Riders get much-needed victory; consider the circumstances

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Keep it in perspective.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders simply staved off the CFL’s weakest team, the Calgary Stampeders, with a 37-29 road victory Friday that simultaneously ended their seven-game winless skid and a tumultuous bye week. It was accomplished with a 207-yard rushing performance from a castoff running back, Ryquell Armstead, and a game-clinching interception by Riders linebacker Jameer Thurman on a truly stupid, last-minute play by the Stampeders.

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It was also Saskatchewan’s first post-Labour Day victory in three seasons, ending an embarrassing streak first-year head coach Corey Mace wasn’t even aware of before joining the Roughriders.

If one predictable victory is all it takes to bring joy to Riderville, qualifying for the playoffs may be worthy of being deemed a provincial holiday by whomever is Saskatchewan’s premier in November. There is an election coming up, right?

Calgary’s loss also caused turmoil inside the Stampeders locker room, where several players reportedly engaged in heated arguments after extending their own winless streak to six games and dropping them further into the West basement at 4-9-1. Say what you will about the Roughriders, their bonds never disintegrated during the team’s struggles. A loss could have pushed the Roughriders into the basement, but the win kept them solidly in the West’s third playoff spot at 6-7-1.

The Roughriders hadn’t won since July 19, when they improved to 5-1 with all their victories coming against squads that were really struggling earlier this season.

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Bad coaching decisions, worse rulings from the CFL’s Command Centre, unlucky breaks and crucial injuries, especially along their offensive line, sent the Roughriders tumbling into such a funk that Mace, two days into last week’s post-bye practices, twice halted a workout to tongue-lash his lackadaisical players for not meeting his “standard.”

Whether it was pre-planned or not, sending the players to the locker room mid-practice evidently got them re-focused.

So did the addition of Armstead, an apparent problem child with the Ottawa Redblacks. Despite being the league’s fourth-leading rusher, Ottawa waived him after being ejected from a game, receiving two objectionable conduct penalties and twice being fined for verbal abuse. Upon joining the Roughriders on Monday for his first of three practices before being activated for Friday’s game, Armstead was asked why he was dumped by the Redblacks.

“Ultimately, I can’t say,” said Armstead. “I was a problem in their eyes.”

Knowing they needed a power-back to bolster his team’s league-low rushing attack — 78.7 yards per game; 4.4 yards per rush — Mace started calling people about Armstead, who he activated after being convinced the player’s talents and personality would fit into the locker room. Mace saw Armstead nearly over-react following one aggressive tackle, but was “proud how he responded” after recording the fourth-highest, single-game performance ever for a Riders running back.

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“It means so much to him and therefore it means a lot to me,” said Mace, whose new running back will face his former team when the Redblacks visit Mosaic Stadium on Saturday (1 p.m., CTV).

Armstead admitted he knew only 4-7 plays heading into the contest, but he was helped by an impressive performance from a decimated offensive line, which unbelievably started the same five players in the same positions in back-to-back games. They should be as much a part of the victory discussion as Armstead’s running, the (penalized) blindside hit Riders receiver Sam Emilus laid on a Calgary player and the plays made defensively in the absence of starting end Malik Carney and halfback Rolan Milligan Jr.

During his postgame media availability, Armstead asked reporters if the questions could focus on his new team rather than the past. That’s fair, because he honestly addressed his Ottawa days upon his arrival, when he also asked to not be called by his “Rock” nickname. That comes from the phonetic pronunciation of his first name: “Rawk-ell.”

Too bad. All the cliches were already in circulation: “Armstead toting the Rock.” “New Riders running back was Rockin’ and rollin’.” “Riders leave no stone unturned in quest for power-back.” “Look what the Riders found under that Rock.”

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It’s safe to assume Armstead will be heard from. At least as part of the “two-headed monster” Trevor Harris chuckled about in his postgame interviews. Harris doesn’t run much since recovering from two major knee injuries. Aside from completing 16 of 18 passes for 248 yards and an impressive touchdown toss to Kian Schaffer-Baker, Harris added 17 yards on three carries and did something Armstead unbelievably didn’t do — scored a rushing touchdown.

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