Riders complete late-game comeback, beat B.C. 31-24

Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson is going to remember Friday’s game for a while.

“That was really a great win, one of the most exciting wins I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said following the 31-24 victory at B.C. Place.

It took until the final offensive snap of the game, but the Riders handed the B.C. Lions a loss to grab sole possession of second place in the CFL’s West Division.

The Riders got the ball to the B.C. five-yard line and finally broke through a stout B.C. defence on a one-yard touchdown run from quarterback Cody Fajardo.

While Fajardo got into the end zone on third down, he admitted he was selfish on the first-down play where instead of handing it off at the B.C. five-yard line, he elected to keep it to try and score himself.

“I just had flashbacks of getting into the end zone but I should have gave it (to the running back). Coach trusted me with the ball there in that situation (on third down) and I drew back to all the years that I’ve done short yardage,” Fajardo said. “We talked about it being a playoff game and that’s how it comes down.”

The convert by kicker Brett Lauther was good to take a one-point lead and the Riders added insurance on the ensuing kickoff, with defensive back Damon Webb picking up a fumble and returning it for a touchdown.

Fajardo completed 24 of 31 pass attempts for 279 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.

The Lions were able to get the lead with 3:19 left in the game on a one-yard rush by running back Shaq Cooper.

The Fajardo interception came with just 3:08 left in the game after the pass to wide receiver Mitch Picton ended up in the hands of Lions cornerback Jalon Edwards-Cooper.

“I was down in the dumps after that pick but a lot of guys came to me on the sideline and picked me up,” Fajardo said. “I knew we had a good chance if we got the ball back and we did.”

But the Lions would go two-and-out after getting the ball back, thanks to linebacker Deon Lacey, who had an ankle injury, tackled Lions quarterback Michael Reilly a yard short of the first-down marker, which led to a punt.

“(Lacey) is out there on one leg and he’s able to tackle Michael Reilly short of the first down and that saves the game,” Dickenson said. “I think the game is over if we don’t get him down there.”

And the Riders appeared to have another of Fajardo’s “Sprinkles of Jesus” come into play, with Lions punter Stefan Flintoft hitting the punt off the side of his foot that would only net 26 yards and set the Riders up at midfield which set up the Riders game-winning drive.

“There was plenty Sprinkles of Jesus tonight. We definitely needed it because it’s a really good B.C. Lions team and we had a few things bounce our way which was really fortunate for us,” Fajardo said.

The Riders offence also finally saw slotback Ricardo Louis become a major contributor.

Louis, who has started four straight games for the Riders, only had four catches for 48 yards in his previous three contests which included a one-target game against the Toronto Argonauts on Sept. 17.

“It’s been tough,” Louis said. “Things like that are going to happen, nothing is going to be perfect. The way I approached I knew I could make plays, I knew I could be great on the field.”

And Fajardo gave Louis props for not getting frustrated.

“I don’t think he had a catch last week and he did not complain one time. He never was pouting in the locker room or anything. He just stayed encouraging, stayed positive and that’s what happens. When you’re patient, good things happen,” Fajardo said.

But against the Lions on Friday, Louis caught all five of his targets for 71 yards including a 23-yard touchdown – his first as a pro.

“It was a great feeling. It’s an amazing feeling – those are the feelings we chase as players,” Louis said. “What’s crazy is Cody and I talked about that same play before the game. He called me over in the locker room and we were watching the film and he said it’s going to be there.”

Lions quarterback Michael Reilly completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 259 yards with two touchdowns to receiver Lucky Whitehead in the loss.

The Lions other touchdown came from running back Shaquille Cooper, who ran it in from one-yard out. It was a quiet day for Lions running attack as a whole, only getting 22 yards on seven attempts. Reilly was the leading B.C. rusher with 17 of those yards.

Lions kicker Jimmy Camacho was good on one of his two field goal attempts in the game.

Riders kicker Brett Lauther was a perfect four-for-four on his kicks.

The Riders once again ran into penalty problems, committing 12 of them for 110 yards.

“I’m disappointed in that. Obviously my message has not gotten through very well, specifically the secondary. We’ve got to clean it up,” Dickenson said. “I think we had three or four illegal contacts (Friday) which was way too many and we lost our composure a little bit.

“Credit to our guys for coming back but we made it a lot harder than it needed to be and we’ve got to clean it up or we won’t go very far.”

The Riders (5-2) next game will see them travel to Calgary to take on the Stampeders (2-5) on Oct. 2.