberson going for the ball bumped into Jonathan Moxey, who was waiting for the ball to come down and the ball bounced off Moxey to Jones who ran it in for the touchdown. The impossible had happened.
Fine said after the game that he said to the receivers that everyone go. He said he wanted to evade the rush and step up and throw deep. He was ready to go right or left. He was glad there was a path to the left for the Riders had started on the left hash and he could throw it furthest to the left. The ball travelled 52 yards downfield in the air.
As he broke free of the rush there was a lot of open space in front of him. I asked if he thought about running the ball. I had been thinking about Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum’s unscripted 29-yard run in overtime to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers three hours earlier. It had not looked open to the end zone but Crum appeared to surprise the Bombers with his quickness. There were two Calgary linebackers about 20 yards downfield with Kendall Watson and Jamal Morrow in front of Fine able to block. He said it was better to throw. He said Calgary has lots of guys with speed and he thought he could get no more than 15 yards running.
There was no reason for Roberson and Moxley to try to intercept the pass beyond instinct and stats. Rider defensive back Amari Henderson, told me he would have just knocked it down. He said he had learned his lesson in college when he tried to intercept such a pass and it ricocheted off him to a receiver.
I thought of another famous American college play at Auburn University in 2013 – the Prayer at Jordan Hare – in which two Georgia defenders bumped each other trying to intercept a desperation heave and it bounced forward to an Auburn receiver who took it for the game winning touchdown. Both Auburn players have played for the Riders. Nic Marshall threw the pass. The receiver was Ricardo Lewis who was a Rider for part of the 2021 season catching 18 passes.
I asked head coach Craig Dickenson his thoughts on the play. Smiling, he said that he told Jones after the play why not try to slide down at the one-yard line which would let the Riders use up more of the clock. He immediately added that Jones had to try to score.
Dickenson was echoing what every CFL fan knows. With 48 seconds to go after the touchdown anything can happen.
Had Jones gone down intentionally at the 1, which I cannot recall ever seeing a player do, the Riders would have been able to effectively run out the clock. Calgary did not have a timeout. Scoring on first down and then the kickoff would have left the Stampeders with at most 20 seconds.
The whole discussion requires the Riders to score from the 1. Considering the Riders had stopped Edmonton on three plays in a row from the 1 earlier in the season and the Riders had already been stopped earlier in the game on third and just over 1, Jones made the right play.
It was the defence that proved unable to make the right plays after the touchdown. I was struck that the first Stampeder pass after the kickoff was a long pass down the sideline with Marshall defending. It was the first time in the game I noted the Stampeders going after him. The pass drifted out of bounds. It would have been incredible if Marshall would have had a shot at a game ending interception for the third consecutive game.
I am not sure more dramatic finishes await the 2023 Riders. Sunday’s harsh reality is that with Trevor Harris injured the Riders are forced to inexperienced backups at quarterback. Mason Fine will get his chance as a starter. Dickinson said he is committed and knows the offence like the back of his hand. He played well in those frantic final minutes on Saturday.
I do not expect Harris to play again in 2023. The instant hush when he went down reflected fans’ understanding it was a bad injury. Both teams coming on to the field to wish him well was player recognition of a major injury. Harris wrapping a towel around his bowed head as he was carted from the field indicated his personal despair.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about the Saskatchewan Roughriders since the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Football Reporters of Canada wing on Nov. 24, 2013.
