The Saskatchewan Roughriders appear to control their own playoff destiny, but quarterback Trevor Harris isn’t making any post-season plans just yet.
The Riders moved into second place in the CFL’s West Division with a 29-16 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday. Saskatchewan (7-7-1) is at 15 points, one more than the B.C. Lions (7-8-0) who lost 32-29 in overtime to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
Now with two consecutive victories under their belts and a schedule that appears to benefit Saskatchewan’s bid for a home playoff game, the Riders are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season.
But when Harris was asked after the game if he and his teammates take any satisfaction of the Riders’ current position, the veteran quarterback refused to go down that road.
“No, we’ve won two football games in a row. The goals we have are far more than that. I think the last thing you’ll feel from this team is a sense of the fact that we’re OK or like, ‘Oh, we’ve won two in a row.’
“No, no, no, there’s going to be none of that. We’re going to push the envelope harder,” said Harris, who completed 27 of 36 passes for 315 yards.
Riders head coach Corey Mace believes his charges can take some value from the two straight victories. He also feels his players are aware that the team is a work in progress.
“I think just building off momentum more than anything kind of validates the work that you put in. But those guys worked hard, even through the streak when it wasn’t good,” said Mace.
“And that’s hard for us as coaches, for us to look those guys in the face and say, ‘Hey, you’re doing a lot of things right, but we’ve just got to fix the nuances.’ It’ll be a little bit easier tomorrow when we meet to say, ‘Hey, we did a lot of things right but we still got to fix the nuances, right?’
“We’ve got to be better version of what we were today.”
The Redblacks (8-6-1) rank second in the East Division three points up on the Toronto Argonauts, who hosted the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday night.
Kicker Brett Lauther played a major role in Saskatchewan’s victory as he went 7-for-7 on field goals. Lauther struggled earlier in the season when he made only three of seven fields in a 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 16. After that game, a large portion of Saskatchewan’s passionate fan base wanted to send the veteran kicker packing.
Mace heard the noise from the fans, but he felt strongly that Lauther would continue to be one of the league’s top kickers.
“I love my interactions in person with fans. However, I’m not going to listen to everything that’s said, or else there’d be a lot of decisions made, right? Brett’s been an incredible kicker for this organization for a long time. I’m certainly happy he’s with us.
“We counted on him, and he did exactly what he was supposed to do. I’m proud of the guy.”
Lauther was mot available for comment after the game as he had left before reporters were allowed into the Riders dressing room. While Lauther wasn’t there to speak about the contest, his teammates were quick to step up and talk about the kicker.
“After that game, I texted Brett, and I told him that I’d put my whole cheque on him every week, no matter what. I told him just continue to be who he is. Everybody has a bad game. It was just a bad game for him, but he got back to who he is,” said linebacker Rolan Milligan.
“That’s who we know he is. And shoot, he had a little blip on the radar, and everybody was like, ‘Get him out of here.’ Brett Lawler is the man. Glad we have him,” added Harris.
Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward produced nine points from his three field goals on four attempts.
Ward’s two field goals in the fourth quarter narrowed Saskatchewan’s lead to 15-9, but the Roughriders regained control with the game’s first touchdown.
Thomas Bertrand-Hudon took a pitch from Harris and broke through the Ottawa defence for a 26-yard touchdown run. Harris connected with KeeSean Johnson on a two-point convert to increase the lead to 23-9.
Lauther’s sixth field goal added to that lead with four minutes left in the game.
Ottawa responded with its only touchdown when Jeremiah Masoli connected with Kalil Pimpleton on an 11-yard scoring pass with 1:56 remaining.
Lauther closed out the contest with his seventh field goal, from 37 yards, with 17 seconds left in the game.
Jeremiah Masoli, starting in place of the injured Dru Brown, went 20-for-30 in passing for 210 yards and was intercepted three times.
Saskatchewan lost two starters on offence to injury during the game.
Tailback Ryquell Armstead, who ran for 207 yards in his Saskatchewan debut last week against the Calgary Stampeders, left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.
Receiver Shawn Bane Jr. took a low hit in the second quarter when he tried to haul in a pass deep down the middle. He needed help off the field with an apparent right-knee injury.
The Riders have dealt with a large number of injuries this season, but the players appear to have bought into the “Next man up” mantra.
“We have complete belief (in the next man up). We talk about that every week, if you’re in uniform and you’re here in this building, we have complete belief that you’re going to go in and do what we need to do to win football games,” said Harris.
“And if we didn’t believe that you were good enough to do it, you wouldn’t be here … When you’re in, we expect great things and guys are coming through for us. We’ve had our depth tested, that’s for sure.”
Both offences struggled in the first half with Saskatchewan picking up 144 yards in total offence to Ottawa’s 116.
Lauther kicked field goals from 35, 33 and 21 yards in the first half, which gave the Riders a 9-0 lead before Ward’s 37-yarder.
Ward missed a 46-yard field goal attempt late in the first quarter that Saskatchewan’s Mario Alford returned 75 yards to the Ottawa 43-yard line. Alford’s return eventually led to Lauther’s second field goal of the game.
Masoli had a tough second quarter, tossing interceptions on consecutive possessions.
Milligan, with his league-leading seventh interception, snared the first. Marcus Sayles, with his fourth pick of the season, produced the second.
Saskatchewan linebacker Adam Auclair also intercepted Masoli in the third quarter.
Up next
Roughriders: Visit the Edmonton Elks on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Redblacks: Enjoy a bye week then visit the Montreal Alouettes on Monday, Oct. 14.
