By Rob Vanstone, Leader-PostSeptember 6, 2009Be the first to post a comment
The wild and wacky history of the Labour Day Classic has conditioned people to anticipate the unexpected — such as improbable finishes, fans who look more like contestants on The Gong Show, and (gasp!) a third-quarter touchdown by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan hit paydirt for only the second time in the third frame during the 2009 CFL season when Darian Durant found Weston Dressler for a 13-yard major during Sunday's 29-14 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Roughriders cut it close, as Dressler rolled into the end zone with only six seconds remaining before the fourth-quarter stretch. The major, punctuated by Luca Congi's convert, stretched the Roughriders' lead to 25-14.
"It was huge — absolutely huge — because we were kind of stuck on (18) for the entire third quarter again,'' Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said.
Roughriders fans had a reason to be a Tad nervous until Tad Kornegay intercepted Blue Bombers quarterback Michael Bishop and returned the ball 34 yards to the visitors' 14-yard line.
Following a one-yard run by Wes Cates, the Roughriders wisely looked to Dressler. He started out behind Cates before moving to the right slot just before Jeremy O'Day snapped the ball.
"I was coming out of the backfield,'' Dressler said. "They were in man-to-man coverage and it's usually kind of a choice route for me. I go in or out. I went inside and Darian put the ball there.''
The pass was a little low, but Dressler hit the turf, caught the football, and rolled into the end zone.
"To have our defence first of all set up the score for us, and then for Dressler to make a dynamic catch and get into the end zone, it was really huge,'' Miller said. "It got us some momentum again.''
Durant and Dressler had almost connected for a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. On second down from the Bombers' 36, Dressler got open (as is his custom) deep down the right sideline, but the ball glanced off his usually sure hands.
"I felt like I should have come down with it,'' the 5-foot-8 Dressler said. "Darian threw a perfect ball and put it in the perfect spot. I just let it slide through my hands a little bit. That's a catch I've got to make. Fortunately, it didn't come back to hurt us.''
Fortunately for the Roughriders, Durant did come back to Dressler.
"He came back to the sidelines and told me to give him another shot,'' Durant said. "I waited for the play to develop. I knew that if I was patient, Dressler would get open and he did. He made a heck of a catch. You've got to give a lot of credit to him.''
Dressler — the CFL's rookie-of-the-year in 2008 — is enjoying a superlative sophomore season. With 641 yards, he is among the league leaders in receiving yardage. His 39 catches are only 17 fewer than he registered all of last season.
For Dressler, the only modest statistic relates to TD receptions. Sunday's scoring grab was his third in nine games.
"Look at Ben Cahoon. He doesn't have many touchdowns, but he's very productive,'' Durant said in reference to the Montreal Alouettes' slotback, who has one TD catch among his 49 receptions this season.
"Touchdowns don't tell the story all the time. Of course, we would love to get Dressler in the end zone more, but the thing is to just get him the ball in space, make sure that he can make plays, and make teams respect him. As long as they respect him, we get other guys open and start getting other guys the ball. Then Dressler's plays will come.''
There could have been more plays on Sunday. The near-miss down the right sideline was referenced earlier. Additionally, Durant and Dressler nearly connected on a deep seam route in the fourth quarter.
"That's the page that we need to get on,'' Durant said. "They blew the coverage. I was thinking one thing. He did another thing. We both looked at each other and realized the mistake that we both made. You best believe that if they do that again, we'll be on the same page and make them pay for that.''
Yes, there were imperfections on Sunday, but Durant and Dressler delivered at a most important juncture in the game — snapping Saskatchewan's drought of three consecutive third quarters without a touchdown.
The previous third-quarter TD, by the way, was scored by Dressler during a 24-23 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 1. If not for his efforts, the Riders would not have a point to show for nine third quarters this season.
