Riders Win Again

Rider Prophet here, fresh of a game that was certainly worthy of being called the Labour Day Classic.

The Riders extended their winning to five games with an exciting 31-26 win over the visiting Bombers. A 27 yard run by Kerry Joseph in the dying seconds of the game proved to be the difference. Even after that TD, the Bombers still made the last three seconds interesting with the rugby... there's a lot of dangerous weapons on the field for the Bombers on any given play, and I know I was on the edge of my seat as I watched the ball go from Glenn to Armstrong to Stegall to Roberts to the most dangerous of them all, Matt Sheridan. When you absolutely have to score on that play, it must be a scary moment when you realize that your options have come down to single-handedly taking on a wall of Rider defenders and pitching the ball to Matt Sheridan.

By the way, when you're scrambling to make a play and hoping that you can spring anyone for a score, why is an offensive lineman the last man back? Is there nowhere else on the field that he would be more useful at that moment?

Mike Washington had a breakout game for the Riders. After an impressive 51 yard catch he capped off the scoring drive with a wide open catch in the end-zone. Not too bad for a guy who was recruited from das German Beer League. Given the Riders’ success recruiting talent from obscure places expect other teams to follow suit. So if you see a short little man on the sidelines at your next pick-up game going through a series of strange facial contortions as he watches your buddy run an interception back for a touchdown, don't be concerned - it's just Danny Maciocia attempting to find a way to salvage his team's season.

This victory should come as no surprise as the Riders have historically dominated the annual showdown. In fact, to make the game more interesting we felt the need to give the Bombers a couple of our players just to even things out. Glenn and Armstrong at least made the game worth watching.

Here's an interesting stat: the Riders have now given up a grand total of 1 point in the last four 4th quarters. Which means that opponents having been scoring about as often as the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Elsewhere in the CFL...

After watching the Montreal/BC game a part of me wondered if Marcel Bellefeuille wasn't calling the offensive plays for BC as they rushed for 275 yards on 36 tries while passing for only 145 on 19 attempts. I also wonder who was calling the defensive plays for Montreal. It was obvious that Jarious Jackson was not a huge passing threat so the ball was constantly placed in the hands of Joe Smith. Now rather than having 7 guys cover Smith to shut him down, the Als decided they better be wary of the passing attack and leave gapping holes in the middle. The results speak for themselves.

Toronto continues to feed on the discarded remains of other teams, adding Stampeder cast off Marc Boerigter this week. They are now only a QB and a couple more receivers away from an all cast-off offense (maybe the rumours that the Argos are interested in Casey Printers aren't just rumours).

Well that's it for now. Enjoy the win Rider fans and get ready to do it all over again in the Banjo Bowl.

Rider Prophet