By Joel Gasson

Riders drop pre-season finale 24-23 to Stampeders

Jun 21, 2013 | 7:18 AM

The weather held off enough, but it could have been the most interesting part of the Roughriders pre-season finale had something happened.

The Riders lost the game 24-23 to the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium, a game that took a while to get going, and even featured 13-straight punts by both teams combined at one point in the first half.

It looked like Saskatchewan had the offense going early, as on their first possession, which came of a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff, they did put seven points on the board thanks to a Kory Sheets touchdown.

After that however, the game almost felt like it was being played on a field that was drench and filled with mud…but of course Mosaic Stadium features artificial grass.

“I think we were just trying to see what they were doing, and find a groove” said Kory Sheets.

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Sheets was one of the few Riders who had a pretty solid game offensively for his entire time on the field. Sheets ran for 97 yards on the ground, including a 52 yard burst, and added another 34 yards through the air.

The Stamps would score 14 straight points after the Riders opened the scoring, including a touchdown after an interception off Durant which was tipped at the line.

The tide then turned for a bit in the third quarter.

“We came out in the third quarter and got some things done,” said Darian Durant. “But we have to learn to start faster, and that's what we're going to work on.”

The Green and White would score 16 straight points in the the third, including another touchdown from Kory Sheets, and Durant connecting on a pass with Scott McHenry. After that Durant's night would be done with a 23-14 lead.

Chamblin said after the game that it was the plan for Durant to play into the third quarter.

In the fourth the Stamps added a touchdown and a field goal late in the game to secure the 24-23 win.

A defense that had a very good game against Edmonton was more or less held in check against the Stamps, as they only managed a pair of sacks, with one fumble recovery. The defensive line also went offside, a lot.

“That's just not us being mentally focused, and mentally tuned into the game,” said defensive lineman Antonio Coleman. “That's no one's fault but ours.”

Coleman was the Rider who recovered the fumble from Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.

Durant finished 14-for-23 with 112 yards passing, with one touchdown and one interception. Chris Getzlaf was the top receiver with four catches and 49 yards. Not a single pass was thrown to Geroy Simon, who didn't end up playing much. Chamblin wasn't able to provide any kind of medical update after the game.

More than 31,000 tickets were sold for the game, but far less than that were actually there.

The Riders now have to make final cuts in the coming days, then they start to get ready for the regular season opener in Edmonton next Saturday night.

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