RIDERS DISCOVER NEW WAY TO WIN THE WEST
With star pivot out, rookie comes to rescue for a standout moment in team’s history
‘My high school coach always told me that when you get into scoring territory, always give the ball to your best back.’
Cody Fajardo didn’t begin or end the 2019 regular season as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback, but he was nonetheless the team’s most outstanding player.
And an automatic choice at that.
Fajardo’s emergence as a star was a key reason Saskatchewan posted a 13-5 record and earned top spot in the CFL’S West Division for the first time since 2009.
At the outset of the season, however, starting Fajardo was not the intention — as much as he proved to be the solution.
Zach Collaros was behind centre when the Roughriders opened their season June 13 against the host Hamilton Tigercats. He lasted only three plays before being concussed, whereupon Fajardo was promoted.
Fajardo soon became a sensation, endearing himself to everyone with his winning personality while guiding Saskatchewan to 12 victories — the most by a Roughriders starting quarterback since Ron Lancaster helped the 1970 edition go 14-2.
Saskatchewan has just finished posting its highest victory total since 1970. The triumphant quarterback for the 13th victory was rookie Isaac Harker, who was elevated to a starting role after Fajardo suffered an oblique injury in practice on Wednesday.
Harker proceeded to complete 23 of 28 passes for 213 yards, with nary an interception or a touchdown toss, in Saturday’s 23-13 victory over the visiting Edmonton Eskimos.
Only once before in Roughriders history had there been even a sprinkle of unpredictability at quarterback during a season in which the team finished first.
In 1966 — Saskatchewan’s first championship season — the starting safety spent the better part of two games behind centre.
Lancaster had not missed a play in two years leading up to an Oct. 2, 1966 home date with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
In the second quarter, Lancaster suffered a sprained right ankle that forced him to leave the game.
Bruce Bennett, the safety, was the next man up.
Back then, CFL teams were allowed to dress only 32 players, so head coach Eagle Keys decided to save a precious roster spot by designating the versatile Bennett as the backup quarterback.
Before becoming a star defensive back at the University of Florida, Bennett had quarterbacked Valdosta High School to undefeated records and Georgia state championships in his junior and senior years.
In Grade 12, while moonlighting as a defensive back, Bennett had been named a high school all-american quarterback.
Bennett’s quarterbacking as a Roughrider did not lead to any accolades, but he did do a serviceable job in place of Lancaster.
Against Winnipeg, the Roughriders were able to salvage an 11-11 tie, thanks to Jack Abendschan’s 52-yard field goal at 7:45 of the fourth quarter.
The Roughriders’ only touchdown was scored by Bennett, on a one-yard quarterback sneak. The major was set up by George Reed’s 71-yard run.
“After the game, one of the reporters said, ‘George runs the ball 70 yards and you get it on the one-yard line and you run it in,’ ” Bennett said in a 2006 interview. “I said, ‘Yeah. My high school coach always told me that when you get into scoring territory, always give the ball to your best back.’
“George just rolled over laughing. I couldn’t pass that up.”
All four of Bennett’s passes were incomplete during that
1966 game, after which Lancaster’s right ankle was placed in a cast.
Bennett was designated as the starter for an Oct. 8 home game against the Calgary Stampeders. Mike Ringer was activated to back up at quarterback and provide reinforcement, if necessary, in the defensive backfield.
Saskatchewan led 16-15 at one point, only to fall 35-18. Bennett went 7-for-11 for 29 yards, with one TD (on a short toss to Jim Worden) and an interception. Ringer was 2-for-4 for 18 yards.
“The Riders went without the major threat of the pass,’’ Laurie Artiss wrote in the Regina Leader-post. “Oh, they still had the pass in their arsenal, but it was more of a pop-gun than a bomb.”
Lancaster soon returned, ending the crisis at quarterback.
He would not miss another regular-season start until late in the 1977 season, when a knee injury forced Eric Guthrie to take over.
Mind you, the 1970 season was impacted by Lancaster’s absence.
Gary Lane started at quarterback for Saskatchewan in Game 3 of the best-of-three Western Conference final after Lancaster suffered cracked ribs and a bruised muscle in his back versus Calgary.
Lane performed admirably on a frozen Taylor Field, rushing 11 times for 44 yards and completing two of five passes for 58 yards — including a 45-yard TD pass to Bob Pearce. (The other completion, for the record, was a 13-yarder to Al Rankin.)
It remains a matter of debate as to whether Lane crossed the goal-line on two third-quarter rushes.
