Gades move into first place in Canadian Football League East
The Ottawa Renegades aren't letting a surprisingly good first half of the season go to their heads.
Kerry Joseph threw one touchdown pass and ran for two others as the Renegades came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 22-17 on Thursday night.
The victory moved Ottawa (5-3) into first place in the CFL's East Division and matched its entire win total from last season.
"We've just got to stay humble and keep playing football," Joseph said. "We can't put any added pressure on ourselves. We know each week everybody's going to be coming out to win a football game and wins are hard to come by in this league."
After Korey Banks intercepted Saskatchewan quarterback Marcus Crandell's pass and returned the ball 26 yards, Joseph ran three times to give the Renegades the lead with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
His first run covered 16 yards and was followed by a four-yard scamper. Using a shovel pass as a decoy, Joseph then ran 10 yards into the end zone and following Matt Kellett's convert the Renegades had a 22-17 lead with 3:18 to go.
"Korey's been playing well for us out there on defence along with the other guys and he always seems to get around the football," Joseph said of Banks' interception. "He made the play at the right time and we were able to capitalize."
With less than two minutes remaining, Bo Rogers intercepted Crandell and the Renegades had an opportunity to put the finishing touches on the victory. Crandell, however, got one more opportunity but failed to complete a third-down pass into the Ottawa end zone in the dying seconds.
"We had an opportunity at the end of the game," said Roughriders coach Danny Barrett, whose club has lost four in a row. "It's all you can ever ask for is an opportunity. We need to be able to capitalize though, and that's the bottom line. There's no moral victories when you're in the situation we're at. We had a chance to get one and we didn't."
Crandell entered the game to start the second half when starter Nealon Greene was unable to continue due to a stiff neck.
Joseph completed three straight passes to start the game and capped a 75-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Cory Hathaway.
The drive started with a 49-yard completion to Pat Woodcock and was followed up by a 17-yard reception by Yo Murphy.
"We talked all week about getting started fast and were able to do that. We kind of hit a lull during the game and slowed down a little bit," Joseph said. "We've just got to keep that pressure on and keep them off balance a little better."
The Roughriders (3-5) got their first points of the game when Ottawa kicker Pat Fleming conceded a safety at 10:42 of the opening quarter instead of punting from his own end zone.
Both Greene and Joseph had short TD runs in the second quarter as the Renegades led 14-9 at the break. Greene scored from one yard out, while Joseph ran it in from four yards away.
The Ottawa defence had been very stingy up until that point, allowing Saskatchewan to gain very few yards. The scoring drive for the Roughriders was aided by penalties as Kai Ellis took a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call and was also flagged for roughing the passer.
Crandell capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive with a six-yard TD pass to Travis Moore 9:30 into the quarter that put Saskatchewan up 16-14.
The Renegades were looking to regain the lead in the dying seconds of the third, but Kellett was wide on a 35-yard field goal attempt and settled for a 46-yard single.
The Renegades are in Winnipeg next Friday, while the Roughriders have a bye next week.
"We've got a break coming up that's sorely needed, right after our Winnipeg game," said Renegades coach Joe Paopao. "We've got to get to Winnipeg and stay after it. It's a cliche but that's what it is."
Kerry Joseph threw one touchdown pass and ran for two others as the Renegades came from behind to defeat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 22-17 on Thursday night.
The victory moved Ottawa (5-3) into first place in the CFL's East Division and matched its entire win total from last season.
"We've just got to stay humble and keep playing football," Joseph said. "We can't put any added pressure on ourselves. We know each week everybody's going to be coming out to win a football game and wins are hard to come by in this league."
After Korey Banks intercepted Saskatchewan quarterback Marcus Crandell's pass and returned the ball 26 yards, Joseph ran three times to give the Renegades the lead with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
His first run covered 16 yards and was followed by a four-yard scamper. Using a shovel pass as a decoy, Joseph then ran 10 yards into the end zone and following Matt Kellett's convert the Renegades had a 22-17 lead with 3:18 to go.
"Korey's been playing well for us out there on defence along with the other guys and he always seems to get around the football," Joseph said of Banks' interception. "He made the play at the right time and we were able to capitalize."
With less than two minutes remaining, Bo Rogers intercepted Crandell and the Renegades had an opportunity to put the finishing touches on the victory. Crandell, however, got one more opportunity but failed to complete a third-down pass into the Ottawa end zone in the dying seconds.
"We had an opportunity at the end of the game," said Roughriders coach Danny Barrett, whose club has lost four in a row. "It's all you can ever ask for is an opportunity. We need to be able to capitalize though, and that's the bottom line. There's no moral victories when you're in the situation we're at. We had a chance to get one and we didn't."
Crandell entered the game to start the second half when starter Nealon Greene was unable to continue due to a stiff neck.
Joseph completed three straight passes to start the game and capped a 75-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Cory Hathaway.
The drive started with a 49-yard completion to Pat Woodcock and was followed up by a 17-yard reception by Yo Murphy.
"We talked all week about getting started fast and were able to do that. We kind of hit a lull during the game and slowed down a little bit," Joseph said. "We've just got to keep that pressure on and keep them off balance a little better."
The Roughriders (3-5) got their first points of the game when Ottawa kicker Pat Fleming conceded a safety at 10:42 of the opening quarter instead of punting from his own end zone.
Both Greene and Joseph had short TD runs in the second quarter as the Renegades led 14-9 at the break. Greene scored from one yard out, while Joseph ran it in from four yards away.
The Ottawa defence had been very stingy up until that point, allowing Saskatchewan to gain very few yards. The scoring drive for the Roughriders was aided by penalties as Kai Ellis took a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call and was also flagged for roughing the passer.
Crandell capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive with a six-yard TD pass to Travis Moore 9:30 into the quarter that put Saskatchewan up 16-14.
The Renegades were looking to regain the lead in the dying seconds of the third, but Kellett was wide on a 35-yard field goal attempt and settled for a 46-yard single.
The Renegades are in Winnipeg next Friday, while the Roughriders have a bye next week.
"We've got a break coming up that's sorely needed, right after our Winnipeg game," said Renegades coach Joe Paopao. "We've got to get to Winnipeg and stay after it. It's a cliche but that's what it is."
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