REGINA - It was a crushing result for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in almost every way Sunday night.
The Riders lost 33-31 to the Calgary Stampeders in a game they almost were able to miraculously pull out of the fire, only for a last second Rene Paredes field goal to snuff out their hopes. But as heartbreaking as the end of the game was, the Riders suffered an even more critical loss earlier on.
With the Riders trailing in the fourth quarter 20-17, quarterback Trevor Harris took a hit on a running play and ended up down on the turf, suffering what looked like a serious leg or knee injury.
The Roughriders immediately surrounded Harris as he was tended to by the Riders personnel. The cart came out, and the stunned Riders fans applauded Harris as he was carted away off the field.
After the game, Head Coach Craig Dickenson wasn’t able to share any immediate details on Harris’s condition. He expected they would know more about Harris the next day.
“Certainly it did not look good on the field and I know he’s in a lot of pain,” said Dickenson. “We’ll keep him in our thoughts and hopefully it’s not as bad as it looked.”
The Harris injury took the energy right out of the stadium and seemed to rattle the Roughriders, as the Riders missed a field goal and then Calgary immediately marched down the field for a touchdown to make it 27-17.
But in relief, backup quarterback Mason Fine brought the team back. A drive that ended with a six-yard touchdown catch by Jamal Morrow into the end zone made it 27-24. Then, after the Riders held the Stamps to a field goal, Fine marched the team down the field. On an incredible Hail Mary type of play, Fine threw a pass that was tipped into the hands of Tevin Jones, and he went from there right into the end zone for the touchdown.
The over 28,000 Roughrider fans in attendance erupted in disbelief. But there was enough time on the clock for the Stampeders to take it down the field to the Roughriders 43. With three seconds left Rene Paredes put it through the uprights for a 50-yard field goal to steal the 33-31 win for the Stamps.
While Fine had done an excellent job in relief, his thoughts in the end weren’t about his performance or the game result, but about Harris.
“I was sick to my stomach at first,” said Fine.
“You hate to see it, especially someone like Trevor, just a great person, a great teammate. You hate to see it happen, but this is professional football. … I wish him the best and keep him in my prayers, but also you have to flip the switch and say hey, it’s game time, there’s a job to do and you do that to the best of your ability.”
Craig Dickenson
On Harris: “He’s a big player for us. We don’t want to lose him so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope it’s not a season-ending injury.
“I think it did take a little bit of the air out of the bloom, but I felt we responded fairly well and you know gave our team a chance to win. Yeah. I’m down about it now. Even in spite of losing I’m even more disappointed that Trevor may be hurt.”
Mason Fine
On the Roughriders’ miracle touchdown to Tevan Jones and the ensuing Calgary field goal: “I was shocked at first. Obviously when we scored the touchdown, I’ve never been a part of something like that.
“So, at first, I was shocked, went down there and celebrated with my team, and then I quickly brought it down, and I knew that there was a lot of seconds left on the clock. I always say, it goes both ways, offensively or defense. As long as you have time down on the clock, you have a chance. Same goes for us, same goes for the opposing team.”
Tevin Jones
On his touchdown: “I’d seen the ball, it tipped up, I caught it and scored… at the time, I thought we won. But I should have looked at the clock and at least just went down at the one, something like that, so that we could at least have gotten a little bit more time. But it’s all good.”
On his reaction to the Harris injury: “I just immediately go straight to God. You know, pray for him. I just hope he’s going to be OK. Of course, he’s going to be OK, but I just pray for him and his family and make sure they’re OK mentally. Yeah, next man up, I guess.”
