A Rene Paredes field goal in the last three minutes of the game lifted the Calgary Stampeders over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-23 in both club's last pre-season game of the year.
The Roughriders started the game with a bang as Stampeders returner LaMarcus Coker fumbled the ball on opening kickoff, allowing the Riders to take over possession on Calgary's 37-yard line. Kory Sheets scored on the drive with a one-yard punch into the end zone.
Sheets went on to run for 97 yards on 10 attempts, including 50-yard carry. This is a vast improvement from his 19-yards for nine attempts performance a week ago against the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Stamps stormed back before the first quarter came to a close with a 37-yard field goal and a 20-yard touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Rob Cote.
Calgary extended their lead to a full touchdown as Paredes nailed his second field goal of the night to put the Stamps up 13-7 with the second quarter wrapping up.
Darian Durant was the Stamps' whipping boy in the first half. He was sacked five times for a loss of 35 yards.
Saskatchewan took a commanding 23-14 lead in the third quarter following a Sheets 12-yard touchdown and four-yard Durant touchdown strike to Scott McHenry.
The Stamps, however, refused to say die. They went on to score 10 points to take the pre-season victory by one point.
Star wide receiver Geroy Simon left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury. It doesn't appear to be serious, though.
"From what I sense, it's not a long-term thing," said Roughriders GM Brenan Taman to play-by-play announcer Rod Pedersen. "I'm not sure if he'll play opening night. It's a leg thing."
The Roughriders open up the regular-season against the Eskimos in Edmonton on Saturday, June 29.
Cuts
The Roughriders made their final cuts on Saturday. They went as followed: WR Alex Anthony, OL Eric Armitage, RB DeDe Dorsey, DL Zach Evans, WR Rod Harper, OL Kyle Hill, DB Reshard Langford, LS Jordan Matechuk, K Brody McKnight, RB Spencer Moore, LB Brian Peters, LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagne, DB Ramzee Robinson, DB Eddie Russ, LB Thomas Spoletini, DL Richard Sumlin, DL Hilee Taylor, Import OL Jose Valdez, OL Matt Vonk, DL Ryan Wellman and DL Mick Williams. RB Andre Lalonde and LB Brett Pisio were sent back to junior.
Hometown boy Jordan Matechuk is the most notable cut for Yorkton. He is, however, staying on the practice roster.
In terms of surprises, most expected Eddie Russ and Zach Evans to crack the green and white.
"Eddie got caught up in a situation where we had some guys in the secondary and we thought well we can't keep everybody, so Russ had to go," said Taman.
"Zach Evans' future is pending; he might stay around on the practice roster. He's another guy that has played well the last couple years."
Chris Milo has the kicking job, for now at least, after the Roughriders cut Brody McKnight.
"Brody struggled a bit in camp and came along near the end, but not enough to supersede Chris," said Taman.
Other notes
On Saturday, the Roughriders held their 2012-13 Annual General Meeting at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Here is the report courtesy of Rod Pedersen.
During his financial report, Craig Reynolds, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' Chief Financial Officer, revealed the football club reported a profit of $1.1 million. The club also exceeded the $34 million plateau in total gross revenues.
The Club saw record revenue from ticket sales during the year as a result of a strong season ticket base and the additional seats and suites provided by the Grey Cup Legacy project. Gate receipts totalled $13.1 million surpassing the prior year's record by 11 per cent.
The Club once again continued to set the pace in merchandise sales in the CFL during the year. The Club exceeded the $7 million mark in merchandise revenue for the fourth straight year.
Under the governance guidelines, the Rider shareholders selected a new Board of Governors at the meeting. Returning to the board this year will be Chair Roger Brandvold and Director's Doug Emsley, Robert Leurer, Dennis Mulvihill, Laurie Powers and Joel Teal. Shareholders voted in three returning board members Twyla Meredith, Wayne Morsky and Jeff Stusek. Shareholders also voted in two new members, Arnie Arnott and Randy Beattie.
