The most accurate placekicker in Saskatchewan Roughriders history didn’t split the uprights with his accustomed efficiency on Friday night.
He didn’t split from the locker room, either.
As soon as the doors were opened to the media following a 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, reporters saw Brett Lauther sitting in his stall at Mosaic Stadium.
He was ready to address all inquiries, head on, after going 3-for-7 on field-goal attempts — the last of which was a 48-yarder that could have tied the game on the final play of the fourth quarter.
“Obviously, a tough one,” Lauther said. “Singlehandedly losing that one for the guys was tough.
“A lot of people are working hard in this organization — not only the players and the coaches, but the fans and the people coming out. Going out and doing that, it’s unacceptable.”
Several other factors contributed to a defeat that left Saskatchewan with a 5-4-1 record, but Lauther wasn’t looking anywhere but in the mirror.
“I feel like the biggest liability on the team right now,” he said as 28,123 spectators filed out of the stadium.
“It’s never a good feeling. All I can do is come in, go back to work tomorrow, and move on.”
Much more often, Lauther has been a central figure in times of triumph since joining the Roughriders full-time in 2018.
He is, for example, 10-for-10 on game-winning field-goal attempts.
His success rate on three-pointers — 82.3 — is the best of anyone who has attempted 100 or more field goals for Saskatchewan. That includes Hall of Fame kickers Dave Ridgway and Paul McCallum.
When the kicks go through, Lauther is quick to deflect the credit to long snapper Jorgen Hus, holder Adam Korsak and everyone else. When the circumstances differ, Lauther accepts full responsibility, as he did on Friday.
“I don’t really want to be here if it’s good, but when you lose like that, you’ve got a responsibility to the fans to be here and face the music,” he said.
“For me, it was a tough night. I don’t want to beat myself up too much. The guys have been great and so supportive. No one was pointing fingers, even though they had all the right to. I’ll just try to come back to work tomorrow, flush it, and move on to the next week.”
The focus will turn, as quickly as possible, to Thursday’s game against the host Toronto Argonauts.
When Lauther first visited Toronto as a Roughrider — on Sept. 22, 2018 — he hit a game-winning, 56-yard field goal at 13:46 of the fourth quarter. That kick was the difference as the Roughriders won 30-29.
“He has made a ton of big kicks for this team in the past and we’ve leaned on him in certain games this year as well,” Head Coach Corey Mace said.
“I have full faith in the guy. Otherwise, we would just continue to go for it or something on third down.
“Speaking to him during the game, I said, ‘I’ve got a feeling it’s going to come down to the last one,’ and we sent him out there.
“Tough day for 12, but we love him. He’s one of our team captains and we’re going to have to count on him when the game is on the line going forward, too.
“Head up. Wake up in the morning. Just get back to work. Find a way to get better.”
That was also the message from quarterback Trevor Harris after he completed 31 of 39 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns in his first game since suffering a knee injury on June 24.
“There were plays early in the game that I wish I had back,” Harris said. “I missed a couple of throws. I wish I would have started a read a certain place based on what the defence did or got the ball to a different player.
“Everybody should be able to look inward. Defensively, we had a chance to finish the game. Offensively, we had a chance to finish the game.
“It’s not on Brett. I know that’s what people may do, but I would urge people to be cautious on that. Brett has been a heck of a kicker for a really long time and we’re really lucky to have Brett Lauther.”
Montreal led 10-7 at halftime before Saskatchewan scored the first 10 points of the third quarter.
Lauther’s 42-yard field goal created a 10-10 tie. Saskatchewan went ahead when Harris found KeeSean Johnson for a 12-yard touchdown pass and Lauther added the convert.
Late in the third quarter, Montreal’s Jose Maltos made a 25-yard field goal to reduce the Roughriders’ lead to 17-13.
Saskatchewan had an opportunity to widen its advantage when Lauther lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt just over three minutes into the third quarter.
The kick, however, was wide. Montreal’s James Letcher Jr. caught the ball two yards away from the end line and sprinted 128 yards for a touchdown. The convert by Maltos put the Alouettes up 20-17. Maltos added a single on the ensuing kickoff.
Saskatchewan stormed back and regained the lead when Harris connected with Mitch Picton for a 33-yard TD pass. Lauther’s convert gave Saskatchewan a 24-21 lead at 7:41 of the fourth quarter.
