Even The Riders Get Lucky Sometimes (Thanks Tom Petty RIP)
Even the most ardent Rider fan would admit that entering the fourth quarter last Friday against Ottawa, the Riders would be lucky to pull out a touchdown, never mind a win.
Ottawa had exposed the Riders incredible lack of run defense with William Powell rushing for a team record 187 yards but then something happened in the fourth quarter. The Riders got a punt return for a touchdown and then the Redblacks decided to let third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley throw the ball.
Ron Lancaster once taught us that if something is working, keep going with it until the other team makes you stop and try something else. Maybe Ottawa wanted to not seem like a one dimensional team by giving Powell the ball, but the Riders were not stopping him, and by giving the ball over to the Riders by bouncing it off the turf in some passes last seen at Sea World, Ottawa gave the Riders the game and thanks to former Bomber Quincy McDuffie muffing a punt and allowing the Riders to score a Rouge, the Riders are now staring the prospect of maybe heading to Winnipeg for the western semi-final.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.