‘Still trying to stomach it’: Riders have no answers for Bombers in West final

The Saskatchewan Roughriders season came to a crashing end in Winnipeg on Saturday.

The Riders’ defence had no answer for the deep ball as Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros connected with slot back Kenny Lawler for three touchdowns — a 24-yard, a 31-yard and then 57-yards.

Winnipeg’s 38-22 victory secured a fifth-straight trip to the Grey Cup for the Bombers. They will take on the Toronto Argonauts in the 111th edition of the game on Nov. 17.

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“I’m just disappointed. I’m sick for the guys, obviously, and we definitely wanted a better result but that’s a (bad) gameplan and that’s on my shoulders,” said Riders head coach Corey Mace.

“Just sick for the guys. Still trying to stomach it, to be honest with you. It’s a crappy feeling.”

Riders quarterback Trevor Harris said this loss hurts.

“I love this group and this group has grown a lot and has battled through a lot of adversity. Things you wouldn’t know, like what (linebacker) Jameer (Thurman) was playing through. This group was a fun group to be around and I’m just not ready for it to be over,” Harris said.

“Unfortunately, me wanting for it to not be done doesn’t matter because we lost in the semifinals and Winnipeg did their thing tonight and they get to be the ones who move on.”

Mace, who was in his first season as a CFL head coach, said he learned a lot from the experience.

“Coming into this week, I felt very confident in our gameplan defensively but there was maybe a few things — I tried to play it patiently as a defence instead of maybe hitting the button a little bit more to force the issue,” Mace said.

“(I learned) to maybe just force the issue a little bit when it’s win or go home.”

The Riders’ defence, which finished the season +26 in the turnover ratio, only got one the entire game — a fumbled punt return by Lucky Whitehead.

Lawler added 177 yards to go along with his three touchdowns, while Collaros finished with 301 yards and no interceptions.

“They definitely had an answer for everything we threw at them. At the end of the day, we didn’t execute like we usually do at every level of the defence,” Thurman said.

“I’m going to take ownership — I didn’t have my best game but they definitely had our number today in all facets.”

Harris had 283 yards and one touchdown in the game — though a bulk of those yards and the touchdown to Sam Emilus came late in the game and didn’t have much of an impact on the overall result.

The Bombers had gotten out to an early lead, with two of those three Lawler touchdowns coming in the first quarter and the third coming in the second. Nic Demski also added a touchdown in the second quarter.

With the Riders trailing all game and down 31-16 to start the fourth quarter, Mace elected to go for it on a third-and-three early in the fourth.

The Harris pass fell incomplete and then two plays later, Bombers running back Brady Oliveira scored a touchdown which put Winnipeg up 38-16.

“I just felt at that time we hadn’t gotten into a groove and it was just time to hit the gas for us and try to build momentum,” Mace said.

“Looking back, you wish you had nailed it and it didn’t put us in a jam but I thought we needed to build momentum. Having faith in those guys and if we could go back, I’d probably still do it, to be honest with you.”

Oliveira, who is the CFL West Division Most Outstanding Player nominee, had 119 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Riders defensive tackle Micah Johnson said the loss was a hard one.

“We know we’re a better football team than what showed up tonight,” Johnson said. “Hats off to them. They came out and took it.”

Kian Schaffer-Baker had a good game for the Riders, with the slotback hauling in 12 catches for 162 yards, and Riders kicker Brett Lauther was good on all three of his field goal attempts.

It’s the third playoff appearance in a row for the Riders, and they have been unable to beat the Bombers. The 2019 West final in Regina and the 2021 West final in Winnipeg both ended in Bombers wins.

While the season comes to an end for the Riders, Mace was proud of how his team battled back all year.

“There were multiple chances and times they could have just folded tent and not once did they ever,” Mace said. “Extremely proud of them and tons of gratitude to them and tons of gratitude to the sacrifice that they put in to really build the vision of what we want this to be.”

Offensive lineman Logan Ferland said the team has to learn from these moments.

“It’s all fuel. That’s all you can do with it — learn and grow from this,” Ferland said. “Just like in 2021, we’ve come a long way since then and just proud of every man in this room and proud of everyone in this organization.

“Just back to work.”

A number of Riders fans turned out at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg for the Western final on Saturday. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Fans in Winnipeg critical of loss

It was a long trip to Winnipeg for many Saskatchewan fans proudly covered in green, from jerseys to hats and every conceivable costume in between.

Fans travelled from Regina, Saskatoon, Carlyle, Kamsack and beyond in hopes they’d catch a glimpse of a Western final win that would see their beloved Roughriders back in a Grey Cup final this year.

Instead, a common word to describe the tragic outcome emerged.

