Rob Vanstone: Roughriders took a "giant step" in 2024
11/10/2024 12:16 PM
SOMEWHERE OVER MANITOBA — Even on a Regina-bound aircraft, it can be difficult to take a 38,000-foot view when the sting of a gut-wrenching loss monopolizes the emotions.
But in time, members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders will enjoy an enhanced appreciation of all that was accomplished during a 2024 season that ended Saturday with a 38-22 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL's Western Final.
"It's going to be more than a few days," offensive lineman Logan Ferland said quietly, inconsolably, in the visitors' locker room at Princess Auto Stadium.
"It's going to take a bit, but right back to work."
That kind of resolve fuelled the resilient (and ultimately resurgent) Roughriders when a seven-game winless streak left them with a 5-7-1 record.
After another difficult-to-digest outcome in Winnipeg — a 26-21 Blue Bombers victory on Sept. 7 — the Corey Mace-coached Roughriders responded with four consecutive victories to nail down second place in the West Division and secure a home playoff game.
That after back-to-back 6-12-0 seasons and exclusion from the playoffs.
"We hadn't won a regular-season game after Labour Day in multiple years," quarterback Trevor Harris said. "This year was a championship-calibre team. Unfortunately, we didn't finish.
"It starts with me. I've got to be better. I feel like I let the guys down. All you heard in the locker room was guys saying they were sorry they let everybody down.
"We just have tremendous character. I see this organization taking a giant step in terms of progress to getting where the fans of this organization deserve to be.
"I know that Corey Mace and J.O. (Jeremy O'Day, vice-president of football operations and general manager) and Kyle (Carson, assistant GM) will do a tremendous job of putting the roster together and making this a championship-calibre roster and team next year."
But talk about "next year" and "progress" is small solace in the immediate aftermath of a season-ending defeat — one that must be absorbed a mere eight days before the 111th Grey Cup Game.
"Unfortunately, these are the games where there's no tomorrow," Harris lamented, "and we didn't get it done.
"It makes me sad because I love this group. I love the city of Regina. I love Rider Nation. I love the coaches we have. It just sucks that this is the last time we'll have to be with this (entire) group."
Especially when the organization, from the top down, had the Grey Cup in its sights.
"I think that's why it hurts so bad — because we expected to win," defensive tackle Micah Johnson said. "We thought we could win it all this year.
"Obviously, we came up short, but the expectations are so high in the room amongst ourselves.
"I think it was more than a stepping stone (toward the ultimate objective). Even though it was our first year together, we really thought we were the group to take it there and to have the ability to win the whole thing."
Johnson knows of what he speaks, having been part of two Grey Cup championship teams (in 2014 and 2018) with the Calgary Stampeders.
Mace shared in those two titles as a defensive tackle (2014) and defensive line coach (2018) before earning a third Grey Cup ring, as defensive co-ordinator of the 2022 Toronto Argonauts.
Touted as head-coaching material at that time, Mace spent one more season with Toronto (which went 16-2-0) in 2023 before being named the Roughriders' 48th field boss on Nov. 30.
He proceeded to earn West Division coach-of-the-year honours in 2024, although the significance of the season just concluded extends far beyond the personal accolades he routinely, sincerely downplays.
"It meant everything to me personally," Mace said of his introductory ride with the Riders.
"Just the vision of what it would look like, surrounding myself with people who I trust, who I love and who I care about and growing the relationships with those men in the locker room and the people in the organization, it has been fantastic.
"That's why this sucks, but we'll grow as a team. I'll grow as a coach. A lot of us will be better for it. There's a lot of people who are sick right now in that locker room and maybe — some way, somehow — it'll be motivation for us as we push forward.
"I'm just so proud of those guys and of everything that they did and I'm grateful that they were believing in what we were preaching in Year 1 of the program."
C.J. Avery, a rookie linebacker who amassed 10 defensive tackles on Saturday, is among the believers.
"I think we're exactly where we need to be," he said. "Obviously, we didn't make it to the big dance, but I think this is a great building block to prepare us for something great in the coming years."
