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Tommy Nield’s three-yard touchdown reception with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter lifted the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 24-21 victory over the B.C. Lions in the West Division final Saturday, sending the Riders to the Grey Cup.
Trailing 21-17 with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, the Riders drove 74 yards in seven plays to score the game-winning touchdown and punch their ticket to the Grey Cup. The Riders will play the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.
The Alouettes advanced to the championship game with a 19-16 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division final earlier on Saturday.
The Riders held a 14-7 lead in the third quarter only to see the Lions score two touchdowns to go ahead 21-14.
The Riders were first-and-goal from the B.C. five-yard line with three minutes remaining but after two incompletions, head coach Corey Mace decided to settle for a field goal rather than gambling on third down. Lauther’s 13-yard field goal cut the deficit to 21-17 with 2:42 remaining.
The Saskatchewan defence forced back-to-back two-and-out possessions to give their offence an opportunity to win the game.
Defences controlled the first half of Saturday’s game, played before a sellout crowd of 33,350 at Mosaic Stadium. The teams combined for 11 punts in the half, six by the Riders and five by the Lions.
B.C. scored the lone touchdown of the half on a nine-play, 103-yard drive late in the second quarter. B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke, who was five-for-five passing on the drive, scored on a four-yard run with 4:09 left in the half to give the Lions a 7-1 lead.
Saskatchewan trimmed the lead to 7-4 as Brett Lauther connected on a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Saskatchewan returns to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2013 when they defeated the Tiger-Cats 45-35.
