Riders stun the Redblacks for 1st win of the season

The oddsmakers weren't giving the Riders much of a chance against the Ottawa Redblacks.

Going into Friday's game, Ottawa wasleading the league in most offensive categories, while Saskatchewan was only leading in most losses.

But the playing field levelled in a hurry after Redblacks' quarterback Trevor Harris suffered a leg injury in the 2nd quarter.

Some will say the Riders didn't beat the Redblacks at their best.Well, the Riders were not exactly injury-free either.

It was rookie against rookie Friday night at Mosaic Stadium.

For Ottawa, it was Brock Jensen. He hasthrown touchdown passes to Ryan Smith, but that was at North Dakota State.

The two he threw against the Riders Friday were the first two of his CFL career.

Riders' quarterback Mitchell Gale made his first CFL start in place of the injured Darian Durant and today he has a victory to brag about.

But he won't, because he's not that kind of person. He will take the blame for the mistakes he made, but not the credit for the good things he did.

Those good things would be what the team did.

"I think the reason why you hear somuch noise in that room is because, number one, it was our first win but we won it as a team," said Gale moments after the 30-29 win over Ottawa.

We won't remember all them bad plays we just remember that kick- Chris Jones

Gale, by no stretch, masterminded a brilliant offensive performance. He completed 58 per cent of his passes but didn't throw any interceptions. The highlight was an 89-yard bomb to Naaman Roosevelt.

But he wouldn't accept any praise for that either, putting it all on Roosevelt who finished with 182 receiving yards on the night.

"He's a phenomenal athlete so it's pretty hard to miss him." said Gale, who was already looking ahead to Friday's game in Montreal.He said just because they finally have a victory, won'tmake it any easier against the Alouettes.

"You can't just assume this is going to be the trend, we've got to show up the first day of work in prep for Montreal and we have to start the process of preparation all over again."

Gale uses the word "process" a lot. He was raised to put his best foot forward no matter what he does in life.

His parents, who came all the way up from Oklahoma to watch their son start his first pro game,taught Mitchell that whatever the Galename is attached to, whether it's football or cutting grass, the job better be done right.

Doing it right, for Mitchell Gale is all in the preparation.

Darian Durant may or may not be ready to go next week, or even the week after that, but at least now the Riders can say they have another quarterback on the roster with a CFL victory to his credit.

And Chris Jones finally has a victory to his credit as the Riders' head coach, calling it the best (Gatorade) shower he's had since winning the Grey Cup last November with the Eskimos.

He blamed their 0 and 3 start on "between the ears"mistakes that cost them victories.

There were plenty of between the ears moments Friday night, most notably the number of snaps from centre that sailed over the quarterback's head.

But this time, the Riders figured out a way to win, and over a team as strong as Ottawa.

"They hadn't been beat yet and they went to the Grey Cup last year so you got a bunch of coaches and a bunch of players that have a great belief system.So for us to take a young football team and end up coming out with a win, if we snap the football better it's not that close." said Jones who is now 1 and 3.

It was an ugly win, an ugly game, which dragged because of constant challenges and video reviews, but "that's what the league wants," quipped Jones.

The fans, for those that were still in the stadium, will remember the moment:a 53-yard field goal from Tyler Crapigna with 69 seconds to play.

The game wasn't pretty but they don't add up style points at the end of the season, just the wins.Chris Jones summed it up.

"All the teams that I've ever coached, there's been some games like this," he said.

"It wasn't pretty but it's still a W, ten years from now we won't remember all them bad plays, we just remember that kick."