Regina, SK. -- The Saskatchewan Roughriders found the cure for what ailed them Sunday, pounding the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 56-0 in the annual Labour Day Classic game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
The Riders caught a break on their opening possession, when a Sandro DeAngelis 50 yard kick bounced off the right upright and through for a 3-0 lead 4:16 into the game. Then late in the opening quarter, Darian Durant threw a 25 yard touchdown pass to Weston Dressler. DeAngelis converted for a 10-0 lead with 3:38 left in the first.
In the second, Durant found Dressler again, this time from 20 yards out. With the DeAngelis convert, the lead was 17-0 1:16 into the second. Then just three plays later, Tyron Brackenridge roared in to block a punt, then scoop it it, running for a 42 yard touchdown. With the DeAngelis convert with 2:47 gone in the second. Chris Milo would kick a 39 yard punt single with 6:55 left in the half for a 25-0 lead, then DeAngelis would nail a a 30 yard field goal with 1:46 left in the half, for a 28-0 lead after two.
Saskatchewan turned up the heat in the third. DeAngelis kicked field goals from 46 yards with 4:44 gone and 30 yards with 8:19 gone, then Milo would blast a 68 yard punt single at the 10:46 mark, for a 35-0 lead. The lead grew to 42-0 on the final play of the third. Drew Willy, subbing for the banged up Durant, threw a 43 yard scoring strike to Terrence Jeffers-Harris. DeAngelis converted and the Riders would head to the fourth, looking to wrap up their eighth straight win in the LDC.
DeAngelis kicked a 26 yard field goal with 6:07 left, then Willy bulled his way in from a yard out with just 2:39 to play. DeAngelis converted, then the defense held off the Bombers the rest of the way, winning 52-0. It was the largest margin of victory in the 49 Labour Day Classic games and the first shutout since LDC I. It was also the first shutout in the CFL since August 2009 when Montreal beat Toronto 25-0 and the largest margin of victory in the CFL since Winnipeg beat Saskatchewan 56-0 in July 1986.
For the Roughriders, Darian Durant was 13-of-19 passing for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Drew Willy was 8-for-10 passing for 98 yards, 1 touchdown passing and 1 rushing. Weston Dressler caught 2 touchdown passes and Terrence Jeffers-Harris 1. Tyron Brackenridge returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and intercepted a pass, Sandro DeAngelis kicked 5 field goals and 5 converts, Chris Milo kicked 2 punt singles and Kory Sheets ran the ball 19 times for 106 yards, the first 100 yard rushing game by a Saskatchewan player in two years. For the Blue Bombers, Joey Elliott was 9-of-19 passing for 61 yards and an intereception and Alex Brink was 5-of-7 passing for 35 yards.
The Riders had 266 yards passing, 175 rushing and 422 total yards, while Winnipeg had 96 yards passing, 46 rushing and 102 yards total. Each team allowed 2 sacks and the Bombers turned the ball over 5 times, Saskatchewan none. Winnipeg was penalized 11 times for 96 yards, the Riders 5 times for 72 yards and Saskatchewan dominated time of possession as expected, 39:06 to 20:54.
With the win, the Roughriders break a five game losing skid and improve to 4-5, while Winnipeg drops to 2-7. The two teams meet again next Sunday, September 9th at CanadInns Stadium in Winnipeg, with kickoff set for 1:00pm EDT. Catch the game on 620 CKRM and the Rider Radio Network, watch it on TSN in Canada and ESPN3.com in the U.S.
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