“Pretty disappointing,” said Bill Wyatt, who attended the game with his wife, Laurie. “I thought we were going to match up better against the Bombers.”

The couple had travelled from Carlyle, catching a bus from just outside Regina to get to Manitoba’s capital.

“Obviously we’re a little disappointed,” said Haley Seitz, who was feeling positive about the growth shown by the Roughriders team this season.

Riders fans in Winnpeg were sporting Green and White gear on Saturday. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Several Saskatchewan fans, including Seitz, left even before the final whistle, not wanting to stay out in the cold to watch what ended up being a sad conclusion to the Roughrider season.

“We figured we’d get out before the traffic,” said John, who attended the game alongside Kyle. Both are from Regina.

John called the game “a little disappointing,” where “a little bit of everything” seemed to go wrong.

The Riders were down by 21 points when the two men exited the stadium in the third quarter.

“We needed to come out and take advantage off the hop, and we did not. We left it in their hands and that is why we lost,” said fan Benjamin Little, who was rocking a full-green outfit complete with a Saskatchewan Roughriders watermelon on his head.

His dad, Michael Little, was equally festive in his clothes, representing Saskatchewan in a green robot costume.

He said the start of the game made him recall the 1989 game against Winnipeg where the Riders emerged victorious.

“I thought that was what was going to happen this year, we had the same score,” Michael shared. “I couldn’t believe that we lost today.”

Kyle from Regina judged that the Riders needed a stronger running game and should have spent more plays throwing the ball.

Riders fans were still smiling in Winnipeg, despite Saturday’s loss. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Rochelle and Matthew Fiddler left the game a bit before the end with their son Rider, who had been playing in a hockey tournament in Winnipeg that weekend. The family had bought tickets to the Western final long before they knew Saskatchewan would be in the match.

“I think Winnipeg’s a little too much for (the Riders) right now,” Matthew said.

Rochelle weighed in on the Riders game strategy: “They kept going up the middle. They should have been going down the sides,” she said.

Despite the hard loss, many fans remained optimistic, despite the elated chants and cheers of those clad in blue around them exiting Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday night.

“Rider pride is alive. We’re green, we’re alive and next year, we’ll be back even better,” said Thomas Pratt. “The best team won tonight.

Many fans are forecasting a 2025 return to the Western final — and the Grey Cup.

“We’re going to be in the big cup, trust me,” Saskatchewan fan Darral predicted.

Ben hopes to see a better offensive effort in 2025. He wants to see the team “have a mindset that we can stay in it all game. It felt like we gave up in the third quarter,” he said.

“It was tough but we did everything we could and we’ll be here next year for sure,” Ben stated.

“Onto next year,” Bill Wyatt echoed.

“This is (head coach) Corey Mace’s first year … he’s going to lead us to the Grey Cup,” said Benjamin Little. “I have no question (in) my mind.”

And, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, many Saskatchewan fans offered congratulations and support to the victorious Blue Bombers.

“I am happy for all the Rider players that are now playing for Winnipeg that are going for the Grey Cup,” joked Jeremy from Regina.

Many Saskatchewan fans offered congratulations and support to the victorious Blue Bombers on Saturday, despite the loss for their team. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Fans in Regina cautiously optimistic

Fans watching the game in Regina were feeling a plethora of mixed emotions after the Western final loss.

“They sucked,” said one fan.

“I think it was a pretty good game,” said another.

“We all expected to take it home,” said one hopeful fan.

“They should have pulled up their jock straps and done better,” said another long time fan with a laugh.

Sarah Tollefson said it was still a good year for the Green and White.

“The team as a whole played so well all season,” she said. “It’s hard to be upset losing to a team like Winnipeg.

Sarah Tollefson (right) is still proud of how far the Roughriders went this season. She hopes next year will be their year. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

Tollefson attended the watch party at Moonlight Movies in Regina.

A lot fans blamed the defence for the loss, while others said we need better players.

Most still seem to be happy with coach Corey Mace.

“I feel like this coach is doing great things,” said a fan at O’Hanlons Irish Pub. “He got us to where we are right now, but we still a little bit of work to do.”

Rider fans filled a theatre with around 100 seats at Moonlight Movies in Regina for the Western final watch party. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

One fan suggests the Riders trade for players from Winnipeg — who are off to it’s sixth Grey Cup in a row.

Another fan hoped to see more of Riders quarterback Shea Patterson.

“I think Shea Patterson could really do something for this team next year,” she said.

One thing fans can all agree on, they’ll be back in the stands cheering hard for the Riders next season.

“Of course, always, no matter what,” another fan at O’Hanlons said.

And who knows, maybe next year will be their year.

“Maybe next year,” said a fan.

— with files from 650 CKOM’s Libby Gray in Winnipeg and 980 CJME’s Nicole Garn in Regina