RIDERS BEST IN THE WEST

Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris gets sacked by Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end John Chick.
Photograph by: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the best in the West.

It's the first time since 1976 that the Roughriders have been able to make that statement at the conclusion of the regular season. The Riders clinched top spot in the CFL's West Division on Saturday with a 30-14 victory over the Calgary Stampeders before a sold-out crowd of 30,945 at Mosaic Stadium.

"It really means so much,'' Riders head coach Ken Miller said after Saturday's game. "For some of our fans to have waited 33 years, and for some of our fans who were born during that time period who have never experienced finishing first, it means a great deal to them and to our organization. It validates the direction that this organization is moving in.''

The Riders earned a berth in the West Division final, which is to be played at Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 22. They also avoided playing in Sunday's West Division semifinal. The Stampeders will play host to the Edmonton Eskimos in that contest.

Finishing first is nice but Saskatchewan's sights remain on a bigger prize -- playing in the Grey Cup in Calgary on Nov. 29.

"It's a good thing, but there is a lot yet to be done,'' said Miller. "A win in two weeks to get to the Grey Cup and then a win in the Grey Cup, that's really what we work for.''

The sixth sell-out crowd of the Riders' regular season remained long after Saturday's game to celebrate the team's accomplishment. Some players saluted the noisy crowd before heading into the locker room.
"It's huge for this organization,'' Riders fullback Chris Szarka told the Leader-Post's Ian Hamilton. "My whole career, we've never hosted a Western final -- we've hosted very few playoff games at all -- so this is a big thing for our team, it's a big thing for the city, and it's a big thing for the province.''

The Roughriders and Stampeders both finished the regular season at 10-7-1. The Riders were awarded first place by virtue of a 2-0-1 record in the season series between the two teams.
The Stampeders, who won the 2008 Grey Cup, vowed to do what they can to earn a return trip to Regina for the West final.

"We're still the defending Grey Cup champions,'' said Calgary quarterback Henry Burris. "Nobody else is the champ until the champion goes down. We will keep fighting until the end and make sure that we're back here in two weeks.''

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

RIDERS PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MILLER

Great press conference with Ken Miller

RIDER VISION

CLICK HERE http://www.saskriders.com/

RIDERS WIN

Saskatchewan defensive back Lance Frazier celebrates his interception in front of the Calgary bench during Saturday's game at Mosaic Stadium.

Photograph by: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post

The prairie drought is over.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Calgary Stampeders 30-14 on Saturday to clinch their first West Division regular-season title since 1976. The end of the 33-year drought means the Riders will play host to the West Division final Nov. 22. The Stampeders dropped to second place and will play host to the Edmonton Eskimos in the West semifinal on Nov. 15.

The Riders and Stampeders finished the regular season tied at 10-7-1. The Riders gained first place by winning the season series between the teams at 2-0-1.

The Riders accomplished the feat before a sold-out crowd of 30,945 at Mosaic Stadium. The crowd acknowledged the Riders' victory with a prolonged ovation.

Riders quarterback Darian Durant outgunned Calgary's Henry Burris. Durant completed two first-half touchdown passes and threw for 296 yards. Burris was held to 220-plus yards and was intercepted once by Lance Frazier.

The Riders' offence was solid but it was the defence that came through with big plays. There weren't any bigger than when defensive end John Chick sacked Burris for a 13-yard loss. The sack dropped Calgary to its one-yard line. Two plays later, Calgary's Burke Dales conceded a safety to give the Riders a 23-14 lead.

Fullback Chris Szarka iced the Riders' win with a one-yard touchdown run at 14:23 of the fourth quarter.

Calgary's Sandro DeAngelis connected on field goals of 24 and 22 yards in the third quarter. Placekicker Luca Congi hit on a 37-yard field goal as the Riders led 21-14 after the third quarter.
The Riders got off to a strong start when they scored on their opening drive of the game. Durant connected with Chris Getzlaf on a nine-yard touchdown pass to stake the Riders' to a 7-0 lead.
Durant, who threw for 215 yards in the opening half, also hit Rob Bagg on a 25-yard pass for a touchdown.

Congi connected on two first-half field goals of 37 yards each.

Burris scored Calgary's lone first-half touchdown on a one-yard run.

mmccormick@leaderpost.canwest.com

BAGGS FEELS SLIGHTED

By Murray McCormick, Leader-PostNovember 5,

REGINA — Stevie Baggs went on the offensive after John Chick was named the Saskatchewan Roughriders' nominee for the 2009 most outstanding defensive-player award.

