Riders kicking worse than CFL’s God Centre in loss

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Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker Brett Lauther was waiting at his locker after Friday’s CFL game.

He could have ducked out, like other athletes may have after missing four, game-deciding field goals in a 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. He didn’t.

“Single-handedly losing that one for the guys was tough,” Lauther told reporters at Mosaic Stadium, where an announced crowd of 28,123 saw the Riders extend their winless streak to four games and drop to 5-4-1. “Going out and doing that, it’s unacceptable …

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“Guys will try to eat this one for me, but this is just solely on me. There’s no excuses for going out and doing that in a football game.”

While his coach and teammates vouched for him and fans wondered if the Riders might finally bring in someone to challenge for the veteran kicker’s job before Thursday’s road game against the Toronto Argonauts, Lauther rightfully accepted blame for the loss.

All four misses were shorter than 50 yards, one was returned 128 yards for a touchdown and the fourth came on the game’s final play, a 38-yarder that could have forced overtime. With his 3-for-7 outing, Lauther has a league-low success rate of 71.4 per cent.

It was a game the Roughriders controlled from the onset, although they led only 1-0 after the first quarter against the reigning Grey Cup champions. It was the second time in four weeks the Roughriders gift-wrapped a victory in the second half to the Alouettes, who are 9-1 and haven’t lost in the four games quarterback Davis Alexander has replaced former Rider Cody Fajardo, who is apparently recovering from an injury.

Alexander ran 15 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, leaving the Roughriders only 30 seconds to rally before Lauther’s final, attempt-to-tie miss.

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In a game that was only mildly affected by the all-powerful Command Centre until the fourth quarter, the God Centre inherently took over the closing moments with two horribly botched calls: video showed Davis clearly stepped out of bounds during his TD run and an embellished flop by Als receiver Charleston Rambo somehow drew a pass interference penalty against Riders DB Marcus Syles; it wasn’t overturned upon review.

After countless random — and often incorrect — impositions on CFL games, particularly in a 22-22 tie last week between Saskatchewan and the Ottawa Redblacks, TSN’s David Naylor reported the God Centre had been instructed to follow the unobtrusive parameters set up upon its invention 15 years ago. Evidently the God Centre just can’t help itself and is continuing to determine the outcome of CFL games.

Football cannot be perfectly played or officiated. Let the players and on-field officials determine a game’s outcome, For the sake of watchability, maybe it’s just time to say, “Goodbye, God Centre!”

Saskatchewan’s opening point came on Lauther’s first miss, which followed one of several goofy, third-and-short decisions.

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Riders starting quarterback Trevor Harris, who was playing his first game after missing six contests with a knee injury and never handles short-yardage situations, stayed on the field. He tried to lure the Alouettes offside. Of course it didn’t work and cost the Riders a five-yard penalty, which wasn’t a good idea on Lauther’s worst night as a professional.

Despite the missed field goals, strange tactics and numerous coverage misplays by Amari Henderson — who inexplicably replaced Deontai Williams at cornerback several games ago — the Roughriders were winning 17-13 early in the fourth quarter. Harris kept getting better, completing nine straight passes until Shawn Bane Jr.’s horrible drop left the Riders to try another ill-fated field goal. That’s the one James Letcher Jr. returned for a major.

It seemed like everything revolved around missed field goals and God Centre calls.

They overshadowed a somewhat historical event: Riders fullback Thomas Bertrand-Hudon was the first player to don a Guardian cap in a regular-season, professional football game. Players began wearing the puffy, strapped-on caps over their regular-helmets during practices in 2023 and were given the option this year of wearing them in games.

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They’re designed to absorb impact and reduce head injuries. NFL players have worn Guardian caps in preseason games, but nobody in the CFL had donned one until Friday. It’s a proper nod toward safety from a league that is, for the third time this season, ironically sending the Roughriders eastward (to Toronto) for a game on a shortened week against a well-rested opponent coming off a bye.

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