By Joel Gasson

Riders edge Eskimos 24-17 in regular season finale

Nov 9, 2014 | 7:28 AM

The Riders sent their fans home happy from Mosaic Stadium one last time in 2014 with a 24-17 win over the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night.

The win not only made sure the Riders would finish the season with a winning record of 10-8, not only did it end their five game losing streak but it also clinched the Green and White third place in the West Division meaning they won’t be crossing over to the East Division for the post-season.

“Whether it was East or West, I think the team was prepared to go either, but it’s always good to say in your own division,” said head coach Corey Chamblin.”

All along Chamblin has been a firm believer that momentum from one week doesn’t necessary move into the next. So, he’s was never looking to win this game in-order to build that momentum heading into the post-season, usually noting that the team lost their regular season finale last season to Edmonton and went on to win the Grey Cup.

Just because the momentum doesn’t matter though, it doesn’t mean that a win on Saturday night wasn’t a good thing for his football team.

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“It feels pretty good; I think that’s the biggest accomplishment. Working so hard for some many weeks and regardless of how we got it, we end up with a team win,” said Chamblin.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t things to work on going forward still as the Riders nearly blew a big lead for the second straight week as the Eskimos did out-score the Riders 13-8 in the second half and really dominated the fourth quarter.

“Regardless of who we have in that game we have to finish,” said Chamblin. “We can’t be excited because we had the lead for three quarters or three-and-a-half quarters. We have to finish.”

Tough decisions ahead

One thing the Riders accomplished in this game was getting a good look at some of the other players on the roster that don’t play on a normal basis.

This was important as it will give the coaching staff a gage on who they can can’t on in the playoffs if need be and perhaps who they can’t.

Defensively, defensive backs Woodny Turenne and Marshay Green had big games. Turenne and a couple of tackles and a pick while Green had five tackles.

This season has been an adventure for Turenne as he was originally cut in the off-season then brought back to Saskatchewan and watched from the side-lines most of the season.

“It’s been a long time coming. It’s all about making plays in this league,” said Turenne. “I just strive to be the best every time I step on the field and my opportunity came up today.”

Running back Steven Miller was another guy who made his case for being on the playoff roster by rushing for 71 yards on 11 carries in his second game in green.

While the decisions may have been made tougher on Saturday, Chamblin is perfectly fine with that.

“Great problem to have when guys are playing playoff football,” he said.

Number Crunching

Kerry Joseph finished the game five-for-16 with 71 yards passing; Tino Sunseri threw the only touchdown of the game for the Riders to Rob Bagg.

Bagg finished the game with 65 yards and that touchdown to be the team’s top receiver. Bagg finishes the season as the CFL’s top Canadian receiver with 738 yards. Bagg is the Riders leading receiver in 2014.

Anthony Allen was the team’s top rusher with 81-yards along the ground. Allen did take a hard hit late in the game but said he was fine after the game.

Macho Harris led all defensive players with 8 tackles. Rod Williams had the team’s other interception.

The Riders will return to the practice field on Wednesday as they being to prepare for the West Semi-Final in Edmonton.

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