Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
VANCOUVER — In a dramatic game that saw seven lead changes over the course of four quarters, Riders head coach Craig Dickeson was happy with the level of composure his team held en route to their 31-24 win on Friday night.
“Our guys just stayed together, even though there were times where we looked like we were starting to lose our composure,” Dickenson said to the media. “I felt that we rallied and every group struggled and every group made plays. I’m just really proud of them.”
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Having been one of the more dominant teams in the CFL through the mid-way point of the season, the Riders have not trailed in too many games. Friday’s game was a reminder to Dickenson that his team is capable of pulling out a come-from-behind win when their backs are against the wall.
“We want to start fast and dictate the pace of the game,” said Dickenson. “Sometimes the game flow doesn’t go your way and you’ve got to try and scrap and scrape and come from behind so that’s what happened today.”
Dickenson was also optimistic about the value that a game like this can do for his team going forward as his team will have to be “road warriors” for most of the remaining season.
“I don’t know if momentum carries over from week to week,” said Dickenson. “What I do believe is that people grow from adversity and there was a lot of adversity tonight, much of it self-inflicted. But, there will be a lot of good film that we’ll be able to say, ‘All right, what can we learn from this?’ The nice thing is, I think it instills a belief in your guys that you’re never out of it.”
Of the many areas that deserved recognition, Dickenson took time to point out the heart that his quarterback displayed during the Riders’ game-winning drive.
“He’s a warrior that guy,” Dickenson said of Cody Fajardo.
“I think he’s a true pro and I think that he’ll do what it takes to win a game and I thought he played excellent. He’ll be the same way though, he’ll look back and learn from some mistakes and grow from it, but he’ll know deep down that he did what he needed to do to win it at the end.”
The Riders will look to build off their success on the road as they head to Calgary to take on the Stampeders next Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
