Surging Riders storm past Argos to stay unbeaten
TORONTO — The Saskatchewan Roughriders were forced to take the good with the bad after beating the host Toronto Argonauts 39- 28 on Thursday night.
The good is the Riders improved their record to 3- 0 and remain the CFL’s lone unbeaten team. They have reached those lofty heights by completing a sweep of the two teams that competed in the 2012 Grey Cup game. The Riders beat the visiting Calgary Stampeders 36- 21 last Friday and then defeated the Argos, the defending Grey Cup champions, at Rogers Centre — the very place where Toronto won last year’s CFL championship game.
“The last two weeks, we’ve played the Grey Cup ( participants) from last year and Calgary and Toronto were the two best teams in the league,’’ said Riders head coach Corey Chamblin. “We won at home versus Calgary and now on the road against Toronto. That’s a good step with our team because you want to be measured against those two teams. The last two weeks, we have come out successful. Now we just have to regroup and keep moving along.’’
The bad is that the status of quarterback Darian Durant is in doubt. Durant injured his right ankle one play before placekicker Chris Milo provided the Riders with a 32- 14 fourthquarter lead by connecting on a 21- yard field goal.
“I’m very worried,’’ said middle linebacker Rey Williams, who led the Riders with eight defensive tackles and two sacks. “Darian is a very big piece to this puzzle and we need him out there. I’m sure that he will be fine because he’s a tough guy, but I can’t speculate, right?’’
Neither Durant nor Chamblin were sure of the severity of the injury. The Riders have experienced depth at most positions with the exception of quarterback. Drew Willy, who is in his second season as a backup quarterback, would likely take over if Durant can’t go when the Riders play host to the Hamilton Tiger- Cats on July 21.
“( The time off) couldn’t come at a better time — not only for me, but there are a couple of us who are pretty banged up.’’ said Durant, who was 14 of 19 for 245 yards and three touchdowns. “It gives us three or four days of rest before we even have to practise. That will be good.’’
The Riders are in a good position due to their balanced offensive attack. Saskatchewan has an established running game led by Kory Sheets, who surpassed 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive game last night. Sheets had 26 carries for a career- high 178 yards and two touchdowns.
The ability of the Riders to move the ball on the ground has created opportunities through the air. Taj Smith hauled in touchdown receptions of 61 and 70 yards en route to a careerhigh 141 receiving yards. Rob Bagg, who has missed portions of the past two seasons with knee injuries, opened the scoring with an 11- yard touchdown reception. It was Bagg’s first touchdown catch since Sept. 25, 2010.
“We were able to hit a couple of deep balls off the play action,’’ said Saskatchewan guard Brendon LaBatte. “That is really keeping the defence on their heels because they are having a tough time deciding if it’s a run or a pass. When we do drop back, they are keying the run a little bit, too. It’s always good when you have a running game that is respected by an opponent.’’
Sheets is looking for respect and lot more this season. The second- year CFLer said his goal is to break the league rushing mark of 2,065 yards set by Mike Pringle in 1998 with the Montreal Alouettes.
“My goal is to show everybody that this team is for real,’’ said Sheets, who has 442 rushing yards on 69 carries this season, way ahead of the pace needed to surpass Pringle’s standard. “Whether we run the ball or pass the ball, it’s going to be hard to stop us.’’
The turning Thursday night came in the second quarter when a Durant pass intended for Smith was intercepted by James Robinson, who returned the pickoff 80 yards for a touchdown that would have provided the Argos with an 18- 7 lead. The interception was overturned because Robinson was flagged for pass interference on Smith. Two plays later, Sheets scored on a three- yard run. Milo’s successful convert gave the Riders a 14- 11 lead.
“Whenever they make mistakes, you want to make them pay,’’ said Durant. “Even if they had scored then, we were very poised and moving the ball all night. It was a very good sign.’’
Those signs now point to July 21, when the Riders will attempt to run their record to 4- 0. They were 3- 0 in 2012, but then lost five straight en route to an 8- 10 regular- season record.
“I think we’re more of a mature team,’’ said Durant. “After going through a slide last year at this time, we know how not to let that happen.’’