"I'm happy for John but I wonder what more I had to do,'' said Baggs, a defensive end who heads into the final week of the CFL's regular season in second place in the league with 11 sacks. "I was the defensive player-of-the-week three times and the defensive player-of-the month (for August). I was the only one in the league to do that. I have more tackles and interceptions than John and my play speaks for itself ... I know that you pissed off a lot of Stevie Baggs fans.''

Baggs wasn't his jovial self Thursday after the Riders completed their final on-field preparations for Saturday's West Division showdown with the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium. Baggs said that he was disheartened about being overlooked.

The player awards are voted on by a local panel of representatives from the Football Reporters of Canada and Riders head coach Ken Miller.

"I've been doing everything that I can do to be the best player that I can be,'' said Baggs, who is in his second season with the Riders.

"People around the league respect me and my peers do. Then they put the voting in the hands of people who aren't in the locker room. I don't know who chooses this ... but my stats are better than John all-around. I don't know what more they wanted me to do. I did everything that I could do.''

Baggs is superior statistically to Chick heading into the final weekend of the regular season. He has 11 sacks compared to 10 by Chick, who is tied for third in the league with three others.

Baggs, who has started all 17 games, has 52 tackles, a team-leading five tackles for losses, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Chick, who missed two starts this season at defensive end with a separated left shoulder, has 26 defensive tackles, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
"It wasn't tough in my eyes,'' Baggs said of the nomination. "I'm glad for John because I know how hard he has worked to reach this level. I put in just as much work as he did and winning the defensive player-of-the-year was one of my goals. I'm just going to keep playing as well as I can.''

It's the first time that Chick has been nominated for the award in his three seasons with the Riders. He was aware that Baggs wasn't happy with how the voting turned out.

"I know that it was quiet (Thursday) morning,'' said Chick. "We're just going to continue to do what we can to get this win. You play to be great and you try to get better every week but we play this team game for a reason. It's to win a Grey Cup and this week will give us an opportunity to do that.''
Miller doesn't feel that a rift will be created by the nomination.

"When we get individual awards, we think those are great but it's a team game and if we are successful there is enough glory to go around,'' said Miller. "If we're not, there isn't enough for anybody. The ultimate thing is it's a team game.''

mmccormick@leaderpost.canwest.com

DAVIS BELIEVES HE WILL BE BACK FOR POST SEASON

By Leader-Post staffNovember 5, 2009

REGINA — Defensive halfback Eddie Davis expects to be back for the CFL playoffs — whenever they begin for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Davis injured a knee in Saskatchewan's 33-30 overtime victory over the B.C. Lions on Oct. 24. The 36-year-old veteran had arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 28 and, on Wednesday, pronounced himself ready to return for the playoffs.

"I think I'll be ready for next week," said Davis, whose squad may not have a game until Nov. 22 if it beats the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Saturday to earn an automatic berth in the West Division final.
"I'm usually a quick healer and I've been taking care of it, getting treatment, and Ivan (Gutfriend, the Roughriders' head athletic therapist) has been working on it."

Davis, who tore the meniscus in the joint, said the arthroscopic procedure went "pretty well."
"(The knee) blew up on me pretty big on Wednesday night and hurt like hell," he said, "but after Thursday, the swelling went down little by little each day."

n n n

Head coach Ken Miller feels the worst might be over in terms of the Riders' battle with the flu.
Miller said Wednesday that he asks Gutfriend daily if he has received any phone calls through the night from players who are feeling ill. Lately, much to Miller's relief, Gutfriend hasn't had anything to report.
"We are getting healthier by the moment,'' Miller said. "I anticipate that we will be as healthy for this weekend as we have been for a long time.''

Last week, the Riders had five players miss practice with illnesses. On Wednesday, all of the players were on the field, including defensive end John Chick. Chick was kept out of Tuesday's practice because of the sniffles.
"Most of the guys in the locker room have had a touch of something but I think that we're through the cycle,'' Miller said. "We haven't had any new reports of the flu in the last three or four days.''

n n n

The Roughriders are trying not to get swept up in the excitement about playing for first place on Saturday.
"We're not excited yet, because we haven't accomplished it,'' quarterback Darian Durant said. "Once we get to that point, then we'll be very excited around here. We have to take care of the business at hand. We can't overlook this game. We can't worry about a Western final game if we don't take care of this one. Then we have a semifinal game to worry about. The thing is, take care of this game, and then we have one more and we're in the Cup.''

