Roughriders Game 18 at Edmonton (11/4/11):

The Riders’ nightmare season came to a close at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Friday night. Earlier in the week, Ken Miller announced that he was retiring as Head Coach and VP of Football Operations after this game. Although Miller is stepping down on a low note, it’s hard to top what he’s done for the Riders in his tenure as coach, leading the team to back-to-back Grey Cup appearances. It’s hard to believe that the Riders are out of the playoffs this year and that we won’t see them hit the field until next summer. There is a three-way tie atop the west between Edmonton, BC and Calgary, all at 10-7.

It was a chilly night at Commonwealth (-5°C/23°F) as the Riders won the toss and started out at their 24. Ryan Dinwiddie quickly hit Dallas Baker on the right sideline for 6 and then Wes Cates pushed ahead for a first down. Dinwiddie moved the ball to midfield before the drive stalled and Chris Milo punted away with Ricky Ray and the Esks’ offense starting out at the 17. Jerome Messam pounded up the middle for 5 but Ray’s first pass was way off target and Edmonton’s Damon Duval punted out. The Riders started out again at midfield and Dinwiddie’s long pass intended for Getzlaf was broken up by Roderick Williams and Milo punted away again, pinning the Esks at the 1. Ray connected with Adarius Bowman for 16 and then hit Messam out of the backfield for another first down. On second down, Ray’s pass over the middle was tipped by Jerrell Freeman and nearly intercepted. Cole Bergquist replaced Dinwiddie on the next Riders’ series and threw two bad passes. After the Esks went two n’ out, the Riders got the ball back at the 40. Getzlaf quickly picked up 6 on a pass in the left slot. Dinwiddie then over threw Getzlaf and Milo punted out again. Bowman then made a nice leaping catch, but he pushed off and was hit with a pass interference call. Ray was then sacked by Dario Romero and Shomari Williams and Duval punted out. The Riders started out the drive at their 50 with Cates going up the middle to the 55. Cates then carried off left tackle down to the 40 as the first half came to a close.

On the opening play of the second quarter, Cates broke to the left for 20 more. Dinwiddie then found Chris Getzlaf in the middle of the end zone and the Riders went up 7-0. It was the Riders’ first pass touchdown since September 17th. The Esks started out at their 35 and Ray hit former Rider Hugh Charles for 5. On the next play, Ray found Bowman over the middle and Bowman took it to the house to tie the score. Dinwiddie’s next two passes were incomplete and Milo punted away. Messam then gained 3 to the 51 and an off sides call against Shomari Williams pushed the ball to midfield. Messam then rushed off right tackle for 29 yards. In the process, he became only the 3rd Canadian to rush for over 1,000 yards since 1965. Ray then hit Bowman again and he raced down the right sideline and into the end zone, stretching his left arm over the pylon and the Esks took a 14-7 lead. Dinwiddie found Getzlaf over the middle for a first down at the 42. But Cates was hauled down for a loss by the mammoth Ted Laurent. On the next play, Dinwiddie was sacked by Marcus Howard and Milo punted away. After the Esks’ went two n’ out, the Riders started out again at the 20. Neal Hughes picked up 9 on a pass out of the backfield. Cates was then tackled by Laurent for a loss and the Riders elected to go for it at their 29. Hughes pushed ahead for the first down. Cates then gained 5 on a counter trap to the left and then Dinwiddie connected with Weston Dressler in the left slot down to the 44. On second down, Dinwiddie was sacked by Julius Williams at midfield. On 3rd and 18, Milo punted away and the Esks took over at the 20 with 30 seconds left. With two seconds left, Ray took a long heave down field but his pass was broken up and Edmonton went into the locker room with a 14-7 lead.

Milo knocked in a field goal on the Riders’ opening drive of the second half to make it a 14-10 game. Tristan Jackson then had a terrific punt return, bringing Duval’s punt all the way back to Edmonton’s 51. But Dinwiddie’s pass at the right sideline was picked by Rod Williams and the Esks took over again at the 45. The turnover was harmless as the Esks went two n’ out. Bergquist came out once more at quarterback and he was promptly sacked/leveled by Howard. Bergquist then nearly avoided getting sacked again but threw the ball away. After Milo’s punt, Edmonton took over at midfield. Hugh Charles was able to push the ball into the Riders end of the field. Ray then connected with Bowman over the middle at the 29. From there, Derek Schiavone knocked in a 36-yard field goal to put the Esks ahead, 17-10. Tristan Jackson had another nice return, rolling up the right sideline and breaking five tackles to the 34. The drive went nowhere and Edmonton took over at the 28. On second and 7, Ray hit Bowman in the right slot for a first down. Ray’s next pass was intercepted at midfield by James Patrick.

Moving into the fourth quarter, Bowman grabbed another pass over the middle and raced up to midfield. Messam then ran off right tackle inside the 35. After Messam carried twice more inside the 20, the Esks had a first down at the 15. From there, Schiavone knocked in a chip shot and the Esks were ahead 20-10. On first down, Dinwiddie found Getzlaf in the left flat for 20 as Dinwiddie took a big hit on the play. A roughing the passer call on Corbin Sharaun moved the ball to the 40. But the drive stalled there and Milo kicked along field goal to make it 20-13. The Esks went two n’ out on their next drive with the Riders taking over at their 35. Dressler gained 18 on a swing pass and then Dinwiddie hit Getzlaf down at the 31. Jason Clermont then picked up 10 on a pass in traffic. On first down, Dinwiddie connected with Getzlaf from the 20 and the Riders tied the score with just under three minutes remaining in the game. The Esks started out their next drive at the 30. Jason Armstead picked up 8 on a pass out of the backfield. On third and less than a yard at the 39, Kerry Joseph entered the game and barely pushed ahead for the first down (literally by two inches). Armstead gained 10 more on a hitch pass and then Bowman made a great leaping catch for 32 (9 rec., 222 yards so far). Bowman then made another catch and broke two tackles down to the 20. With 45 seconds left, Schiavone banged in a 27-yard field goal to give Edmonton a 23-20 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson was stripped of the ball and Edmonton recovered. All Ray needed to do was take a knee and the game was over. It was a heartbreaking way to end the season. A new era awaits the Riders next summer…