The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-4) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (3-5) on Sunday night at Mosaic Stadium for their first meeting of the season. Saskatchewan snapped their three-game losing streak but it did not come easy. They had to fight hard against Ottawa tooth and nail.
In the first quarter, Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum completed a 27-yard pass to Jaelon Acklin and later connected with Nate Behar for five yards to the Roughriders’ 45-yard line.
Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward attempted a 52-yard field goal but missed it. Saskatchewan returner Mario Alford mishandled the ball before taking a knee in the endzone for an Ottawa single point. Ottawa led 1-0 with 12:04 left.
On the second play for Saskatchewan, quarterback Mason Fine completed an 18-yard pass to Jerreth Sterns. Three plays later, Fine threw a 20-yard pass to Jake Wieneke. Saskatchewan reached the Redblacks’ five-yard line before Jamal Morrow rushed up the middle breaking two tackles to score a touchdown. It was now 7-1 Saskatchewan with 7:10 left.
Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum threw a 13-yard pass to Siaosi Mariner. Dustin Crum and Devonte Williams each had a carry for a combined 11 yards at the Roughriders’ 44-yard line.
Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward converted a 51-yard field goal which cut the Roughriders lead to 7-4 with 4:39 left. Late in the first quarter, the Redblacks had the ball and made it to their 41-yard line to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Dustin Crum tried to find a guy to throw to but Anthony Lanier II sacked him for the second time and the Redblacks had to settle for another field goal. Kicker Lewis Ward converted a 35-yard field which tied the game 7-7 with 12:43 left. Later in the second quarter, Saskatchewan took a 10-7 when Brett Lauther kicked a 19-yard field goal with 10:15 left.
With less than three minutes left, Ottawa picked up another single point when punter Richie Leone’s punt went for 74 yards bouncing into the endzone and out of bounds. It was now 10-8 Saskatchewan with 2:34 left. As time expired, Brett Lauther made a 24-yard field goal for a 13-8 Saskatchewan lead at halftime.
Saskatchewan had 188 yards on offense. Quarterback Mason Fine completed 14 of 20 passes (70%) for 142 yards, and one carry for nine yards. Running back Jamal Morrow had seven carries for 25 yards, and one touchdown, and wide receiver Jerreth Sterns had five catches for 49 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense had three sacks, two of them by Anthony Lanier II.
Ottawa had 103 yards on offense. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed 8 of 9 passes (88.9%) for 75 yards, and three carries for 13 yards. Running back Devonte Williams had six carries for 16 yards and one catch for four yards. Wide receiver Jaelon Acklin had one catch for 27 yards. Ottawa was not disciplined when it came to penalties committing five of them for 63 yards.
In the third quarter, Saskatchewan quarterback Mason Fine pumped fake the defense to stall them before throwing a beautiful 42-yard touchdown on the hands of Shawn Bane Jr. It was now 20-8 Saskatchewan with 12:34 left.
Later in the third quarter, the Roughriders had the ball on their 33-yard line. Quarterback Mason Fine fumbled the ball on the handoff and Bryce Carter recovered it for Ottawa. The turnover would lead to a Lewis Ward 32-yard field goal which made it 20-11 with 7:40 left.
For the rest of the third quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther kicked an 18-yard field goal that made it 23-11 with 4:57 left, and Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward made a 28-yard field goal which made it 23-14 at the end of the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter got interesting. Saskatchewan had the ball on their 48-yard line facing third down. Jake Dolegala went in to convert a quarterback sneak. However, he fumbled the ball that was forced out by Thomas Schaffer and Douglas Coleman II scooped it up for a 45-yard touchdown. It was now 23-21 with 13:57 left.
That touchdown shifted momentum to Ottawa’s side. While Saskatchewan did make some progress, Ottawa’s defense did not let them get far and the Roughriders punted the ball. However, Saskatchewan’s defense also stepped up in the fourth quarter. On third down, Ottawa had Tyrone Pigrome come in to convert a quarterback sneak but failed to get the first down.
In the final minute of the game, Ottawa took a 24-23 lead with 56 seconds left on a Lewis Ward eight-yard field goal. Saskatchewan responded by Mason Fine throwing two short passes for 14 yards. After two failed attempts to get the first down, Brett Lauther came in to kick a 54-yard field goal. He converted it to put the Roughriders up 26-24 with 26 seconds left.
Ottawa had one more chance to get into field goal range but the Roughriders’ defense came up with a sack by Micah Johnson. Dustin Crum tried a hail mary but the defense knocked the ball down and the game was over. The Roughriders held on to beat the Redblacks by the final score of 26-24.
This game did provide entertainment until the end but both teams made too many mistakes. Both coaches looked unprepared in this game which led to confusion on both offenses and burned timeouts early in the game. They constantly ran the same plays and did not change it up which made it easy for the defenses to read. Some of the players on defense spotted it and both quarterbacks failed to change up the plays to throw the defenses off.
Quarterbacks need to do a better job seeing the field but the coaches must do a better job creating backup plays if the quarterback spots what the defense is about to do and quickly change things up. There were way too many short passing plays as both teams played it safe but Mason Fine was the better of the two quarterbacks.
Fine finished the night completing 23 of 37 passes (62.2%) for 296 yards, one touchdown, and five carries for 17 yards as part of the Roughriders’ 362 yards on offense. He is coming into his own and continues to build confidence with each snap. I think if he continues to play well for the rest of the season, he might find himself as a starting quarterback next year.
As for the short-yard attempts. Defenses know what’s coming and the offenses still run those plays anyway. If you have a strong backup quarterback, they will likely get it but I think they need to put an offensive lineman in the backfield similar to what the Bears did in 1985 with William Perry that will almost guarantee a first down.
To make that happen, both teams and the league in general need to invest money into offensive linemen. Saskatchewan’s offensive line was not bad, but the Redblacks’ o-line allowed six sacks. Quarterback Dustin Crum had a decent game completing 16 of 20 passes (80%) for 174 yards, and four carries for 21 yards as part of Ottawa’s 222 yards on offense. Crum’s throws were mainly short passes.
Saskatchewan running back Jamal Morrow had a nice game with 13 carries for 47 yards, and one touchdown, and wide receivers Shawn Bane Jr. and Jake Wieneke combined for 13 catches for 159 yards and one touchdown. I like Saskatchewan’s receiving core. If they can change the playbook that fits Mason Fine, they will be a better team down the road. Saskatchewan’s defense had 49 tackles and six sacks (3 of them by Anthony Lanier II).
Ottawa running back Devonte Williams had 12 carries for 33 yards, and Jackson Bennett had five carries for 31 yards. These two running backs are a nice combination and Ottawa should utilize them more in games. Wide receiver Jaelon Acklin had three catches for 56 yards, and Ottawa’s defense had 41 tackles, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and one touchdown.
Next week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Montreal Alouettes on Friday at 7:30 pm on CFL+ and the Ottawa Redblacks battle the Toronto Argonauts on Sunday at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
