RIDER PRIDE

Roughriders receiver Chris Getzlaf is cut down by Calgary's Dwaine Carpenter during Saturday's CFL game.
Photograph by: Todd Korol, Reuters

CALGARY — The Saskatchewan Roughriders were hardly satisfied with Saturday's 44-44 overtime tie with the Calgary Stampeders.

The Riders were left wondering what might have been had they been able to pull out a victory before 38,623 spectators at McMahon Stadium in a CFL game that featured numerous twists and turns.

A victory over the Stampeders would have given the Riders a 2-0 advantage in the season series, which is one of the league's playoff tiebreakers. It would have also provided them with a 9-6 record, which would have given Saskatchewan sole possession of first place in the West Division with three games remaining in the regular season.

Instead the Riders and Stampeders emerged from Saturday's thriller tied for first place with 8-6-1 records. The Riders have three points in the season series but the race for first place in the West could come down to the final game of the regular season between the teams on Nov. 7 in Regina.

"It was a game where both head coaches feel very similar, and both teams probably felt they should have won, and had opportunities to win,'' said Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel. "You can tell from my demeanour that I'm not the happiest guy but one point is better than none, and not quite as good as two. We know what the rest of the schedule is, and we know now how much more importance that final game of the season will probably have for the seeding of the tournament. Probably the only guys who feel good right now are (B.C. Lions head coach) Wally Buono and (Edmonton Eskimos head coach) Richie Hall.''

There were many turning points in a game which featured 10 combined touchdowns and 1,019 yards of total offence. From the Riders' standpoint, an unnecessary roughness penalty on defensive end John Chick on Calgary's first offensive possession in overtime was among the most significant.

Chick was assessed the 15-yard penalty after tackling Calgary quarterback Henry Burris. Chick landed on Burris, who was attempting to get up after stumbling on a scramble. Had the play stood, the Stampeders would have faced third down and at least 30 yards and the prospect of a long field-goal attempt.

Then Chick gave Calgary a fresh set of downs. Burris would later hit Rob Cote on a pass to give Calgary a 37-30 lead after Sandro DeAngelis's convert.

"I think it was a bad call,'' said Chick. "The referee looked me directly in the eyes and he was a guy I yelled at a couple of times during the game because he had missed some calls. I wonder if it was a revenge call because you just don't make that call in overtime.''

Chick felt that his tackle on Burris was legal.

"If I had done something gruesome, then I could see it,'' said Chick. "It was a tackle. This is called football and that's what we do. I tried to tackle the guy who was running the football.''

Riders head coach Ken Miller said what took place was a regular part of a football game.

"In that situation, the quarterback hadn't been downed,'' said Miller. "We have a defensive end who is playing in the passion of the game. He wants to get there and he wanted to make the play, so I'm not going to be critical of him. He was playing football and the league has taken a stance where they are going to protect the quarterback.''

Tom Higgins, the CFL's director of officiating, defended the call.

"Any player that is down on the field with possession of the ball should only be touched," Higgins told Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald. "It's protection for any player who is on the ground. It's in the rule book. The easy call would have been not to call it but it's a rule. What could Saskatchewan have done? It's really simple. Just touch the athlete. I don't think he would have been able to get up."

Burris felt that the penalty gave the Stampeders a new life.
"He did the elbow drop on me but that was a decision that he made,'' said Burris. "He's a great player and a great guy but it gave us life. It's just part of the game.''

The Riders bounced back on their first overtime offensive possession when Chris Szarka ran in from the one-yard line for his third rushing touchdown of the game. Calgary appeared to block the convert but the play was nullified when the Stampeders' Tearrius George was penalized for pyramiding, which the CFL rulebook defines as using the body of another player to gain elevation in an attempt to block a field-goal or convert attempt. Luca Congi was successful on his next convert.

The Riders grabbed a 43-37 lead on the second set of offensive downs when Darian Durant hit slotback Chris Getzlaf on a 35-yard touchdown pass. Congi's convert provided the Riders with a 44-37 advantage.

Burris subsequently hit Brett Ralph on a five-yard touchdown pass. DeAngelis's convert tied the game at 44-44.

The Riders never led during regulation time but reduced Calgary's lead to 23-22 with a 29-yard field goal by Congi at 8:23 of the fourth quarter.

Burris responded by leading the Stampeders on a seven-play, 79-yard drive which was capped by a four-yard rushing touchdown by Joffrey Reynolds. The touchdown run was the third of the game for Reynolds.
Durant bounced back to lead the Riders on an eight-play, 67-yard touchdown drive. Durant hit slotback

Andy Fantuz with a 25-yard touchdown pass and Rob Bagg on the two-point convert to tie the contest 30-30 with 41 seconds remaining. Fantuz finished the contest with 10 receptions for 149 yards.

The Stampeders grabbed a 20-18 halftime lead on the strength of two rushing touchdowns by Reynolds, a field goal, two converts and a single by DeAngelis and a safety. Reynolds rushed for 137 yards on 19 carries.
Szarka scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half on runs of one yard each.

Congi connected on a first-half field goal and added a 49-yard single after a missed field goal.

The Riders return to action Saturday when they play host to B.C. (3:30 p.m.) The Stampeders play host to

Edmonton on Friday