The last time the two teams faced one another, which was just last week of course, the Alouettes of Montreal defeated the Riders 37 to 13. This time around though, and yes, after much doubt, the Riders came back to defeat the Als by a score of 41 to 20.
The big question going into Saturday’s rematch between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes was can the Riders turn it around and take the win after suffering such a demoralizing loss in Montreal the week before. That question is of course well founded as the Riders did have a bad game, and we know from the past that the Riders take their losses very much to heart, and they can get emotional as QB, Cody Fajardo did last season at the tail end at a press conference.
And that’s because he takes the game seriously, which is what fans appreciate after all. It showed this week in the rematch between the two teams that Fajardo and company take the game extremely seriously; it was just another example of how much the game of football—specifically Canadian football—means to them collectively…and yes, as I’ve already stated, dear readers, they pulled off a win and an impressive one at that.
And where was all that motivation found? In the recesses of the collective souls of the team? Perhaps. But one specific aspect motivated Fajardo and the team the most, and it came down to what they felt in the end was a sign of disrespect from Montreal. Here’s some of what Cody Fajardo had to say on that specifically:
“We felt a little disrespected as an offence because they chose to kick off to us again. We took it personally so we went out there and it kind of motivated us on offence. It got us rolling; we drove down the field, scored and kind of gave us the momentum back…
We got really simple on offence. And I think if you look at our team and our offence especially, I don’t think there’s maybe three guys on the offence right now that have had two full seasons as starters…
Being simple and just playing fast sometimes helps and Coach Maas did a great job of simplifying our game plan…We went out there and we executed really well.”
via CTV
Craig Dickenson, head coach for the Riders, challenged the team at halftime, questioning their character of all things. That in conjunction with the above seemed to be enough to light that necessary fire beneath the team and all the way to an impressive victory.
“One thing we talked about at halftime was to play the way we’re capable of and see what the score is at the end. … I challenged them specifically at halftime — `Show me your character the second half and win, lose or draw, play as hard as you can and leave it all out there.’ They came out and really did a good job…”
via CTV (link above)
And of the game…
It was during their first 3 possessions in that 3rd quarter that the Riders scored touchdowns. That brought them to a lead of 32 to 13. And despite missing quite a few key players due to injury, the team performed well overall, and yes, even despite all of the new starters, which of course is promising for obvious reasons.
In the end, for the Riders, the game proves that when the proper motivation is there, anything is achievable…even coming together to take a win with new starters all over the field and with a QB that can seemingly work with anyone out there.
The game showed also that the Saskatchewan Roughriders can come from a demoralizing loss, suffer loads of injuries, and still come back and take an all-important win. It sends the right message in the end, which for Riders fans and the team themselves, of course means a heck of a lot.
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