But that's Weston Dressler for you. The Roughriders' tiniest target keeps on making the biggest plays.
rvanstone@leaderpost.canwest.com
The wild and wacky history of the Labour Day Classic has conditioned people to anticipate the unexpected — such as improbable finishes, fans who look more like contestants on The Gong Show, and (gasp!) a third-quarter touchdown by the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan hit paydirt for only the second time in the third frame during the 2009 CFL season when Darian Durant found Weston Dressler for a 13-yard major during Sunday's 29-14 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Roughriders cut it close, as Dressler rolled into the end zone with only six seconds remaining before the fourth-quarter stretch. The major, punctuated by Luca Congi's convert, stretched the Roughriders' lead to 25-14.
"It was huge — absolutely huge — because we were kind of stuck on (18) for the entire third quarter again,'' Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said.
Roughriders fans had a reason to be a Tad nervous until Tad Kornegay intercepted Blue Bombers quarterback Michael Bishop and returned the ball 34 yards to the visitors' 14-yard line.
Following a one-yard run by Wes Cates, the Roughriders wisely looked to Dressler. He started out behind Cates before moving to the right slot just before Jeremy O'Day snapped the ball.
"I was coming out of the backfield,'' Dressler said. "They were in man-to-man coverage and it's usually kind of a choice route for me. I go in or out. I went inside and Darian put the ball there.''
The pass was a little low, but Dressler hit the turf, caught the football, and rolled into the end zone.
"To have our defence first of all set up the score for us, and then for Dressler to make a dynamic catch and get into the end zone, it was really huge,'' Miller said. "It got us some momentum again.''
Durant and Dressler had almost connected for a touchdown with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. On second down from the Bombers' 36, Dressler got open (as is his custom) deep down the right sideline, but the ball glanced off his usually sure hands.
"I felt like I should have come down with it,'' the 5-foot-8 Dressler said. "Darian threw a perfect ball and put it in the perfect spot. I just let it slide through my hands a little bit. That's a catch I've got to make. Fortunately, it didn't come back to hurt us.''
Fortunately for the Roughriders, Durant did come back to Dressler.
"He came back to the sidelines and told me to give him another shot,'' Durant said. "I waited for the play to develop. I knew that if I was patient, Dressler would get open and he did. He made a heck of a catch. You've got to give a lot of credit to him.''
Dressler — the CFL's rookie-of-the-year in 2008 — is enjoying a superlative sophomore season. With 641 yards, he is among the league leaders in receiving yardage. His 39 catches are only 17 fewer than he registered all of last season.
For Dressler, the only modest statistic relates to TD receptions. Sunday's scoring grab was his third in nine games.
"Look at Ben Cahoon. He doesn't have many touchdowns, but he's very productive,'' Durant said in reference to the Montreal Alouettes' slotback, who has one TD catch among his 49 receptions this season.
"Touchdowns don't tell the story all the time. Of course, we would love to get Dressler in the end zone more, but the thing is to just get him the ball in space, make sure that he can make plays, and make teams respect him. As long as they respect him, we get other guys open and start getting other guys the ball. Then Dressler's plays will come.''
There could have been more plays on Sunday. The near-miss down the right sideline was referenced earlier. Additionally, Durant and Dressler nearly connected on a deep seam route in the fourth quarter.
"That's the page that we need to get on,'' Durant said. "They blew the coverage. I was thinking one thing. He did another thing. We both looked at each other and realized the mistake that we both made. You best believe that if they do that again, we'll be on the same page and make them pay for that.''
Yes, there were imperfections on Sunday, but Durant and Dressler delivered at a most important juncture in the game — snapping Saskatchewan's drought of three consecutive third quarters without a touchdown.
The previous third-quarter TD, by the way, was scored by Dressler during a 24-23 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 1. If not for his efforts, the Riders would not have a point to show for nine third quarters this season.
But that's Weston Dressler for you. The Roughriders' tiniest target keeps on making the biggest plays.
rvanstone@leaderpost.canwest.com
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