Regina, Sask– To add insult to injury, the hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-12) failed to even score a touchdown in the final ever game at Taylor Field. Jonathon Jennings threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns and the defence recorded seven sacks in Saturday’s 24-6 victory. Jeremiah Johnson, in his third straight game as the featured tailback, rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown to open the scoring in the quarter.
The Lions led 16-6 at halftime and opened the third quarter with a bang: A sack by Adam Bighill, followed by a 50-yard punt return by Marco Iannuzzi set them up on the 17 before Jennings connected with Terrell Sinkfield Jr. The three-play sequence proved to be the knockout punch they needed to close out old Mosaic Stadium with a bang.
Manny Arceneaux was the Lions’ leading receiver, hauling in 68 yards on four catches, including a 36-yard TD catch in tight coverage in the second quarter.
Quotable
” It feels awesome, man. This is a legendary stadium and to come in and get a win is special. We came in here and got it on nothing but straight will. Or front five did it all for us, making it really easy for me to pick holes and run. That’s all you can ask for. – Johnson on winning big to close out Mosaic.
Bake’s Takes
Wally Buono and the staff deserve full kudos for having the group ready to play. That’s usually the case, but given how excited the entire province of Saskatchewan was for this grand occasion, the coaches and players had the perfect mindset coming in: Just another game. Oh, and the 6-3 road record to close out the regular season isn’t too shabby either. It felt like an eternity between road wins too: 59 days since the the last one which took place in Toronto.
Hat tip to Cameron Ontko who continues to be one of the club’s quietest leaders. He earned the special teams game ball after adding to his leading tackles total amongst the unit. He has proven to be a valuable part of Marcello Simmons’ group after he was added to the roster in Week four.
One of the biggest surprises when camp broke was to see veteran Tim O’Neill not emerge as the starting centre. He deserves kudos for a nice job filling in after Cody Husband went down with knee pain in the third quarter. Husband didn’t appear to be moving around with much difficulty and could potentially be back next week.
About next week: Should the Blue Bombers defeat Ottawa on Friday, the Lions would still be in a position to clinch second place and a home playoff date with a win or tie. And if that’s the case, it should make for the best atmosphere at BC Place in quiet some time.
Next Up
Saturday’s Lions and Roughriders clash is a 4:00 kickoff at BC Place!
Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com