Roughriders advance to West final with win over B.C. Lions

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders have booked their ticket to the CFL’s West final.

In front of 26,125 fans at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, the Roughriders beat the B.C. Lions 28-19 in the West Division semifinal.

Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 26 of 33 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown to Jerreth Sterns while running back A.J. Ouellette added two touchdowns along the ground.

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“I felt like we were loose going into the game and obviously left some stuff out there, could have been better, but playoffs are about survive and advance and we did that,” said Harris.

“It feels good to finally be healthy at the right time going into playoffs,” said Ouellette, who racked up 70 yards on 14 carries with the two scores.

On the other side, Vernon Adams Jr. completed 20 of 33 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had three interceptions with Marcus Sayles, Nelson Lokombo and Rolan Milligan Jr. notching picks for Saskatchewan, with the latter two coming late in the fourth quarter.

“It feels great to get the win in front of Rider Nation,” said Lokombo. “And then to get my first pick, it just means a lot.

“I’ve been through a lot so glad to have been able to be in that position to make a play.”

“Just to be able to close the game out and just get to the next round is amazing,” added Milligan, the West Division’s Most Outstanding defensive player. “I’m proud of my guys for fighting the whole game.”

The Riders will now visit the top-seed Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division final on Nov. 9 in Winnipeg with the winner from there advancing to the 111th Grey Cup in Vancouver on Nov. 17. The Toronto Argonauts will meet the Montreal Alouettes in the East final.

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“I can’t even put (the excitement) into words but at the end of the day, it’s not done,” said Sayles. “This is just our first step and we’ve still got two more to go to get to the Grey Cup and I’m just excited to be part of it.”

While the Roughriders won Saturday’s game, it was B.C. striking first.

The Lions went up 6-0 on the first drive of the game as Adams threw a short pass to Jevon Cottoy who rumbled 56 yards to the end zone before B.C. missed the convert.

Saskatchewan responded with a field goal to make it 6-3 as Brett Lauther connected from 34 yards out to cap off a nine-play, 47-yard drive.

The Riders then tied the game 6-6 in the second quarter with a 25-yard field goal from Lauther after a 13-play, 74-yard drive.

As B.C. looked to respond, Adams avoided a sack and rolled out of the pocket before being intercepted by Sayles near midfield.

And the Riders made the Lions pay for that turnover as Harris connected with Kian Schaffer-Baker and Samuel Emilus for first downs before running back Ouellette plunged into the end zone from one yard to put the Roughriders up 13-6 with the convert.

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With time winding down in the half and wind playing a factor at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, the Lions hemmed the Riders inside their own 10-yard line before Saskatchewan was forced to punt from the end zone.

After a short punt and a no yards penalty, the Lions got the ball at the Saskatchewan 22-yard line. Lions running back William Stanback picked up a first down before Adams hit Justin McInnis in the end zone for the 11-yard score which tied the game 13-13 with the convert.

In the third quarter, the Roughriders went up 20-13 as Ouellette broke a tackle and rumbled 30 yards into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

The Lions responded with a 36-yard field goal to make it 20-16 before Saskatchewan gave B.C. the ball back after a turnover on downs following a failed quarterback sneak near midfield on third-and-one.

As the Lions looked to cut into the lead, Sean Whyte’s 38-yard field goal attempt hit the upright to keep it 20-16 for the Riders as the third quarter came to an end.

After a two-and-out by the Riders, B.C. got right back into scoring range as Adams hit Ayden Eberhardt for a 35-yard gain before the Lions settled for a field goal to make it 20-19.

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As the Roughriders looked to respond, Harris connected with KeeSean Johnson for a 23-yard gain before hitting Emilus — who had a team-high 106 yards — for a 30-yard strike.

Two plays later, Harris tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sterns before the Riders added a two-point convert to go up 28-19.

With the Lions looking to make it a one-score game, Adams threw a deep pass but it was intercepted by Lokombo who returned it 15 yards to Saskatchewan’s 20-yard line.

After a Saskatchewan punt, Adams was looking for another deep shot in the final minute, but he was picked off in the end zone by Milligan to seal the victory for Saskatchewan.

“Just a little bit of momentum and understanding the experience of what the playoff environment feels like,” Riders’ head coach Corey Mace said when asked what he wants to take into the West final against Winnipeg. “Obviously it’s going to be a little bit different now going into somebody else’s barn but just the juice that we felt and the electricity that we felt from the game I thought was important for our group to be able to get their first sample of that.

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“Now we’re going to go into somebody else’s barn and it’s going to be crazy for us … but the intensity, the physicality, the adversity within the game, I thought this was really good for us to be honest with you.”

tshire@postmedia.com

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