The Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the Western Final for the first time since 2019 after defeating the Toronto Argonauts 27-19 in front of 27,500 at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night.
It's a sigh of relief not only for the Riders, but perhaps for some other teams in the West who are tired of trying to get to the Gray Cup through Winnipeg.
Like the previous three games, this one was by no means a masterpiece. The attack, although a little sharper overall, didn't make much of a difference. There were a few too many penalties and the defense had its moments too, but at the end of the day they don't ask how, especially in October and November.
Here are the good, the bad and the stupid of the Riders' 12th win of the season.
good
On a night where wide receiver Samuel Emilus rushed for 143 yards and Joe Robustelli provided much-needed protection for returning quarterback Trevor Harris, the biggest and best story for the Riders was their kicker.
I'm not going to break any news and say that it's been a tough season for Brett Lauter. It's safe to say this was his worst season in the CFL. We've seen the Nova Scotia native have rough starts before, but overall he found a way to succeed when his team needed him.
Up until this week, Lauter had not had a good game. Perhaps this game against the Argos can get him back into the game.
After missing last week's game in Ottawa with a back injury, Lauter returned to the lineup this week and was a perfect five-for-five on field goals. That gave his team the 15 points they sorely needed in a game where touchdowns were hard to come by.
This week of rest benefited Lauter not only physically, but perhaps also mentally.
I don't think we can announce Lauther's return just yet, as he wasn't asked to bat in the strong winds on Friday night – which he might well need to do ahead of the Western final on November 8 – but it's a good first step.
Bad
The downside to the team's kicker having a good night is that the offense stalled a lot more than they would have liked.
The Riders' offense actually moved the ball better than it did last week against the Redblacks, as field goal attempts weren't even an option in the nation's capital. Overall, the team produced 431 yards of net offense.
However, when you can go beyond the opponent's 40-yard line seven times, including six times inside the 30-yard line, you'll want to score more than two touchdowns. They got away with field goals against a team that would miss the playoffs and was playing with their third-string quarterback. This may not work against Nathan Rourke or Zach Collaros.
Part of it was the execution of decisions, but part of it was the decisions of the head coach. Lauter's first attempt came on a long third-and-1 at the Toronto 29-yard line. The other came to third and second on the Toronto 36. In both of these situations, an argument could be made for going for it and moving on. You could even make a case for doing it at third and four at plus-29.
That's not to say any of the decisions were necessarily wrong, but this team will need more touchdowns than field goals come playoff time. They will need a combination of good playmaking, execution and decision making to get things done.
Blunt
The history books will note that Corey Mays played defensive line in the CFL, but it appears the team's head coach has some ability at running back, too.
Once the game ended, defensive lineman Micah Johnson was ready to lead the game and complete the traditional Gatorade bath for his coach after the big win. We've seen coaches get tired after their first career win, division wins, conference championships and, of course, championships.
However, Mace caught the attempt to take a shower out of the corner of his eye and quickly closed it, placing his hand almost perfectly against the large refrigerator. He looked like AJ Ouellette throwing a defender aside.
Johnson, knowing that he had been interrupted, put the jug down with a big smile on his face and laughed.
It's worth wondering how much Mace's kids get away with, since his awareness is still as sharp as ever.
