Riders 25 Bombers 25

he  first ever CFL game played at New Mosaic Stadium will go down as a tie.


Quinn Van Gylswyk’s 38 yard field goal with eight seconds left gave the Riders a 25-25 tie in a game that did not go to overtime because it was pre-season.

The Riders led the football game for most of the night, but Winnipeg quarterback Dan Lefevour orchestrated two late touchdown drives, one which started in Saskatchewan territory after a Bryan Bennett fumble.

Canadian Brandon Bridge got the start for the Riders and finished the night 20-for-26 passing for 201 yards with one touchdown. LeFevour entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and completed seven-of-nine passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

Van Gylswyk was a perfect four-for-four on field goal attempts while Tyler Crapigna also split the uprights twice for the Riders.

Duron Carter didn’t wait long to make his presence felt in Regina. Bridge connected with Carter for a seven yard touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the first quarter to open the scoring and give the Riders a 7-0 lead.

Saskatchewan continued to drive down the field to open the second quarter. Bridge found Antwane Grant for a 24-yard catch to put the Green and White in the red zone. The Riders couldn’t convert the long gain into a major and settled for a 15-yard field goal from Crapigna.

Crapigna struck again from 15 yards out on the Riders next drive to give the Green and White a 13-0 lead.

The Bombers got on the board before the end of the half. A Cory Johnson sack pried the ball loose from the hands of Bryan Bennett. Jovan Santos-Knox scooped up the ball at the Riders’ 37-yard line, but a roughing penalty on Winnipeg forced them back 15 yards. The fumble recovery led to a Justin Medlock field goal to put the score at 13-3 heading into halftime.

Bridge came back into the game to start the third quarter and led a steady charge down the field on the Riders opening drive. The pivot dashed 19 yards downfield to set up a 34-yard field goal from Van Gylswyk and extend their lead to 16-3.

Van Gylswyk notched another attempt from 23 yards out on the Saskatchewan’s following drive to pull further away from the Bombers leading to Lefevour’s end-of-game heroics.

The Riders will finish the pre-season in Vancouver next Friday before opening the season in Montreal June 22

NOTES:

• 14 different Riders caught a pass from either Bridge, Bennett or Marquise Williams
• The Riders have not won a pre-season game since the 2014 season when they defeated Ottawa
• Rob Bagg suffered a slight ankle injury during the game that head coach/general manager Chris Jones did not think was serious
• The game was a sellout as 33,000 fans took it in