Ryquell Armstead couldn’t have asked for a better debut with his new team.
Only four days after joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the former Ottawa Redblacks running back put together the best rushing performance of the season for the Green and White, carrying 25 times for 207 yards as the Riders took a 37-29 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in Calgary.
The victory was a crucial one for Saskatchewan, as it snapped an eight-game, two-month long winless streak, improved their record to 6-7-1 and moved the Roughriders into third place in the West Division, one point back of first place Winnipeg and B.C.
“Aw, I’m so happy for these guys,” Roughriders head coach Corey Mace told Luc Mullinder on the CKRM Rider Radio post-game show. “They work their tails off. I know we haven’t had the results in the prior weeks for us, but their work ethic is outstanding and they want it just as bad as Rider Nation. So I’m happy for these guys in here, what a performance specifically from the offence.”
Armstead, of course, was a major component of that offence and was nearly historic on top of it all: his 207 yards on the ground was the fourth highest single-game total in Roughriders history.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars running back drew plenty of praise throughout the game, and Mace was certainly in agreement once things were all said and done — especially with how Armstead was able to pick up on things so quickly.
“I think the coaches spending time with him and his commitment to learning the playbook and getting comfortable and talking to his teammates… even if we had to simplify some things, just having the o-line trust that you have a kid back there that’s going to work his tail off,” Mace said. “ He’s not easy to bring down, all the things he put on tape prior to becoming a Rider. It was really good to see that, we’ve been talking about solidifying the run game and we did that tonight, I’m proud of the guys.”
For his part, Armstead was just happy to do his job.
“Definitely credit to the line and these coaches for believing in me, and definitely the staff believing in me,” the Bridgeton, N.J. product said. “I got a call Thursday or Friday that they wanted me to come down and try and pick up the playbook. For me, I’ve been playing football for 22 years, God has blessed me with being able to pick up and retain things very fast. So I’m very grateful on that end and all I did was try and do my job and help these guys contribute.”
Things didn’t look great for Saskatchewan in the earliest going, as it took no time at all for the Stampeders to get on the board. Quarterback Tommy Stevens took advantage of a couple of nice blocks on a short yardage play to rumble 69 yards and pick up the first major of the game. Kicker Rene Paredes missed the extra point, giving Calgary a 6-0 lead 2:58 into the proceedings.
The Riders responded immediately, with their first drive starting at the Saskatchewan 47-yard line thanks to a 32-yard return by Mario Alford. Trevor Harris would take seven plays and just over four minutes to get Saskatchewan to the goalline, Shea Patterson finished the drive off with a one-yard dive, and one Brett Lauther extra point later made it a 7-6 game.
After a Stampeders two-and-out, the Riders had a short three-play drive that Lauther would finish off with a 33-yard field goal, but Calgary would come right back with Paredes 45-yarder on their next drive, making it a 10-9 contest.
There things remained until 2:02 remained in the half, when the Roughriders finished off a beauty of a drive to extend their lead. Armstead had the big play on the 99-yard surge, breaking off a 34-yard run to get the Riders down to the two-yard line and setting up Patterson for his second major of the game.
Things kept going on Saskatchewan’s next possession, as Harris engineered a seven-play 92-yard drive that took only 1:12 to complete, finishing off when the Riders’ QB dove in from a couple yards out.
Heading into the bye week, Mace mentioned that he had hoped to improve his clock management once the team returned to work. That drive showed just how much he and the team had taken that to heart.
“It was perfect, man,” Mace said. “The offence did an outstanding job, they executed all the way down to the last second. So I’m extremely proud of the offence and how they handled that, those are situations that we practice every single week and it looked how it did in practice.”
Armstead had 104 yards on 13 carries in the first half, while Harris was just as impressive with 12 of 13 passing for 200 yards.
Calgary came out in the second half and put together an eight-play drive that ended with Jake Maier finding Clark Barnes in the endzone for an eight-yard major, but the 24-16 score didn’t last long.
Harris and Armstead went right back to work, marching the Riders to the Calgary 25 before Kian Schaffer-Baker hauled in a 22-yard pass, fought through initial contact and hit the endzone to once again make it a two-score game with 4:44 to play in the quarter.
The Stampeders showed resiliency of their own on the next drive, covering 10 plays and taking the rest of the quarter before Jalen Philpot caught an eight-yard pass to once again get Calgary back in striking distance.
A Lauther 32-yard field goal made it a 34-23 Roughrider lead, but Calgary came right back down and scored another major, this time taking eight plays and 4:14 before Dedrick Mills scored from two yards out. The Stamps went for two on the convert, but a quarterback sack ended that chance, making it a 34-29 contest
Calgary looked to have held the Riders on their next drive, but a contacting the kicker penalty to the Stampeders’ Tyler Richardson kept things going, allowing Saskatchewan to run more time off the clock.
All told, Saskatchewan would run 10 plays and take over four minutes before Lauther hit a 40-yard field goal to give the Riders an eight point lead with 1:36 to play.
Calgary went into full pass mode on the next drive, and Jameer Thurman would put the final nail in the coffin with an interception with 1:17 to play.
Harris finished the game 16-for-18 passing for 248 yards, with KeeSean Johnson hauling in six passes for 90 yards and Schaffer-Baker five passes for 80 yards.
Maier was 25-for-31 passed for 197 yards and Marken Michel was his favourite target with six catches for 48 yards. Mills finished the game with 10 carries for 74 yards.