Roughriders held without a TD in loss to Bombers in West final

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ season ended for the second straight year at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium.

Roughriders fans who were among Sunday’s sold-out crowd of 33,350 were left in stunned silence when quarterback Cody Fajardo’s final pass hit the crossbar, cementing a 20-13 loss to the Blue Bombers in the CFL’s West Division final.

Winnipeg beat the host Roughriders 23-18 in the West semifinal in 2018.

As a result of Sunday’s outcome, Winnipeg advances to the 2019 Grey Cup game, which is set for Nov. 24 at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.

The Bombers are to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who downed the Edmonton Eskimos 36-16 in the East Division final at Tim Hortons Field.

“That’s probably one of the craziest endings that I’ve ever had and I think people have ever witnessed,” Fajardo said following the loss. “I just remember hitting that thing and the stadium was complete dead silence and I could just hear the echo of the iron when the ball hit it. It was just a rush of emotions that went over me.”

With 43 seconds remaining, a 23-yard punt return by Marcus Thigpen set the Roughriders up at the Winnipeg 37-yard line.

Fajardo led a drive that reached the five-yard line after slotback Kyran Moore hauled in a tipped ball along the sidelines.

But that’s as close as the Roughriders got on their final drive, with Fajardo getting sacked followed by two incompletions — including the final one off the bar.

“I just told (head coach Craig Dickenson) the crossbar is 80 per cent air and 20 per cent iron and I hit it,” Fajardo said. “It’s a pretty sick feeling in my stomach just the fact that the play didn’t get played out. When you hit the crossbar it’s a dead ball and I felt like we had a guy open.

“As an offence, we didn’t deserve to win that game. We got down there inside the five(-yard line) I believe three times and couldn’t score a touchdown.”

The Roughriders ran 12 plays inside Winnipeg’s 15-yard line in the game and all they could muster on the scoreboard was six points from a pair of 13-yard field goals from kicker Brett Lauther.

Lauther added two more field goals (42 and 33 yards) and punter Jon Ryan had a single to make up the scoring for the first-place Roughriders.

After the game, Fajardo revealed that he was playing with two torn oblique muscles.

“Our medical staff did a great job doing everything they could and I felt like I did everything I could to play,” said Fajardo, who didn’t play in Saskatchewan’s regular-season finale due to the injury.

“I felt like I was effective and I didn’t hold the team back as much as I thought.”

He completed 27 of 41 pass attempts for 366 yards and an interception. Moore caught nine passes for 119 yards and Naaman Roosevelt added seven catches for 87 yards.

Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros was 17-for-25 passing for 267 yards and one touchdown. Collaros started the season with Saskatchewan before being traded July 31 to the Toronto Argonauts, who then shipped him to Winnipeg at the CFL’s trade deadline on Oct. 9.

“I’m pretty excited,” Collaros said when asked how he felt about heading to the Grey Cup.

Collaros went to the Grey Cup in his rookie season in 2012 with Toronto and in 2014 as a member of the Tiger-Cats. He hasn’t been back since.

“It’s a precious thing and you’ve really got to cherish it. It’s not easy to do,” he said.

Darvin Adams caught four passes for 93 yards and former Roughrider Nic Demski added five receptions for 72 yards for the Bombers.

Kenny Lawler (26-yard pass from Collaros) scored Winnipeg’s touchdown. Justin Medlock kicked four field goals, a convert and a single for the Bombers, who placed third in the West in the regular-season standings.

“(Our) locker room is hurting right now. We felt like we played good enough to win and it was difficult to put it into words but we’re very disappointed,” Dickenson said.

Inside the locker room, defensive back Ed Gainey said the loss stings.

“We worked hard all season to get to the Western Conference (final). You know how it goes — you go to the playoffs and you either win or go home,” Gainey said.

“It just hurts that we at least can’t even give our fans a Grey Cup (appearance) or even a win when we need it the most.”

After the heartbreaking way the 2019 season ended for the Roughriders, Fajardo had one more message for Rider Nation.

“Stay with us,” he said. “I know it’s tough now but the future looks bright and I’m excited to be a part of this organization.”

This will be the Bombers’ first appearance in a Grey Cup game since 2011, when they were in the East Division. That season, the Bombers lost 34-23 to the B.C. Lions at BC Place.

Winnipeg hasn’t won a CFL title since 1990, when it beat the Eskimos 50-11.

Hamilton hasn’t been in the league final since 2014 and hasn’t won a Grey Cup championship since 1999. That season, the Tiger-Cats beat the Calgary Stampeders 32-21.