Riders edge Elks 29-24, clinch second in the West Division

Saskatchewan Roughriders fans will get one more opportunity to watch the CFL team play at Mosaic Stadium this season.

The Riders eked out another close victory against the Edmonton Elk, winning 29-24 at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday. The win clinched a home playoff game for Saskatchewan, which will host the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division semifinal on Nov. 28.

Before that, the Roughriders (9-4) are to close out the regular season next Saturday against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-6).

While it’s a notch in the win column, Riders head coach Craig Dickenson was blunt in his assessment of his team’s play.

“The message to the locker room was, ‘Enjoy the win but let’s think about how we can get better,’ because I don’t think we’re playing great football,” Dickenson said. “We have to play better if we expect to go anywhere in the playoffs, there’s no question about that.

“We’re finding ways to win so I don’t want to discount that, but the reality was that wasn’t a great performance out there tonight and if we play like that in the playoffs, it’s going to be a short run for us.”

The win was the Riders’ fourth in a row and the five-point difference was tied for the largest margin of victory during the winning streak. The Riders beat Calgary 20-17 on Oct. 23, the Montreal Alouettes 19-14 on Oct. 30, and Edmonton 19-17 on Nov. 5.

“Everyone wants to win convincingly but at the end of the day, you just want to win football games and that’s what we did. We found a way to win and we found a way to put it all together when we needed it to,” Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo said.

“(These close wins) build character for the team and not one guy panicked on the sideline because we’ve been in that situation time and time again.”

Slotback Duke Williams played a major role for the Riders in Saturday’s win, recording eight catches for 146 yards and a touchdown — his first in the CFL since 2018 when he played for Edmonton.

“I needed (my breakout) to be this game. I didn’t want it to be next week, I needed it to be right now so I can get into a rhythm,” Williams said. “Me and Cody were on the same page all night long and shoutout to Cody and shoutout to my O-linemen. Without them, none of it would have been possible.

“Once I catch a pass early in the game, I’ll always have a good game. That’s just how I am. I just wanted to come through for my teammates. It’s not about me. I sacrifice myself for my teammates. It’s not about me. I just do my job.”

There was a scary moment for the talented slotback who appeared to injure his left knee in the fourth quarter.

“My knee was kind of burning so that’s why I was laying there for a minute to let it calm down. My adrenaline was pumping and I was kind of getting emotional because I thought I tore something and if it was serious, I wouldn’t be able to return,” Williams said.

“We’ve got business to handle. Whatever I’ve got to do to get on this field, that’s what’s going to happen.”

Williams returned to the game, with Fajardo breathing a sigh of relief to see his top target for the game return.

“He’s built different. He calls himself a dog and he proved it right there,” Fajardo said. “It was a scary injury. I had front-row seats to see it and his knee just got hung up. When I saw him jog out onto the field, that was a sprinkle of Jesus for sure.”

Fajardo completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Williams, wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker and fullback Alexandre Dupuis caught the scores. It was Dupuis’ first CFL touchdown.

Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed 20 of 30 pass attempts for 224 yards and three touchdowns — two to receiver Jalen Tolliver and one to fullback Tanner Green.

Riders kicker Brett Lauther was perfect on both his field-goal attempts and Elks kicker Sean Whyte was good on his only try. Riders punter Kaare Vedvik kicked one punt into the end zone for a single point.

Defensive end A.C. Leonard had a sack in the game, tying him with fellow Riders defensive end Jonathan Woodard for the CFL lead with 10 in 2021.

Linebacker Deon Lacey felt like the defence played a lot better than in the previous meeting, when Edmonton scored 14 points in the final quarter.

“I give my hat off to the D-line doing their thing and make it easier for the secondary guys to make plays on the ball,” Lacey said.

There is one concern for the defence ahead of the showdown against Hamilton: The health of safety Loucheiz Purifoy.

Purifoy didn’t come out for the second half of the game after suffering an ankle injury. Dickenson said he doesn’t know how serious it is.

There was also a weird situation to start the second half for the Riders as Dickenson had to burn a timeout because there weren’t enough players in the huddle for the half’s opening kickoff.

“First time in my career I had to call a timeout to start a second half because I didn’t have 12 guys. I’m not happy with the team about that and they know that,” Dickenson said. “Maybe I spoke with them a little bit too late … They’ve got to get out and play.

“We had a couple of guys milling about in the locker room and using the bathroom. All of a sudden the clock goes to zero and I don’t have 12 guys in the huddle so I had to call a timeout to get the right people out there. It was an embarrassing moment for me as a coach and I hope the players are embarrassed by it too because that’s not a good way to start a second half of a key game.”

The Riders’ game against Hamilton won’t affect their standing in the West Division so Dickenson said he and general manager Jeremy O’Day will need to look at who they can give a week off before the playoff game.

“There are salary cap implications. You can’t sit a bunch of guys because you’ve got to take on a bunch more salaries for one game. I do know this: We’re going to try to rest the guys that need rest whether it be injuries or just wear and tear and try to play a few new faces,” Dickenson said.