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Riders overcome adversity with heart

Sep 24, 2012 | 10:13 AM

Game on.

The Riders 30-25 win over the Calgary Stampeders was a combination of heart, toughness and overcoming adversity. It also puts the Riders into sole possession of third place in the western conference.

The adversity started in the first quarter when the first pass to Chris Getzlaf was fumbled and the Stampeders recovered the ball. The defense stiffened though and in contrast to the last time the Stampeders visited Taylor Field, they settled for a field goal.

The Riders unveiled a new offensive scheme featuring a lot of motion by receivers and running backs and gained a bit of advantage when an apparent fumble by Jock Sanders was not ruled a fumble and the Riders went in for a touchdown. The interesting thing by using the formation changes was the ability of the Riders to put in Sanders and Kory Sheets on the field at the same time.

Sanders is rapidly becoming the new Corey Holmes for the Riders, being a threat at running back, receiver and returning kicks. The Rider offense did suffer with Taj Smith dropping a touchdown pass, another over the middle that could have helped the team and one more he sort of gave up on.

Injuries were also a factor in this game. While Brendan LaBatte didn’t play because of injury, Ben Heenan went in and did very well. But Chris Getzlaf injured either his elbow or his wrist, but continued to play through the injury and was somewhat effective. Matt Williams at defensive tackle also went out with a leg injury.

Another pair of injuries may also spell trouble for the Riders with Keith Shologan going down with a separated shoulder. Whether he will be ready to play against BC on Saturday night is an open question at this point. Another injury was to defensive halfback Eddie Russ who went out with a high ankle sprain that will likely keep him out next week against BC and maybe longer.

With that being said, the Riders defense stepped up although Chris McKenzie worries people with his ability to constantly be in a chase position against opposing receivers. The defensive front seven held to Rider Coach Cory Chamblin’s guarantee that Stampeder running back Jon Cornish would be held to under 100 yards.

Now according to people calling in after the game, Cornish’s main accomplishment was mooning the fans on the east side of Taylor Field. Add to this Cornish throwing a football in the direction of a referee and refusing to shake hands and you have a Calgary running back that probably needs to grease the sides of doors with lard to get his swollen head through.

While the Riders had a big third quarter with 17 points, the Stampeders did come back in the fourth quarter, going against a jury-rigged Rider defense that had Shomari Williams move down from linebacker back to defensive end. However, following a roughing the passer penalty against Odell Willis, on the next play he and another Rider collided on Kevin Glenn to force him out of the game, bring in Calgary’s third string quarterback and clinch the win.

So with Edmonton choking against BC, the win gives us sole possession of third place and raises some interesting questions. If Glenn is out with an injury, the Stampeders have to host Edmonton with their third string quarterback and perhaps Drew Tate if they bring him off the injury list. Predicting what Edmonton will do is not an easy task but if they beat Calgary and we beat BC on Saturday night, we will be tied with Calgary for second, even though Calgary has the edge of winning the season series.

If that works out, then Calgary goes to BC the following week while we host Montreal. If we play our cards right, in two weeks we will be alone in second place and looking at potentially hosting a playoff game.

Let`s start with next weekend. The BC Lions have been on a bit of a role, perhaps winning games they really shouldn`t, but when you are a good team, sometimes winning ugly is not a bad thing. The Riders need to get Brent Hawkins back off his injury and do some creative juggling in their secondary.

Craig Butler will have to remain at safety and even if Matt Williams is out, Shomari Williams at defensive end may not be a bad thing and Zach Evans, a junior player who showed a lot of fire can step in at the line.

One interesting scenario on defense is perhaps the Riders giving more starting time to linebacker Sam Hurl, the draft pick out of Calgary. Hurl is a player who has the ability to be around the ball, something that you cannot teach, and he is in a lot of tackles. If the Riders want to bring in a package with Hurl coming in, he can create some havoc that will be interesting to see.

Getzlaf`s injury may raise some concern, but the fact he played through it wins my respect and should ensure he is in the next game. The Riders are thin at Canadian receiver, even picking up Aaron Hargreaves and I personally do not much faith in his ability to catch. Ideally, if Jordan Sisco is ready to come off the nine game injury list, he would be better suited at inside receiver, but his injury involved bones in his hand which is difficult to get a handle on.

I would hope the Riders continue to shift their offensive formations against BC to create some confusion and perhaps even a mismatch here and there. BC has a tremendous pass rush, so getting Brendon LaBatte back would be crucial in making sure Darian Durant remains in the upright position at quarterback.

That being said, I think it is entirely possible for Saskatchewan to beat BC. A gusty win like they had against Calgary may have inspired this team to believe in themselves and the possibility of moving up in the standings may have the incentive the Riders need to get over their two steps forward one step back season.

This is a young team and Sunday`s game was the second of a three game test against quality teams that will decide if this team is capable of doing more in the playoffs or will be an easy first round out. If they beat BC, they face Toronto, potentially without Ricky Ray, and the Riders 2012 season which was on life support a month ago may actually be getting interesting.