Roughriders wrap up pre-season with loss to Lions

The dress rehearsals are over for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Saskatchewan completed its CFL pre-season slate Friday with a 20-18 loss to the B.C. Lions in Vancouver. Next up for the Roughriders is their regular-season opener, June 11 against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The Roughriders finished 0-2 in the pre-season; they haven’t won an exhibition game since June 14, 2014, when they beat the Ottawa Redblacks 21-17.

“I saw some good (in Friday’s game but) I also saw some bad,” Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson told reporters in Vancouver. “Our tongues were dragging a little bit (so) we’ll have to get in a little better shape.

“But I thought for the most part, we got what we needed to out of this game, which was we saw our starters get into a rhythm and we’ve got some good film on the guys that are going to make up the rest of the team.”

The Roughriders got their first look this season at starting quarterback Cody Fajardo, who didn’t play in Tuesday’s 25-16 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

On Thursday, Dickenson said he wanted to see the offence move with good rhythm during Fajardo’s time on the field — and the veteran pivot delivered against the Lions.

After a two-and-out on the Roughriders’ first possession, Fajardo guided the offence on a scoring drive that covered 60 yards in nine plays. The drive ended with Brett Lauther’s 18-yard field goal.

Saskatchewan had the ball just twice in the opening quarter, which ended with the teams tied 3-3. Fajardo was 4-for-8 passing for 42 yards in the quarter.

The Roughriders punted on their first possession of the second quarter, but Fajardo helped them put together a four-play, 52-yard scoring drive on their next possession.

The quarterback’s one-yard touchdown run came one play after the Lions were penalized for pass interference in the end zone.

Lauther’s convert was no good, leaving the Roughriders with a 9-3 lead.

That was the end of the night for Fajardo, even though Dickenson suggested Thursday his starter would play the entire first half.

Fajardo finished 6-for-12 passing for 64 yards and rushed twice for 13 yards and a TD.

“I’d seen enough — and I usually just listen to my gut on that,” Dickenson said, noting the coaches made the move because they wanted to evaluate the quarterbacks vying for the backup job.

Mason Fine replaced Fajardo and his first opportunity produced a Lauther field goal. Nathan Rourke’s two-yard scoring pass to Bryan Burnham and Sean Whyte’s convert made it 12-10 for Saskatchewan at the half.

Things slowed down in the second half as the teams gave backups and rookies the opportunity to earn roster spots.

Jake Dolegala may have moved ahead of Fine in the battle for the job as Fajardo’s backup.

Dolegala completed nine of 11 pass attempts for 77 yards with one touchdown (a five-yarder to Justin McInnis) and one interception and rushed once for six yards. Fine was 5-for-12 passing for 36 yards.

“I thought all three quarterbacks managed the game well,” Dickenson said. “(There were) no penalties in terms of time counts; they got in(to the huddle) and out.

“I saw Jake make a couple of really nice throws. It’ll be a tough decision for that second quarterback spot.”

“It was good to get out there (and) get some reps,” Dolegala added. “Obviously I’d like the one play back (the interception). Other than that, I thought I did a decent job.”

Based on the statistics, the race for the starting tailback spot wasn’t decided. Jamal Morrow — the presumptive starter — rushed three times for 14 yards, Frankie Hickson carried the ball twice for 10 yards and Shaq Cooper rushed for three yards on three carries.

Kian Schaffer-Baker led the Roughriders’ receivers with three catches for 28 yards, while rookie Johnathon Johnson had two catches for 21 yards.

The Roughriders had 223 yards of offence, but were penalized 13 times for 115 yards. B.C. amassed 346 yards of total offence, but was flagged 12 times for 146 yards.

The Lions also got a 24-yard TD pass from Michael O’Connor to Josh Pearson as well as a second Whyte field goal.

The Roughriders are expected to make a number of cuts Saturday to meet the CFL-imposed roster deadline, which means a long night for Dickenson and his staff.

“It’s tough,” the head coach said. “You grow attached to those guys. They give you everything they’ve got. I told them we’d love to keep them all, but that’s just not the reality.

“We’ll try to do a really good job of watching the film and make sure we make the right decision and when we do have to cut a guy, try to be thoughtful and kind when we do it.”

Dheilly stands out

One player who may not have to worry overnight is defensive end Nick Dheilly, whom Dickenson said “probably got himself a spot with that effort” after the Regina product had four tackles and a sack Friday.

“This job interview has been long and hard,” Dheilly said. “It has been a whole month of camp, but getting in there and actually getting a sack and showing that you can do what they told you to do, it means a lot.”

And now he has a shot to make his hometown team.

“I want to make it as bad as everybody else here,” Dheilly said. “Everybody has a goal to play professional football at some point. I’m just here day by day and hopefully I get the call.”