Durant savours sweet revenge with opener’s win over Riders
For former Saskatchewan quarterback, game means he can put trade behind him
MONTREAL In the end, Darian Durant had the last word.
Durant savoured that situation after the Montreal Alouettes edged the Saskatchewan Roughriders 17-16 in Thursday’s CFL regularseason opener at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
The match was Durant’s first against the Riders since being traded by Saskatchewan to the Alouettes on Jan. 13. Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager, traded the quarterback for draft picks when talks on a contract extension broke off.
Durant, 34, was irked by comments made by Jones after the 2016 season, in which the Riders missed the playoffs with a 5-13 record. Jones told the Regina Leader-Post’s Rob Vanstone that Durant was “moderately successful’’ during his tenure with the Riders.
On Thursday, Durant was seen celebrating his first win as an Alouette while taunting Jones and the Riders’ bench.
“It was (beating) my former team because I was a Rider for 11 years and that will never change,’’ Durant said. “He has the right because he’s in the position to choose the guys that he wants. He chose not to have me there. At the end of the day, beating him was the best thing.’’
Durant’s thoughts turned to events that preceded the trade after Saskatchewan’s Tyler Crapigna missed on a 45-yard field-goal attempt without any time left on the clock, thereby allowing Montreal to win.
“I wasn’t even focused on it,’’ Durant said. “I was thinking about my Uncle Mike, who passed, and the football gods. I feel like when you’re treated unfairly, the football gods always remember that. I feel like the football gods came through for myself and my football team in this game. I really believe it.”
“I feel if you treat the game with respect and when you don’t, that’s when bad things happen,’’ Durant added. “You can take that where you want, but at the end of the day we won.”
The manner in which Durant’s departure from the Riders after 11 seasons was handled made the even sweeter for him.
“Of course it’s sweet,’’ Durant said. “I was told that I wasn’t wanted anymore and I was sent away. Of course, we felt like we left a lot out there. It’s a tough defence to play against and his defence made it tough for us. I’m just glad that we came out on top.’’
Durant has responded to questions about his departure from the Riders since the CFL schedule was released. He was relieved Thursday to finally have the game out of the way.
“It’s so nice,’’ said Durant, whose next appearance against the Riders is Oct. 27 at Mosaic Stadium. “Now I don’t have to hear any more questions about it and we can move on. We have a big win at home and now we can get ready for next week.’’
Durant, who was 20-of-31 for 233 yards and two touchdowns, guided the Alouettes to what proved to be the game-winning field goal on a nine-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by Boris Bede’s 18-yard field goal. The kick gave the Alouettes a 17-16 lead at 12:31 of the fourth quarter.
Durant then watched as quarterback Kevin Glenn drove the Riders to Montreal’s 37-yard line, setting up the field-goal attempt by Crapigna, who was wide on what would have been the game-winner.
The miss was the final play in what was an emotional night for Durant, who felt he wasn’t overwhelmed by the experience.
“It felt like my composure was there all night,” he said. “I took the team down on a game-winning drive, so to speak. I put us ahead by one, so I just liked my composure and my ability to lead us to a big score when we needed it.’’
Montreal’s victory overshadowed a solid performance by Glenn, who was 34-of-41 for 298 yards with one touchdown. He also threw an interception.
“It is tough to bounce back from the (12) penalties and (three) turnovers, but we still only lost by one,” Glenn said. “That says a lot and we still have some things to improve on. At the same time, we still only lost by one after doing all of that.” The Roughriders return to action July 1, 7 p.m., against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the first regularseason game at new Mosaic Stadium.
He (Riders GM Chris Jones) chose not to have me there. At the end of the day, beating him was the best thing.