Calgary Stampeders 8 Saskatchewan Roughriders 49 (July 8, 2007)
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0 commentsAsked when he last threw four touchdown passes in a single game, Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Kerry Joseph thought for a moment and listed a few possibilities.
“It’s been a while,’’ Joseph said finally, knowing he could now list Sunday, July 8, 2007, as his latest four-TD outing.
Joseph’s four touchdown passes and two rushing majors by tailback Wes Cates, who was debuting against his former CFL team, gave the Roughriders a 49-8 victory against the Calgary Stampeders. The offensive explosion helped the Roughriders improve to 2-0 as they await the Grey Cup-champion B.C. Lions, another undefeated team, who visit Saskatchewan on Friday.
Jason Armstead caught Joseph’s first touchdown pass, a 35-yarder that capped Saskatchewan a seven-play, 104-yard drive on its first possession, sparking some excitement from the crowd of 25,862 inside Mosaic Stadium.
“The best part of this offence is having game-breakers who can do things in a snap,’’ said Riders slotback D.J. Flick, who caught third-quarter touchdown passes of nine and 35 yards and led all receivers with six catches for 115 yards.
“We feed off of it. Jason Armstead started it with his touchdown, then Matt Dominguez went and got one. We just keep feeding and feeding and feeding. As long as we continue to do this throughout the season, we’re going to be a very potent offence.’’
Flick’s second touchdown catch was highlight-reel vintage, as he reached around Stampeders defensive back Jermaine Chatman while falling in the end zone and somehow grabbed the football.
“I missed D.J. on one a little earlier,’’ said Joseph, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 244 yards with one interception. “I told him I was going to come back to him because I owed him one. He made some great catches, but I didn’t see that one. I was on my back and saw him come down with it. I want to see that one on film.’’
Calgary (1-1) took an 8-7 lead on a four-yard touchdown pass from Henry Burris to Joffrey Reynolds, a convert by Sandro DeAngelis and a single by punter Burke Dales. Calgary didn’t score again, convincing head coach Tom Higgins to replace Burris with Akili Smith late in the third quarter.
“They didn’t do jack to us,’’ said Burris, a former Rider who once again was booed by the crowd while completing 12 of 25 passes for 124 yards with one TD and one interception.
“We did it to ourselves. You can’t drop balls, you can’t have any turmovers. It doesn’t matter what anybody else does. It’s all about us in this locker room: If we come out and play, we’ll win the game. We didn’t play, they played a good game and that’s why we got our butts kicked.’’
Saskatchewan took a 15-8 lead when Dominguez caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Joseph in the second quarter, Cates scored a six-yard major and Luca Congi had two converts, a single and a 39-yard field goal to put Saskatchewan ahead 25-8 at halftime.
Cates added a fourth-quarter touchdown on a five-yard run, minutes after Congi had kicked his second field goal. Cates was playing his first game for the Roughriders since being traded two weeks ago from Calgary for offensive lineman Rob Lazeo; he shared time with new tailback Henri Childs.
“I had a feeling I might play a bit, but the coaches left me in the dark,’’ said Cates, who had 11 carries for 58 yards, two receptions for 10 yards and two special teams tackles. “I got half a game and a lot of special teams. I was working on my breathing, but it didn’t show. I was just trying to go hard out there.’’
Congi’s field goal and Flick’s majors were set up by turnovers -- a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Luc Mullinder, an interception by cornerback Airabin Justin and a recovered punt return by linebacker Maurice Lloyd. Riders cornerback James Johnson had a fourth-quarter interception.
“Every defence looks for turnovers,’’ said Lloyd. “We challenge ourselves every day in practice to get at least one or two interceptions and we work on forcing fumbles, stripping the ball. The offence knows we’re out there working for them just like we know they’re working for us.
“We have our struggles in practices and struggles in the locker room. I don’t think any family goes without struggles. But we’re becoming very tight as a family.’’
courtesy of canada.com
Date
July 8, 2007
