Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Darian Durant did not care if the Green and White beat the Ottawa Redblacks mostly by field goals.
“It’s not about how you win,” Durant told SportsCage host Barney Shynaruk. “It’s about getting the W. That’s the most important thing.”
Riders’ kicker Brett Lauther was the team’s leading contributor in a 29-16 victory over the Redblacks in Week 17 because he went a perfect seven-for-seven on field goal attempts. Ever since the 33-year-old went 3-for-7 against the Montreal Alouettes on August 8, he has made 18 of his last 19 attempts.
For as good as Lauther was against the Redblacks, the defence might have been better. The Riders intercepted veteran quarterback Jeremiah Masoli three times and sacked him twice. Outstanding defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., Marcus Sayles and Adam Auclair picked off Masoli.
“The defence played exceptionally well,” Durant said. “When you’re dealing with a veteran quarterback like Masoli, who’s been in these situations — to force him to look uncomfortable — he made a ton of mistakes”
Saskatchewan’s offence protected the football while totalling 415 yards of net offence. Trevor Harris completed 27-of-36 passes for 315 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Canadian running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon scored the only TD for the Riders with a 26-yard run to the end zone.
“You have so many guys in and out of the lineup, it’s hard to build a type of identity,” Durant said. “These are pretty much the guys in the lineups that you’re going to go into the postseason with.”
After a seven-game winless skid, the Roughriders are on a two-game winning streak. From his playing days, Durant knows job security is on the line with critical games down the stretch.
“One of the main messages going forward needs to be job security. When you win your chances of having the team together or keeping your job is much higher,” Durant said. “Guys talk to each other and say: ‘Look, if we want to continue to gel together as a team, not just this year, but moving forward, we have to win.’”
Corey Mace and his team control their own fate as far as securing a playoff spot and earning a home postseason game.
The Roughriders hope to continue their momentum when Saskatchewan travels to Edmonton for a match up with the Elks on Saturday. Countdown to Kickoff with Justin Dunk and Wes Cates starts at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the call at 5 p.m. You can listen to all the Riders game day coverage live on 620 CKRM.
