October 20, 2018

Collaros, Riders right wrongs at most critical time

The Canadian Press

CALGARY — The Saskatchewan Roughriders bounced back from a tough shutout loss by coming out on top against the division-leading Calgary Stampeders with a 29-24 road victory on Saturday night. The Riders are now 11-6 and still firmly in the hunt for first place in the West Division after taking the season series against the Stamps.

“The two teams with the best records played tonight, and the game didn’t disappoint,” Roughriders head coach Chris Jones said after the win.

Quarterback Zach Collaros was instrumental in the Riders’ victory, completing 24 of 25 passes for 352 yards against Calgary’s top-ranked defence. The 30-year-old quarterback put together numerous lengthy drives to keep the Stamps’ defence on the field and Bo Levi Mitchell on the sidelines, including several key completions late in the game to seal the victory.

Receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert led Saskatchewan with five catches for 113 yards, and kicker Brett Lauther made all five of his field goal attempts to take the league lead with 50 field goals on the season.

“Offensively, we just asserted ourselves from the word go,” Jones said.

“They’re not used to staying on the field a lot,” Jones added. “People don’t get drives on them. You’re not sitting at the top of all those defensive stats if you stay on the field. It’s uncharacteristic of their defence to allow the other team to drive, and we were fortunate enough tonight to get that done.”

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But it wasn’t just Collaros and Williams-Lambert making big plays on offence for the Riders, as the team showed they also have multiple threats to run the ball. Tre Mason, Cameron Marshall and Nick Marshall each came through with key gains, and the rushing trio combined for 124 yards on the ground to go with Mason’s four-yard touchdown in the opening quarter.

“The offensive line did a great job all night,” Collaros said. “Anytime you can run for over 100 yards against a team like Calgary, you know they’re doing their job and doing it well.”

The Riders are still battling it out for first in the West as they head into the final two weeks of the regular season, but Jones said the team won’t change their approach of simply taking it one game at a time.

“All we can worry about is what we control and to try to come out next week and beat a very good BC team,” Jones said.

The BC Lions clinched a playoff spot after defeating the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday, and the team now has three straight wins. Jones knows that this upcoming week of preparation will be a big opportunity for the Riders to get closer to full health ahead of their matchup against the Lions next Saturday.

“Three of our six losses this year have come on those short weeks,” Jones said. “So hopefully with a long week with some days off, we can go back and get some guys back that are a little bit dinged up and try to get them in the treatment room to make sure we’re fresh and ready to roll.”

“We’re going to enjoy this one tonight, forget about it tomorrow and get ready for a great BC opponent that’s really on a roll lately,” Collaros said.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will look for their 12th win of the season when they host the BC Lions in Week 20 action next Saturday.

Fan Poll
Who will make the biggest difference for the Riders down the stretch?
Zach Collaros
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Jordan Williams-Lambert
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Tre Mason
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