Riders scoreless second half leads to loss to Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders couldn’t keep up with the B.C. Lions on Friday, losing 32-17.

After the Riders built up a 17-4 lead in the first half, the Lions scored the next 28 points in the game at Mosaic Stadium.

“We got a little bit out of rhythm. That’s a good B.C. team. It’s a good defence, and they’ve got a good offence,” quarterback Cody Fajardo said. “We didn’t play our best ball tonight, and that’s why we didn’t come out with the win.”

The loss puts the Riders at 4-4, three losses behind the Lions and Calgary Stampeders and four losses behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s West Division.

“We’re a middle-of-the-pack team that needs to figure it out,” Fajardo said. “I think we’ve got a lot of games left. We’ve got 10 games … a lot can happen in 10 games.

“I don’t think we’re at full strength as a team. If we were at full strength, I would probably sound the alarms. We’re missing some key players and we’re missing some key players with injuries, so when we do get to full strength, it will be exciting to see what that team looks like.”

Fajardo, who came into the game with an MCL injury, completed 18 of 27 pass attempts for 168 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He was replaced by Mason Fine in the fourth quarter after the Lions extended their lead to 15 with a Sean Whyte field goal.

The first half was one of the Riders’ best in terms of points, with their 10 first quarter points the highest total for an opening frame for the team.

Fajardo connected with Tevin Jones for a first quarter touchdown, then ran one in from the one-yard line in the second.

Up 17-4, the Riders gave up a safety after a missed field goal that returner Mario Alford got the Saskatchewan two-yard line. On the next play, running back Jamal Morrow was tackled in the end zone to give B.C. two points. Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson said it was on him.

“I’ll take the blame for that. I gave our returner the option to bring it out, I probably should have just told him to take the knee – I’ve learned over the years when you give the returner the option they are going to bring it out most every time,” Dickenson said. “I think that was the key part of the game – it seemed like they took momentum and we couldn’t get it back.”

Momentum for the Riders came to a screeching halt after that point, with the team not scoring a single more point and only recording 73 yards in the game’s final 36:48 of game time.

“We came out fast, which was what we wanted to do and I was proud of the guys for doing it, but we just didn’t play well enough down the stretch, and eventually the cream rises to the top and we just didn’t make enough plays there to make it a competitive game,” Dickenson said. “It felt like we were swimming upstream most of the game.”

Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke settled into a groove as the first half came to an end. He led a seven-play, 73-yard drive and punched it in from the one-yard line to give the Lions their first touchdown of the day.

In the second half, the Lions scored two more majors from the arm of Rourke, one to Dominque Rhymes and one to Jevon Cottoy.

Rourke finished the game with 336 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s a great quarterback. I look at myself and I missed a tackle and a sack on him,” Linebacker Darnell Sankey said. “He’s a great quarterback, but we made him look a lot better.”

The Riders were able to sack Rourke twice in the game, the most the Canadian pivot had been sacked in a single game all season.

Anthony Lanier II had one sack on the first defensive play of the game for the Riders, and then Charleston Hughes recorded sack number 135 in his career later in the quarter. He is now tied with Joe Montford for fifth all-time in CFL history.

While the Riders were still dealing with players missing practice due to COVID for the second straight week, and only had four days of practice, Sankey said that’s not an excuse.

“I think we just didn’t execute certain plays. We knew what they were doing and they did it. I think us as a team just need to regroup and refocus,” Sankey said. “We had a lack of discipline and missed assignments that resulted in touchdowns.”

The Riders will head into their first bye week of the season following the loss.

“We do need to refocus. I encouraged them to go home and see their families,” Dickenson said. “They should have time to relax, recharge and hopefully come back refocused.”

The Riders are in action next on Aug. 13 in Edmonton against the Elks.