The Canadian Press
REGINA — Ed Gainey only needed 23 minutes to establish himself as a shoe-in for player of the game. Setting the tone early, the six-year defensive back took three passes away from Jonathon Jennings and the BC Lions offence.
His play, along with the rest of the Roughriders swarming defence forced Jennings to the bench — albeit temporarily — in a dominant 41-8 win that was controlled by the home squad from the opening kickoff.
A fumble recovery and another interception late off third-stringer QB Alex Ross and Gainey polished off the evening’s stats sheet with five of the Riders seven turnovers and a franchise record four interceptions.
In doing so, Gainey became the first CFL player since 1986 and only the ninth in history to notch four picks in a game.
“I kinda started off slow this season and these last two weeks I had a chance to make some plays,” Gainey told TSN’s Lee Jones following the win. “I’m just happy we got the game overall and came together as a defence.”
Gainey and the Riders had little choice but to come out swinging after a showing last week that was in stark contrast to Sunday’s affair. Last week, the Riders defence let the Leos post 30 points on them en route to a lopsided loss at BC Place.
“As a team we had it put on us really bad last week and we wanted to make sure that when we came out here tonight we did the same thing that they did to us.”
The Riders now take a huge win into a bye week as the unltra-competitive division heats up.
