Canadian Football League

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Riders move up in Canadian Football League standings.

With a minute left and the Blue Bombers on a potential winning drive, Saskatchewan defensive back Eddie Davis knew it was time the defence picked up the hammer.
He ended up delivering the blow himself, intercepting a Kevin Glenn pass with 42 seconds left to ensure a 19-17 Roughriders win Saturday night.
"I looked in Kevin Glenn's eyes and I seen him looking at Milt Stegall the whole way and I just knew I had to step up," Davis said. "I stepped in front and made the play and got down so I didn't fumble the ball."
It was the 11-year CFL veteran's second interception of the season and deflated the 29,653 fans at Canad Inns Stadium - Winnipeg's first sellout since a Oct. 12, 2002, win against Saskatchewan.
The Roughriders took over at their own 35-yard line and ran the clock out.
In Saskatchewan's previous series, kicker Paul McCallum was wide on a 42-yard field-goal attempt with just over a minute remaining. Bomber receiver Keith Stokes ran the ball out of the end zone to Winnipeg's 36 to start the comeback attempt.
The victory moved Saskatchewan into a tie with Calgary, both with 5-6 records, while the Bombers' playoff hopes faded more as they stayed at the bottom of the West Division at 3-9.
"Mathematically, we're not out of it, but we're going to need some miracles right now," said Stegall, who only had one catch for nine yards. "We need so much help.
"We may need Birmingham, an expansion team from the U.S., to come help. That's how much help we need right now. It's going to be difficult."
The Roughriders hadn't won a regular-season game in Winnipeg since Sept. 11, 1994.
After losing five in a row, Saskatchewan now has two straight wins - both over the Bombers.
"The key for us is to get a win in a place where we hadn't had a lot of success in the regular season," Saskatchewan head coach Danny Barrett said. "Now we look forward to lining up at home against the Eskimos, who are four points ahead of us.
"It feels good. It's going to be a nice ride home."
Saskatchewan's scoring included touchdowns by Karsten Bailey and quarterback Marcus Crandell and a field goal and two singles by McCallum.
Chris Brazzell and Charles Roberts scored TDs for Winnipeg, while kicker Troy Westwood had a single on a missed 42-yard field-goal attempt and punter Jon Ryan had a pair of singles.
Crandell was 21-for-37 for 216 yards, one TD and no interceptions. Glenn was 18-for-31 for 240 yards, one TD and one interception.
The teams exchanged turnovers early in the first quarter, with Saskatchewan running back Kenton Keith fumbling at Winnipeg's 20 on the opening drive. It was Saskatchewan's league-leading 36th turnover of the season.
Winnipeg gave the gift back in the next series when Stokes fumbled after a catch. Saskatchewan only ended up getting a single point after McCallum missed a 37-yarder.
Saskatchewan then capitalized on another Bomber turnover, this time a fumble by receiver Gilles Colon, with an 18-yard McCallum field goal as time expired to make it 4-1.
Brazzell and Roberts scored back to back, with Roberts' one-yard TD capping an 11-play, 100-yard drive to put the Bombers ahead 15-4 at 9:38 of the second quarter.
Saskatchewan made it 15-11 with 56 seconds left in the half on a one-yard TD plunge by Crandell.
Bailey's three-yard TD catch gave Saskatchewan their first lead of the game and singles by McCallum, Westwood and Ryan made it 19-17 for the Roughriders at 5:24 of the fourth quarter.
Notes: With 58 yards on 13 carries, Winnipeg running back Charles Roberts moved past Jim Washington (5,736 yards) into third place in all-time Bombers rushing. Roberts now has 5,789 yards.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


<