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Despite having their hands full with quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., the Saskatchewan Roughriders are heading into a bye week on a positive note.
The Riders survived a furious fourth quarter rally by the B.C. Lions, spearheaded by Adams Jr., and managed to hang on for a 34-29 CFL victory Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.
The Lions trailed 31-13 heading into the fourth quarter but Adams Jr., who directed the Lions to 465 yards of net offence in the contest, almost snatched the victory from the Riders. The Lions scored 16 straight points to close the gap to 31-29 with 2:06 left in the game.
B.C. got one final possession with 1:08 remaining but two incompletions, followed by a sack of Adams Jr., allowed the Riders to escape with the victory.
Fierce competition from Adams Jr.
Adams Jr. finished the game 26 of 41 passing for 455 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Riders head coach Craig Dickenson acknowledged the superb effort by Adams Jr.
“That was the best I’ve seen Vernon Adams play, he was throwing dimes. I mean, we had guys that were covering well, we had people in his face, and he was just throwing bullets,” said Dickenson.
“So, credit to Vernon Adams, that was an outstanding game. I don’t know what he finished with but that’s the best I’ve seen him play in a long, long time.”
B.C. had 149 more yards of net offence than Saskatchewan (465 yard to 319), but when asked, Dickenson felt those numbers were a bit deceptive.
“I think so. I think it’s just Vernon, he was on a hot streak. He just looked outstanding. I thought our defence made a couple of mistakes, we obviously let some guys go in the secondary and we hope to correct that.
“But Vernon didn’t miss the throw and we’ve got to give Vernon a lot of credit for that. He was hot and we were just trying to slow him down.”
Dickenson added: “The defence did answer the bell on the last possession and got the stop for us that allowed us to kick the field goal to go up by five points. The defence finished strong, but it was it was a struggle in the fourth for sure. That kind of say volumes about them.”
New beginnings
Jake Dolegala made his first start this season at quarterback for the Riders, moving up the depth chart following injuries to Trevor Harris (fractured knee) and Mason Fine (hamstring).
The Riders got off to a quick start following an early Lions turnover. On B.C.’s second offensive play, Saskatchewan’s Pete Robertson sacked Adams Jr., forcing a fumble that Anthony Lanier II recovered. The Riders took over on the B.C. 31-yard line and Dolegala quickly took advantage of the turnover.
He hit Samuel Emilus for 16 yards and followed up with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to give the Riders a 7-0 lead. The touchdown reception was the first of the season for Schaffer-Baker who was making his 2023 debut after off-season hip surgery.
After Jamal Morrow scored on an eight-yard run at the 4:43 mark of the third quarter, Dolegala combined with rookie Jereth Sterns on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Riders a 21-10 lead with 3:10 left in the half. It was the first CFL touchdown for Sterns.
Saskatchewan took a 31-13 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter on a remarkable reception by Emilus. B.C. defensive back Marcus Sayles appeared to be in position for an easy interception on the deep pass down the left sideline, but Emilus jumped above Sayles and grabbed the ball, rolling into the end zone for the major.
Dolegala admitted the pass was a 50-50 ball that he hoped Emilus could come down with.
“The halfback was coming over and I was like, `Screw it. I’ll just put the ball up there.’ Sam has got a 45-inch vertical leap and I know he’s going to go up and get it,” said Dolegala. “The easiest thing to do is to just give them a shot and trust them that they’re going to come down with it, and you saw that was Sam.”
Emilus, on the other hand, didn’t consider the pass to be a 50-50 ball.
“For me, there’s no 50-50 balls in the air. I’ve got to make the play. That’s what I get paid for,” said Emilus, who finished the game with five receptions for 106 yards and one touchdown.
Dickenson couldn’t say enough about Emilus after the game.
“It was one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. I thought it was possibly an interception waiting to happen, but he just went up and over and somehow caught that thing at its highest point,” said Dickenson.
“He got the game ball for the offence. I thought Sam played the best game I’ve seen him play as a pro.”
Dolegala completed 18 of 29 passes for 239 yards with three touchdowns.
The Riders defence had five sacks on the night with Miles Brown, Larry Dean, C.J. Reavis, Robertson and Lanier II getting one sack each. Mathieu Betts had one sack for the Lions, giving him 11 on the season.
Alexander Hollins led the Lions with seven catches for 161 yards and one touchdown. Lucky Whitehead added 122 yards on five catches, including a 78-yard touchdown reception.
The win improves the Riders to 5-5, while the Lions drop to 7-3. B.C. entered the game with a 6-1 record against West Division opponents this season.
The Lions return to action on Aug. 26 when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Riders enter a bye week before their Labour Day Classic tilt with the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 3.
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