That said, the Roughriders are more than aware of the magnitude and ramifications of the Calgary game.
"We're all human here,'' Durant said. "We know what's at stake and we know what's at the end of the road if we take care of this game. The beauty of it is that there's not another game in front of it that you have to overlook. This game is the most important game of the season. It's right here at our hands and it's up to us to take advantage of it.''

n n n

The Roughriders are undefeated against Calgary this season, but does that give them an edge?
"Those guys want this game just as much as we do,'' Durant said. "I wouldn't say we've had their number this year. We won by one and we tied one. Each game has been pretty tight that we've played against them. Hopefully our crowd comes in and is an advantage for us. Hopefully we're clicking on all cylinders and it's not as tough as the other ones.''

The Roughriders won 24-23 in Calgary on Aug. 1 on the strength of a 65-yard touchdown pass from Durant to Chris Getzlaf late in the fourth quarter. The Roughriders and Stampeders also played to a 44-44 overtime tie Oct. 17 at McMahon Stadium.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

RIDERS HOPE IN SUPERSTITION

By Rob Vanstone, Leader-PostNovember 4,

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders can only hope that 33 is a lucky number.

Saturday marks the 33rd anniversary of the day the Roughriders last secured first place in the CFL West. In so doing, they scored 33 points against the Calgary Stampeders — who, in a remarkable coincidence, are to visit Taylor Field on Saturday in a showdown for top spot.

“Of all the teams in Canada, I don’t think there is a fan base that would appreciate first place more than Saskatchewan fans,’’ Rhett Dawson says via telephone from Austin, Texas.

Dawson caught the pass that gave Saskatchewan the Western Conference’s regular-season title on Nov. 7, 1976. As time expired, Ron Lancaster found Dawson with a three-yard touchdown toss that powered Saskatchewan to a 33-31 road victory and capped its rally from first-half deficits of 24-0 and 27-8.
“Ronnie looked straight at me in the huddle and said, ‘What do you want?’ ’’ Dawson recalls. “I said, ‘Quick out.’ It was unusual for him to do that in my experience with him. He was The Little General. He usually told everyone else on offence what to do. But with the chemistry Ronnie and I had, I guess he had the confidence in me to say, ‘What do you want?’ It was very humbling that he would say that to me at that time.

“I may have paused for a nanosecond before saying, ‘Quick out.’ I made a quick break and snapped my head and shoulders around like I was taught to do. As soon as I turned around, the ball hit me in the gut. I squeezed the ball with all my might. The worst thing that could have happened was for somebody to get a hand on it, so I put both arms around it. If I had three arms, the third arm would have been wrapped around it!’’

Just like that, the Roughriders had wrapped up first place.

“I was (blocking) against John Helton on the play,’’ says former Roughriders offensive lineman Jim Hopson, who is now the team’s president and CEO. “Ronnie told the line in the huddle to just keep their hands down. I remember John being tangled up with me on the ground when the cheer went up (from Saskatchewan fans in attendance at McMahon Stadium) and he said, ‘I can’t believe you guys did it to us again.’ ’’
Basil Bark was not as disbelieving.

“I didn’t come down in yesterday’s rain,’’ the Stampeders’ veteran centre told Bob Hughes of the Leader-Post after another classic Lancaster comeback. “I’ve played too many times against them to let yourself think you’ve ever got them. You have to step on their throats and keep your foot there.

“You know, even when we had them 24-0, they didn’t look like they were down or beaten. They just looked mad. I’ve played a long time against Ronnie. I know Ronnie. You don’t take anything for granted with him. You know that sooner or later he’s going to come after you, and you’d better be ready.’’

Lancaster engineered a climactic drive that covered 79 yards and included a clutch reception by Steve Mazurak, who is now the Roughriders’ vice-president, marketing and sales.

“It was third-and-10,’’ Mazurak remembers. “Ronnie put the ball up and Dennis Meyer, their safety, must have had a 25-yard run at me. I catch the ball and — BOOM! — he hits me in the ribs so hard that I’m singing ‘O Canada’ because I’m out of breath.

