Rough ride: Riders lose seventh straight, eliminated from playoff contention

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ season is over after a late fourth-quarter drive by the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.

While the Riders led for much of the game, Toronto took a 29-26 lead with just 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter on a rushing touchdown from Dan Adeboboye. The Argos made that lead stand up en route to the victory in front of an announced crowd of 24,158 at Mosaic Stadium.

The loss was Saskatchewan’s seventh in a row; its last victory came on Sept. 3.

After the Calgary Stampeders beat the B.C. Lions 41-16 on Friday to tie the Roughriders for the third and final playoff spot in the CFL’s West Division, Saskatchewan needed a win or a tie against the Argos to keep its post-season hopes alive.

“I think we had really high expectations and high hopes this year and I know we worked really hard this off-season to try and get the right guys with the right character and the right skill set and I think we did that for the most part,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson. “I just felt like we were that close the whole season and just couldn’t, for some reason, get over the hump.

“I feel bad for the men in that locker room because they worked their tails off this year and came to work every day with a good attitude … We just didn’t do enough this year — didn’t coach well enough, didn’t play well enough at times and it just didn’t turn out like we hoped.”

By losing its final regular-season game, Saskatchewan (6-12-0) will not be able to qualify for the post-season, with the Stamps (6-11-0) claiming third place because they won the season series with the Riders.

Saskatchewan has a bye next week in the final week of the regular season and won’t be able to overtake the Stamps, who finish their regular-season slate Friday against the first-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

It was the second straight season the Riders have ended their season with a seven-game losing streak and missed the playoffs.

“It’s very frustrating. I know a lot of the games we were in it but it just came down to not being able to execute situationally and so I think that was the main part,” said running back Jamal Morrow, who was on last year’s team as well.

“It’s disappointing because we have such a great group of guys in here. We had a lot of injuries and battled a lot so it’s disappointing to see that’s the result we had.”

For defensive tackle Micah Johnson, it was the first time he has missed the playoffs in his 10-season CFL career.

“It’s pretty much a microcosm of the season. I felt like guys played hard and gave it what we had, it’s just mistakes you can’t have,” Johnson said. “It’s tough. I felt like we should have had this one. This was a tough one to swallow. It’s the first time in my career I haven’t made the playoffs. I don’t know how to feel — it’s crazy.”

Dickenson said that ultimately it falls on him as the head coach.

“It was a different team (this year) but we didn’t win more games. We thought the formula was to get a little better character-wise, which I felt we did, and we tried to put a little more emphasis on the offensive line, which I felt like we did, but it didn’t translate into wins,” Dickenson said.

“At the end of the day, this season was a failure. We didn’t get to where we wanted to, which was to get into the playoffs and compete for a championship. We weren’t able to do that so give us an F on that.”

Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson and his team lost seven games in a row and have a 6-12 record for the second straight season. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Dickenson is in the final year of his contract so a decision on his future will be made, possibly by general manager Jeremy O’Day. But O’Day also is in the final year of his deal with question marks around his future as well.

“The people that make the decisions will make the decisions and I respect whatever direction they decide to go,” Dickenson said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute here and I hope to continue to coach here, but if that’s not the way to go, I leave with no regrets.”

Riders quarterback Jake Dolegala threw for 436 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions Saturday, with his second pick virtually sealing the defeat late in the fourth quarter.

Dolegala said the past seven games have been “brutal” for a team that was so close to clinching a playoff spot.

“We were in it for a while there and it just felt like nothing would really go our way. It was a combination of a lot of things — each game was different but in some aspects, it felt the same. It just wasn’t good enough football,” Dolegala said.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty (in the locker room). A bunch of guys are on contract years and you just never know. This profession is a revolving door and there’s always someone out there looking to replace you. Guys are not only playing for each other but they are playing for themselves in that aspect.”

Dolegala is one of those players who will need to figure out what their future holds as 2023 was the final year of his deal.

“It means a lot (to start for Saskatchewan) and the fact that this organization saw something in me and gave me an opportunity, I’ll thank them forever and I’ll remember this season forever,” Dolegala said. “It’s pretty special being a starting quarterback of a professional team, especially this one with how much pride and history it has.”

Short-yardage quarterback Antonio Pipkin added a rushing touchdown on a one-yard plunge.

Riders receivers Sam Emilus and Shawn Bane Jr. both eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the game. Emilus had six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown while Bane Jr. hauled in eight catches for 136 yards.

“It’s super-humbling. I’m grateful and glad it came on a big play so it was pretty cool,” Bane Jr. said on reaching his milestone.

Kian Schaffer-Baker had the other touchdown for Saskatchewan, which got two field goals and two converts from Brett Lauther.

Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw for 275 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the game before he was taken out after the third quarter. Cameron Dukes came on in relief and threw for 113 yards.

Argos running back AJ Ouellette had a rushing touchdown in the game.

With kicker Boris Bede not dressing for the game, global kicker Alfredo Lozada connected on three of four field-goal attempts. He was also good on two of three convert tries.

Saskatchewan will now enter an off-season in which changes will be expected after another 6-12 season.

“I’ve been trying to not get too sad early but my first year here, it was a pleasure to meet a ton of these guys and coaches and staff. It was really awesome,” Bane Jr. said.