Lauther’s boot lifts Riders to 30-29 road win over Argos
Brett Lauther bailed Zach Collaros out Saturday night.
Lauther’s 56-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining earned the Saskatchewan Roughriders a wild 30-29 Canadian Football League road win over Toronto.
Lauther’s boot came after Collaros was penalized for intentional grounding, moving the ball back 11 yards to the Argonauts’ 48-yard line.
“How could you be so stupid,” Collaros said of his throw. “It was a good call, I didn’t get the ball to the line of scrimmage and it was stupidity by me.
“That bailed me out, my boy Brett . ... I can’t say enough about him.”
But Lauthier said Collaros was simply doing as he was told.
“Zach’s my guy,” Lauther said with a grin. “I told him to take that penalty, so I could kick a longer kick and look better.”
Still, Toronto had a late shot at the comeback win.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson drove the Argos from their 38-yard line to the Saskatchewan 44 before an all-out Riders’ blitz forced him to throw prematurely, which resulted in barely missing a wideopen S.J. Green on what would’ve likely been a TD pass.
Riders coach/general manager Chris Jones admitted the blitz call with the game on the line was a gamble.
“We wanted to send pressure,” he said. “I said if we’re going to lose this game it was going to be because we were going after somebody.”
The Argos still had one final chance to claim the victory. But Zack Medeiros missed from 51 yards out and Saskatchewan conceded the single with two seconds left before an energetic BMO Field gathering of 14,479 that was liberally sprinkled with Rider green.
A dejected Bethel-Thompson could only shake his head and lament about his missed opportunity to connect with Green. “A professional quarterback has to make that play,” he said.