Placekicker Lauther hits snag during win
Usually reliable Lauther remains confident despite four missed kicks against Eskimos
The worst day of Brett Lauther’s football career also turned out to be one of the best.
The Roughriders placekicker was able to separate individual struggles from team success following a 23-13 win over the visiting Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday.
Although Lauther made two field goals in the contest — including an 11-yarder with 1:13 left to break a 13-13 tie — the final boot was preceded by four straight misses from the usually reliable kicker.
“Ever since I started football in high school I don’t think I’ve ever had a game like this,” Lauther said. “It’s just one I’m trying to learn from. It happened for a reason and hopefully everything is out (of the way) for playoffs and I can roll.”
Despite a tough day personally, Lauther faced the music as his team celebrated inside the dressing room. He made no excuses after the 2-for-6 performance and expressed relief that the misses didn’t cost his team first place in the West Division, along with a critical firstround playoff bye.
“Now we get to watch Calgary and Winnipeg fight it out for another week,” he noted. “Then they have to come over here with the best fans in the league. It’s tough to win here. For us, this is a huge advantage.”
The Roughriders did it the hard way versus Edmonton, finally pulling away late in the fourth quarter after Lauther hit the go-ahead field goal. Cameron Judge added the finishing touch with a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The late scores removed a tremendous weight from Lauther’s shoulders.
“This one was obviously on me, for sure,” he said. “I put us in a bad situation all night but luckily for me I have a great defence, a great offence, great coaches, great teammates around me to support me.”
That includes head coach Craig Dickenson, who doubles as the special teams co-ordinator.
Dickenson put Lauther’s near-nightmare in perspective, noting that three of the misses were from long range (47, 50 and 54), followed by a 32-yarder.
Lauther opened the scoring in the first quarter with a successful 49yard attempt before missing four straight.
“It wasn’t real windy but there was enough of a wind and I think it got in his head a little bit,” Dickenson said.
“He actually hit some really good balls and just barely missed. I know he pushed a couple early so I think he might have overcorrected on that last (miss) and pulled it.
“We were trying long field goals so there were no real gimmes on that. I think he’ll be fine. I think he’s one of the best kickers in the league. I have full confidence in him.”
The numbers suggest it has been a down year for Lauther — by his standards, anyway. He’s ranked ninth in the league after connecting on 78 per cent of his field goals (32 of 41) in 13 games (he missed some time due to injuries).
It’s a sharp drop-off from his 90 per cent success rate (54-for-60) in 2018, but the stats evidently haven’t affected his confidence.
“Every time I go out there I’m confident I can make the kick,” he said. “And, if I don’t, I just train myself to be on to the next one.
“Even in this game, after I missed four in a row or whatever it was, I felt like I was still going to make the next kick just like the ones before. Sometimes they don’t go in. I guess it shows how hard kicking can be.”
The timing of Lauther’s off day doesn’t seem ideal as the Riders prepare for the West final on Nov. 17 at Mosaic Stadium. Everything is magnified at playoff time and one bad kick can be enough to end a team’s season.
However, Lauther — who turned 29 on Monday — is undaunted.
“This will be behind me after tonight,” he said following Saturday’s game — one week after hitting a game-winning 43-yarder in Edmonton on the final play to put the Roughriders in position to clinch first place with a home-field victory.
“I’m going to wake up (the next day) and won’t remember this. I’m confident in myself, I’m confident in my teammates and I’m going to have their backs when playoffs come around.”