FREEMAN HAS OUTSTANDING GAME

Saskatchewan Roughriders' Jerrell Freeman sacks B.C. Lions quarterback Jarious Jackson. Freeman took Jackson to the turf not just once, but three times throughout the game at Mosaic Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010.
Photograph by: Bryan Schlosser, Leader-Post

REGINA — Jerrell Freeman got through his rookie initation just fine last year. That hasn't stopped his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates from making him the target of more good-natured razzing this season.

"We always bug Jerrell," admitted teammate Lance Frazier following Thursday's 37-13 victory over the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.

"He's like everyone's little brother. We give him a hard time because he's the young guy around here. We're going to continue to talk trash with him and kick his butt, but he knows we love him."

Freeman was adored by his teammates and many of the 30,045 fans at Mosaic Stadium Thursday night who witnessed a dominant performance from the Riders defence.

Several players danced around Freeman's locker stall in the team's dressing room following the game, mimicking and cat-calling the second-year linebacker as he conducted media interviews.
No hats were thrown, however, during the post-game celebration, despite Freeman's hat trick

of sacks of Lions quarterback Jarious Jackson.

"That would have been a good idea," Simpson said of the hat throwing. "But I think we've done enough for him already."

The trio of sacks were the first, second and third of the season for Freeman. Two of his sacks snuffed out B.C. drives in Saskatchewan territory and forced the Lions to kick.
The Riders defence that night registered five sacks total and picked off Jackson twice. The veteran B.C. pivot was under siege numerous times thanks to an aggressive Riders pass rush and various blitz packages.

"I do everything well in practice, but then I get into a game and I can't get anything going," Freeman said.

"He's going to work his butt off for you every game," Frazier added. "He's has tons of talent and he's starting to click right now."

And so is the Riders defence.

For a unit that had given up a league-high 183 points heading into Thursday's game, a strong showing against the Lions was a carry-over from the second half from the previous week in Montreal. The Riders defence limited the potent Alouettes offence to just two second-half field goals and allowed quarterback Darian Durant and the Saskatchewan offence to have a chance to win late in the game.

"We knew we were capable of this, so it was just a matter of time until it happened," said Frazier, whose first-quarter interception on Thursday set up the Riders' first touchdown.
"We definitely fed off of (the second-half performance in Montreal). We had our lapses here and there, but we got on track and had it all working."

Simpson, who also recorded a sack on the night, said the defensive success starts up front.
"We love backing a team into a one-dimensional situation," said the veteran linebacker. "We have been very good in second-and-long situations ... and when a team is trailing late in the game like they were and has to pass all the time, that's like a second-and-long down for us, too."

When Jackson did have time to throw, he managed to complete just one pass greater than 20 yards. Frazier and the Riders secondary bottled up the Lions' slotback combo of Paris Jackson and Geroy Simon for much of the night. The duo combined for just 11 catches and 104 yards with no touchdowns.

"Those guys are dangerous," Frazier said.
"Jarious is a veteran quarterback, so we knew we had to confuse him as much as possible so he didn't get into a rhythm throwing the ball.

"We allowed two 200-yard receivers this year and that is something that we take personal on the back end. But (Thursday) we didn't allow a deep ball, so we have reason to feel good about ourselves heading into this week off."

The Riders (5-2) and Lions (1-6) are off this week. Saskatchewan returns to action Aug. 28 in Edmonton.
cslater@leaderpost.canwest.com
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