All is good in the ‘hood.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders improved to 3-2 Saturday night with a 38-14 stomping of the expansion Ottawa RedBlacks at TD Place Stadium in the nation’s capital.
After back-to-back double digit losses in Weeks 2 and 3, the Riders responded with a pair of lopsided victories to keep pace in the tough CFL West Division.
It was a carnival-like atmosphere in Ottawa Saturday night with a pre-game tailgate party hosted by the Roughriders at the adjacent Aberdeen Pavilion and the revelry carried over into the game.
Some Ottawa football types wondered if this Week 6 contest could be a “trap game” for the Riders, one which they may overlook against a rag-tag group and also with a huge divisional game in Winnipeg on the horizon in Week 7.
Nope.
Saskatchewan’s 37-9 triumph over Toronto the week before was Exhibit A that the Green Machine is back on track. They carried the momentum over into TD Place and led 24-0 after the first quarter.
Quarterback Darian Durant was pretty much mistake-free and the offence had virtually no trouble moving the ball. A 111-yard missed field goal return touchdown by the indefatigable Tristan Jackson in the second quarter was the icing on the cake.
