Jason Patrick's interception on BC's first possession of overtime capped an exciting come-from-behind effort for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, sending them back into a first-place tie with Calgary in the CFL West, as the Riders edged the Lions 36-33 in front of a sell-out crowd of 30,945 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan Saturday night.
BC led 3-0 after one, on the strength of a 27-yard field goal by Paul McCallum halfway through the opening quarter.
Saskatchewan took control in the second quarter with a pair of major scores. Steven Jyle snuck over from the 1, then Darian Durant found Robb Bagg from 32 yards and with the Luca Congi converts on both scores, led 14-3 with 4:14 left in the half. McCallum kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:23 to go for the Lions, Congi connected from 49-yards for the Riders, then McCallum nailed a 46-yarder for BC on the final play of the half, and the two teams went to halftime with Saskatchewan holding a 17-6 lead.
Congi kicked a 57-yard punt single 3:21 into the second half, giving the Riders an 18-9 lead. Casey Printers, making his first start of the season for the Lions, hit Emmanuel Arceneaux from 34-yards out and with McCallum's convert, the Saskatchewan lead was down to 2, at 18-16, with 8:32 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Congi got another single for the Riders, after missing a 42-yard field goal attempt with 4:27 left. Jason Armstead returned a punt 54-yards, paving the way for another Congi field goal with 1:29 left and Saskatchewan's lead was 6, at 22-16, heading into the 4th quarter.
Printers found Michael Bumpus with a 29-yard scoring strike with 7:09 left and McCallum converted, putting BC on top 23-22. Barron Miles picked off an errant Durant pass and returned it 42-yards for a touchdown and with McCallum's convert, the Lions were sailing with a 30-22 lead and just 3:16 still on the clock. However, the Riders still had plenty of life left in them. Johnny Quinn caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Durant, who then found Chris Getzlaf for the 2-point conversion with 1:53 remaining, tying the game 30-30. Saskatchewan actually had a chance to win on the last play of regulation, but Congi hit the upright from 49-yards away on the last play of the quarter, setting up the CFL's third overtime game of 2009, and the second in two weeks for the Riders.
On their first possession of overtime, Saskatchewan went back on top, with a 29-yard field goal by Congi. BC took over at the 35 and moved to the Saskatchewan 8, but Printer's pass to Geroy Simon in the corner of the endzone was picked by Patrick and the Riders escaped with the 33-30 win.
Darian Durant led Saskatchewan with 27-of-46 passing for 319 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Robb Bagg and Johnny Quinn caught touchdown passes, Steven Jyles rushed for a touchdown and Luca Congi had 3 field goals, 2 converts and 2 singles. The Riders had 425 yards total offense, turned the ball over twice and were penalized just 3 times for only 20 yards. For the Lions, Casey Printers was 19-of-31 passing for 339 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Emmanuel Arceneaux and Michael Bumpus scored receiving touchdowns, Barron Miles returned an interception for a touchdown, and Paul McCallum had 3 field goals and 3 converts. BC had 406 yards total offense and were penalized 11 times for 129 yards.
With the win, Saskatchewan is 9-6-1 for 19 points, tied for first in the CFL West. The Lions slip to 8-8 for 16 points. Both the Riders and Calgary clinched playoff spots with their wins this weekend.
Saskatchewan plays at Hamilton next Saturday, October 31st, beginning at 2:00p.m. EDT. The live broadcast begins at 1:00p.m. EDT at http://www.620ckrm.com/. BC hosts Calgary next Saturday, beginning at 10:00p.m. EDT.
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