Dealing with a Nightmare defeat isn’t easy, but Cody Fajardo believes the Saskatchewan Roughriders are up to the task.
The Riders, in a short week, were trampled 37–13 by the Montreal Alouettes on June 23. It was a game that started badly for the Riders. Montreal’s Chandler Worth took the opening kickoff 88 yards for the touchdown.
Fajardo admitted that the riders, who will host the ALS in Regina on Saturday, were a bit overwhelmed from the start and could not find a way to turn the tide.
“They drive back the early kickoff and the self-doubt starts to creep in,” Fajardo said. “You’re already seven points down. Then in our first game of the game we had some miscommunication and a missed assignment which was almost a pick-six. And then the next was a throw to Shaq (Evans) and he probably Was out of bounds by half an inch so we go out two more. Then they get a field goal and you’re looking at an early 10-0 deficit and we only had two plays. As an offense, taking it away It is difficult.”
The offensive crisis was exacerbated by an impressive performance by the Montreal defense, which recorded eight sacks and three interceptions.
It was the first game for the Riders without starting center Dan Clarke, who suffered a torn fibula in a 26–16 win over the Edmonton Elks on June 18. With Clarke sidelined, rookie Logan Bandy stepped into the lineup against the Alouettes and took just one practice to prepare for his first CFL debut.
With practice time crunched and the strength of the Montreal defence, Bandy’s inexperience resulted in a long evening for the Riders.
Riders head coach Craig Dickenson feels the offensive line should not bear the brunt of the blame for eight sacks.
“I think our offensive line did better than the eight sacks indicated,” Dickenson said. “I thought he competed hard and stayed in front of the defensive linemen for the most part, but it’s a good defensive front.
“He did a good job of hiding a few things and forced us to hang the ball a little longer than we wanted to. And yes, Bundy did make some mistakes so it was a perfect storm but it wasn’t all on the line.” It wasn’t all on the quarterback. And it wasn’t all on the back, he shared the responsibility.
“Now we have a fair amount of time to prepare things, to clean things up and we are looking forward to be a better team and play better than us.”
Riders have dropped 11 sacks in the last two matches after not allowing a sack in Week 1. This is the biggest two-game total for the Riders since October 2016, when they dropped 12 sacks to BC and Montreal.
It could be a bit easier for the Riders on Saturday as Montreal will be without defensive lineman Almondo Sewell, who is unavailable due to a personal problem. The 35-year-old veteran is one of the league’s top defensive players and recorded two sacks in last week’s win.
In addition to Clark’s injury, the Riders offense is also dealing with the absence of Evans, who suffered an ankle fracture in the first quarter of last week’s loss. This is the second consecutive season that Evans has been ruled out with a serious injury. He missed seven games in 2021 with a broken leg.
Evans is expected to take six to eight weeks off due to an ankle injury and will be replaced this week by Regina’s Mitch Picton.
Montreal Alouettes (1-2) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-1)
Saturday, Mosaic Stadium
ALS by the Numbers: Moving into Week 4, Montreal had the leading rusher, receiver and scorer. Jesharun Antavi has 172 rushing yards, Eugene Lewis has 307 receiving yards and kicker David Kote has 40 points.
Sack Attack: Riders defensive end Pete Robertson leads the CFL with five sacks and one sack in all three games this season. As a rookie in 11 games last season, Robertson collected five sacks in a backup role.
Best saves to last: The Riders have scored 69 points in three games this season, 39 of which came in the fourth quarter. They have combined 30 points in the other three quarters.
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