Riders win turnover-filled West Final thanks to superb game plans on both sides of the ball

CALGARY—While the Saskatchewan Roughriders wound up claiming a decisive 35-13 victory in Sunday's West Final, this also felt like a game that the hometown Stampeders lost. Saskatchewan did plenty well here, particularly with running back Kory Sheets picking up 177 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries (an average of 6.3 yards per carry) and quarterback Darian Durant completing 24 of 30 passes (80 per cent) for 280 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. It was also a game filled with Calgary mistakes, though; on the day, Stampeders' players committed five fumbles (losing four) and added two interceptions for good measure. However, that wasn't all merely bad play from Calgary; it was also about superb execution of the Riders' game plan on both offence and defence. On offence, Saskatchewan stuck with the run even when it wasn't working early on, and that paid big dividends late in the game. On defence, Riders' defensive back Dwight Anderson said those Stampeders' errors weren't merely chance, as his team went all-out to force turnovers in this one.

"It was a mindset," Anderson said after the game. "Coach [and defensive coordinator] Richie Hall, he was just preaching that we need to get back to getting the ball, getting our hands on the ball. We knew it was a cold-weather game, so the ball was going to be slippery, and the guys out there with sleeves out there, the ball won't sit well on their sleeves. You could see, like when, I think it was 31 out there, Joe West? [#31 is Jeff Fuller, not West, but he had a fumble.] When he caught the ball in his arms, it just slipped right out. We knew we had chances to get the ball, we just had to go after it."

That aggressive approach played dividends for the Riders, and it was about more than just targeting the ball. Often on defence, they went blitz-heavy and gambled to jump routes. It cost them some big plays, and often put the Stampeders into good field position, but Saskatchewan never was hurt by that too much, as they came up with plenty of big plays of their own afterwards to force two-and-outs and field-goal attempts. Granted, this wasn't all about what the Riders' defence did, as the cold conditions played a significant role (and several of the fumbles happened without a hit), but Saskatchewan defenders flew to the ball early and often and were always in position to recover. If not for that, this might have been a lot closer.

Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin gave plenty of credit to his defence afterwards, and deservedly so. In addition to all the turnovers, they also held star Calgary RB Jon Cornish to 67 yards on nine carries (7.4 yards per carry, but that's padded by one long 32-yard run; without it, he picked up just 4.3 yards per carry), kept Kevin Glenn to 185 passing yards (with a 53.8 per cent completion rate) before he was pulled at the intermission, and held his replacement Drew Tate to 90 yards (with a 45.5 per cent completion rate).

"The whole team did an excellent job, but the defence rebounding from last week [where B.C. put up lots of yards and points, especially early on] was the biggest thing, and shutting down Jon Cornish, one of the best backs in the league," Chamblin said.

Of course, this was closer than the final score indicated (a late Saskatchewan touchdown boosted that), and the Riders needed their own offence to come through. It certainly did, though. Durant played the same sort of hyper-efficient game he did in the West semifinal, orchestrating numerous long drives and making each pass count (an 80 per cent completion rate definitely indicates that), and Sheets delivered one of the best rushing performances of the year. When he criticized Cornish and talked up himself as the best back in the league a few weeks ago, it seemed like hyperbole (especially considering his lower yardage totals and lower yards per carry average), but Sheets was huge on Sunday, both at utilizing excellent blocking from the Riders' offensive line and at gaining crucial yards even after first contact. He had his own coach believing in him, certainly.

"He played with such emotion and he played like he was the best back in the league," Chamblin said. "Kory's an excellent back, and he showed up for us and did some good things for us, and he helped win that game."

The Riders' ground game wasn't working that well early on, though. However, Chamblin said he was convinced it was going to turn around, and he didn't think of abandoning the run.

"It was just to stick with it until we get this right," he said. "We knew we had a good game plan and we stuck to it."

That game plan certainly worked, on both sides of the ball. Saskatchewan's aggressive defence created turnovers, while their relentless offence kept pounding away and sustaining drives. The Stampeders will certainly be thinking of what could have been in the weeks ahead, as many of their mistakes were preventable, but this was also about excellent execution from the Riders. For that, their reward is to play for the Grey Cup at home against East winner Hamilton next week. We'll see what game plan they draw up for that one, but if it works as well as this one did, Sunday could be a day for celebration in Regina.