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The Saskatchewan Roughriders punched their ticket to the West Division semifinal with a 16-9 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday.
The victory moved Saskatchewan (10-8) into third place in the West Division, meaning the fourth-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers will cross over and face the Toronto Argonauts in the East semifinal on Oct. 31.
The defending Grey Cup champion Riders will visit the B.C. Lions on Oct. 31. The first-place Elks (13-5) will host the Saskatchewan-B.C. winner in the West final on Nov. 7 in Edmonton.
After allowing a one-yard touchdown run by Edmonton quarterback Cole Snyder early in the first quarter, Saskatchewan responded with 16 unanswered points. Brett Lauther kicked a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 6-3.
Riders quarterback Tommy Stevens then added a pair of one-yard touchdown runs, one in the second quarter and one in the fourth, to give Saskatchewan a 15-6 lead. Stevens now has 17 rushing touchdowns, breaking the Riders record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season. He’s also the CFL’s single-season rushing TD record-holder for quarterbacks.
Stevens also tied with George Reed’s long-standing mark, established in 1968, by scoring from one yard out at 12:07 of the second quarter on the final day of regular-season play.
Stevens surpassed Reed at 2:21 of the fourth quarter, scoring once more from a yard away.
Saskatchewan punter Oscar Chapman chipped in a 58-yard single with 3:31 remaining to make the score 16-6.
Vincent Blanchard ended the string of unanswered points with a 24-yard field goal to narrow the Elks deficit to 16-9 with 27 seconds remaining. The Riders recovered the ensuing onside kick by the Elks.
It was an undisciplined first half that saw both teams struggle with penalties. The Elks had seven penalties for 73 yards while the Riders had seven penalties for 70 yards.
The only touchdown of the half came on a penalty-fuelled drive for the Riders. A five-play, 67-yard drive culminated with a one-yard major by Stevens to give the Riders a 9-6 lead with 2:53 left in the half.
Of the 67 yards, 62 were from Edmonton penalties, including a 42-yard pass interference call against Elks defensive back Royce Metchie.
Playing in challenging weather conditions — at kickoff the winds were at 46 km/h with gusts to 5 km/h — the teams depended on their running games in the first half. Shunderrick Powell gained 47 yards on six carries for the Elks while Deon Jackson, making his Riders debut, totalled 45 yards on eight carries.
The wind also wreaked havoc with the kicking game. Lauther and Edmonton’s Vincent Lauther missed convert attempts. The Riders also failed on a two-point convert attempt after Stevens’s second touchdown.