From Calgary’s 12-yard line, Lane rolled to his left and dove for the front corner of the end zone, only to be ruled out of bounds at the one.
On the following play, Lane fumbled and pounced on the loose ball, with a small loss resulting.
The plan was to hand off to Reed on second down, but the icy conditions necessitated some improvisation. After Reed slipped, Lane lunged for the end zone and nearly scored. Again, the officials ruled that he did not cross the goal-line.
Lane then fumbled on thirdand-goal.
The missed opportunities — or missed calls, if you prefer — proved to be crucial.
On the game’s final play, Larry Robinson somehow kicked a 32-yard field goal into the teeth of a chilling wind. Calgary won 15-14, after which Lane criticized the officials.
“They took it away from us twice,” lamented Lane, who went on to become an accomplished NFL official — working in the 1989 and 1999 Super Bowls.
The Roughriders’ other five first-place seasons included little, if any, disruption at quarterback.
Glenn Dobbs started every game in 1951.
Lancaster went the distance in 1968, 1969 and 1976. (He was named the league’s most outstanding player in 1970, after starting every regular-season game.)
Darian Durant was the starter, from beginning to end, in 2009.
Questions did arise before an Aug. 1, 2009 game in Calgary. Head coach Ken Miller, always forthcoming with the media, let it be known that second-stringer Steven Jyles was to receive some playing time. Sure enough, Jyles called signals during the second quarter.
Durant ultimately won the day, throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Chris Getzlaf with 1:17 remaining in the fourth quarter to deliver a 24-23 victory at Mcmahon Stadium.
With Durant at quarterback, the 2009 Roughriders clinched first place with a home-field win in the regular-season finale for the first time in franchise history.
Ten years later, with Harker at quarterback, the Green and White repeated the feat.
Fajardo, one presumes, will take it from there.
FAR AND WIDE
Brett Lauther, who went 2-for-6 on field goal attempts on Saturday, became the first Roughrider in 15 years to miss four three-pointers in a game. He was wide from 32, 47, 50 and 54 yards.
Paul Mccallum was 3-for-7 in a 17-12 loss to the host Toronto Argonauts on July 16, 2004. He missed from 34, 45, 45 and 49.
Prior to that, a Roughrider had not missed four field goal attempts since Sept. 18, 1986, when Dave Ridgway went 4-for8. He missed from 38, 40, 44 and 51 in a 21-21 tie with the visiting Tiger-cats — the CFL’S first overtime regular-season game.
Abendschan holds the Roughriders’ record for missed field goals in a game — five.
That is one of eight games since 1950, when detailed statistical information became available, in which Saskatchewan has missed four or more field-goal attempts.
Abendschan was 1-for-6 in a 7-7 tie with Calgary on Oct. 17, 1971 at Taylor Field. He was successful from 25 yards, but wide from 20, 24, 28, 38 and 50.
Robinson (who else?) tied the game with a convert at 14:56 of the fourth quarter, following a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jim Lindsey to Gerry Shaw.
Calgary’s last-minute rally ultimately cost the Roughriders first place.
In 1971, the Stampeders and Roughriders were tied atop the Western Conference with 9-6-1 records. The season series was also tied (1-1-1), but Calgary got the nod because it outscored Saskatchewan 45-31 over those three games.
The Stampeders subsequently swept Saskatchewan in the best-of-three West final, winning 30-21 at Mcmahon Stadium and 23-21 in Regina en route to capturing the Grey Cup championship.
Profuse thanks to Steve Daniel — the CFL’S senior director, game information and statistics — for his invaluable assistance with this item, and in general.
SHORT SNORTS
Jon Ryan finished the 2019
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regular season with an average of 48.9 yards per punt — the best in Roughriders history. Ken Clark set the previous mark of 47.4 in 1983.
Ryan, who made his professional
■ football debut in 2004, is preparing to take part in his first CFL playoff game. He missed the post-season with Winnipeg in 2004 and 2005 before heading to the NFL, in which he made 18 post-season appearances — two with the Green Bay Packers and 16 with the Seattle Seahawks.
Roughriders defensive end
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A.C. Leonard will be named one of the CFL’S Top Performers of the Week. Leonard had two sacks — one of which forced a fumble that he recovered — and three tackles for a loss on Saturday. He added six defensive tackles.
Charleston Hughes has captured
■ the CFL’S sacks title for the fourth consecutive season. The 35-year-old defensive end had been held without a sack for four games before registering No. 16 on Saturday.