“I remember one of their coaches standing over me and saying, ‘Dammit! He’s still got it.’ I wasn’t letting that ball go for anything.’’

Lancaster’s passing had not been as precise earlier in the game. The Stampeders’ first touchdown — on a handoff from John Hufnagel (Calgary’s current head coach and GM) to Willie Burden — was set up when Lancaster was intercepted by Larry Cates. He just happens to be the uncle of the Roughriders’ current starting tailback, Wes Cates.

“Cates is always making plays, huh?!’’ Wes Cates says with a laugh after being shown a newspaper account of the 1976 Roughriders-Stampeders game.

“That is kind of wild,’’ Cates marvels. “It’s crazy that you figured that out. Hopefully the outcome is the same.’’

After being advised that Saturday’s game is on the 33rd anniversary of the most-recent pennant-winning contest, Cates can only smile about a possible good omen for the 2009 Roughriders.
“Hey, it might already be in the books,’’ Cates says lightheartedly. “It’s already written, as they say.’’

rvanstone@leaderpost.canwest.com

By Murray McCormick, Leader-PostNovember 3, 2009

REGINA — The CFL’s schedule makers could not have dreamed of a better ending to the 2009 regular season.
The final weekend will decide the playoff fate of six of the CFL’s eight teams. Only the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts, who play Saturday in Toronto, meet in the only game that doesn’t have any playoff implications.

The Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders have locked up playoff berths. The Alouettes will play host to the East Division final. The woeful Argonauts have been eliminated from the playoffs.

The Riders and Stampeders meet Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in a first-place West Division showdown. The winner will finish first and play host to the final on Nov. 22. The loser drops to second and will play host to the division semifinal on Nov. 15.

Who wll be in the semifinal will be determined before Saturday’s 6 p.m. kickoff. The B.C. Lions play host to the Edmonton Eskimos on Friday. The winner will lock up third place in the West and play in the semifinal.
The Lions and Eskimos could both qualify for the playoffs with a tie. B.C. would then finish third. The Eskimos would earn a cross-over playoff berth because they would have more points than the third-place team in the East.

A more likely scenario is the loser having to watch Sunday’s regular-season finale between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Winnipeg Blue Bombers to find out their playoff fate.
The winner would finish second in the East and play host to the semifinal. Hamilton would clinch a playoff berth for first time since 2004 with a win or a tie.

Hamilton could squeeze into the playoffs with a loss because it would have the same record as the loser of the game between the Lions and Eskimos. A team can only cross over if it has more points than an the East Division squad.

Winnipeg can only qualify for the playoffs with a win.

* * *

Saturday’s strong wind conditions in Hamilton created an opportunity for Riders rookie punter Louie Sakoda.

The winds gusted from 50 to 81 kilometres per hour, which is unusual for southern Ontario. Riders head coach Ken Miller brought in Sakoda after Luca Congi’s first punt travelled just 28 yards into the teeth of the wind.

Sakoda, who was added to the practice roster on Oct. 13, had seven punts for an average of 44.2 yards. He had two kicks of 34 and 31 yards into the wind. With the wind, Sakoda averaged 49.2 yards on five punts.
“I would still say I was sub-par,’’ Sakoda, a native of San Jose who spent four seasons with the University of Utah Utes, said after the 24-6 loss to the Tiger-Cats. “I hold myself to a very high standard even when it’s windy like that.’’

Congi and Sakoda have been pressed into duty because Jamie Boreham, the team’s regular punter, is sidelined with a bulging disc in his neck.

NOTES: Boreham isn’t expected to play in the foreseeable future but a Riders’ source says the long-term prognosis looks good. Boreham wants to play but team doctors are being cautious ...

It has been determined that Weston Dressler suffered a dislocated ankle along with a fractured right fibula against against the Argonauts on Oct. 10. A source with the Riders said the break is healing well but the ankle may keep Dresser from playing again this season. Dressler could be available for the Grey Cup game on Nov. 29, if the Riders make it that far ... Darian Durant may have had only 66 passing yards on Saturday but it was enough for him to join Kent Austin (four times), Henry Burris (twice) and Kerry Joseph (once) as the only Riders quarterbacks to exceed 4,000 passing yards in a season. Durant has thrown for 4,055 yards.
(Rider Beat appears Tuesdays during the CFL season.)

mmccormick@leaderpost.canwest.com