WHO WAS THE 13th MAN

Who was the 13th man?

COMMENT - I AGREE 100% WITH THIS ARTICLE....IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO THE 13th WAS. IT HAPPENED AND WE CANT CHANGE IT NOW. THE TEAM PLAYED GREAT AND WE HAVE TO MOVE ON. LETS GO IN 2010.......GO RIDERS

By Murray McCormick, Leader-PostDecember 1,

REGINA — While the Saskatchewan Roughriders were defending returner Jason Armstead, another player was being identified in a television report as the mysterious 13th man.

TSN reported Monday that West Division all-star linebacker Sean Lucas was the extra player when the Riders were penalized for having too many men on the field in Sunday's 28-27 Grey Cup loss to the Montreal Alouettes at Calgary's McMahon Stadium. The Alouettes defeated the Riders on a 33-yard field goal by Damon Duval with no time remaining. It was Duval's second shot at a game-winning field goal because he was wide right on an initial 43-yard attempt.

Duval was given another chance when the Riders were assessed the 10-yard penalty for having 13 players on the field. After studying videos of both field-goal attempts, TSN said it appeared that Lucas was the 13th man. When interviewed Monday by the Leader-Post, Lucas would only say: "We just had too many men on the field.''

Kavis Reed, the Riders' special teams co-ordinator, accepted responsibility for the mistake immediately after Sunday's game. On Monday, he said he would never reveal who was the extra player.

"I know people want that information because we're an information-based society,'' said Reed, who is responsible for counting the players on the field in special teams situations. "It's not important. We want to say that a crucial mistake was made. Ultimately it was something that I didn't do correctly. The important part is there was a mistake made, not who made the mistake.''

The Riders did want to clear up who wasn't responsible for the penalty.

"It wasn't Jason,'' Joe Womack, the Riders' director of player personnel and secondary coach, said during Monday's welcome-home rally at Mosaic Stadium. "He hasn't been anything but wonderful for us.''
Womack was responding to media reports that Armstead was the 13th man. He said that Armstead was supposed to be on the field in that situation. He was needed to return or down a missed field goal or to serve as defensive insurance if the Alouettes attempted a pass.

"Jason Armstead didn't do anything wrong,'' said Womack. "He was back there as he always is on field goals. He wasn't the extra guy on the field ... that's his responsibility.''

Riders head coach Ken Miller said they were attempting to block the game-winning 43-yard attempt by Duval. That meant there were some players who don't normally play on the field-goal cover team were on the field. That formation may have created some confusion regarding personnel.

"There was an extra player out there but it really doesn't matter to me who it was,'' said Miller. "In the last couple of weeks I've told the media that we have really worked well on our communication. What we had was a breakdown in communication. Regardless of who that player was or what component of the team . . . really, that falls on my shoulders.''

Armstead declined to comment when asked about reports that he was the extra player. He was appreciative of the approximately 1,500 fans who turned up for Monday's rally.
"I'm sorry that we had to end the season that way,'' said Armstead. "The reception was great and it's a sign of the great people that we have here.''

The Riders were still reeling Monday from the defeat. It's one they know will take a long time for which to recover.

"We all hurt deeply because if you take the game as a whole, we outplayed Montreal,'' said Womack. "They played great at the end and they made some drives and stops but we were extremely disciplined and well-prepared team. It's gut-wrenching to lose like that but it's all of us and I would never put the blame on anyone. It just happened.''

mmcormick@leaderpost.canwest.com