Montreal began its final possession on its 19-yard line after a towering, 61-yard punt by Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther.
The Alouettes proceeded to travel 91 yards in nine plays, the last of which was a 15-yard touchdown run by quarterback Davis Alexander. The missed convert attempt by Maltos put Saskatchewan in position to force overtime with a field goal.
And there was that opportunity after a Harris-led offence briskly advanced to Montreal’s 40-yard line. That set the stage for Lauther’s final attempt.
“It didn’t go in, so I definitely didn’t hit it how I wanted,” he said.
‘“It was up and down the whole night. I didn’t hit many balls how I wanted the whole night. I don’t really know what else to say.”
The victory gave Montreal a league-best 9-1-0 record. Saskatchewan is at 5-4-1 following a game that left Mace “a little heartbroken.”
“But that’s football,” he continued. “We’ve got to find ways to win close games. I know the easy out is just to point at one person but, boy, there was lots of other stuff out there we could have done in crucial moments to not even put ourselves in that situation.”
ON THE BOARD
Johnson’s touchdown was his first as a Roughrider.
In fact, it was his first regular-season major since Oct. 31, 2019, when he caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Kyler Murray for the Arizona Cardinals against the San Francisco 49ers as an NFL rookie.
On the night, Johnson caught five passes for 90 yards.
DOHNTE’S DUPLICATION
Dohnte Meyers led the Roughriders in catches (eight) and receiving yards (101).
Those were also his totals eight days earlier, in his CFL debut — the Roughriders’ 22-22 tie with the host Ottawa REDBLACKS.
Meyers is the first Roughrider to register 100 or more receiving yards in each of his first two CFL games.
He is also the first player to hit the 100 mark in each of his first two games as a Roughrider.
Curtis Mayfield came the closest, opening the 1996 season with totals of 101 and 97 receiving yards. He had previous CFL experience with the Las Vegas Posse (1994) and Shreveport Pirates (1995).
MARIO’S MILESTONE
With a 12-yard punt return early in the third quarter, Mario Alford became the third player to reach 5,000 career return yards as a Roughrider.
He also passed Albert Brown (4,990) and moved into third on the team’s all-time list.
With 5,043 yards, Alford trails Corey Holmes (7,713) and Tristan Jackson (5,408).
FAST FACTS
• Malik Carney had his first two-sack game as a Roughrider. He has four sacks over the past five games. Saskatchewan has nine sacks, including three by Carney, over the last two games.
• The four sacks on Friday increased Saskatchewan’s league-leading total to 26.
• With two special-teams tackles — on his 30th birthday — Rolan Milligan Jr. moved into the league lead, with 15.
• Harris had the 33rd game of 31-plus completions by a Roughriders quarterback. The total is 30 if overtime games are excluded.
• Percentage-wise, Harris’s accuracy rate of 79.5 put him in a tie for 17th on the Roughriders’ All-Time single game list. Nealon Greene also went 31-for-39 (at Toronto, July 9, 2005).
• Jameer Thurman had six defensive tackles (including one for a loss) and one sack (his first as a Roughrider).
SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
Sask — Single Lauther 42 3:04
Key plays were 14-yard run by Ouellette and 22-yard reception by Meyers
SECOND QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 13 5:12
Harris hit Meyers and Johnson for 20-yard completions
Sask — FG Lauther 35 8:04
Henderson forced Montreal fumble, Reavis recovered, and Harris found Bane for 19
Mtl — TD Fletcher 5 pass from Alexander (Maltos convert) 11:20
Fletcher to Spieker for 46 was the big play
Mtl — FG Maltos 40 15:00
Montreal drove 63 yards in nine plays
THIRD QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 42 5:20
Harris was 4-for-4 for 37 yards
Sask — TD Johnson 12 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 11:11
Roughriders moved 58 yards in five plays after stopping Montreal on third-and-one
Mtl — FG Maltos 25
Reavis sack forced field-goal attempt
FOURTH QUARTER
Mtl — TD Letcher Jr. 128 missed field goal return (Maltos convert) 3:27
Lauther was wide right on a 38-yard field-goal attempt
Mtl — Single Maltos 70 4:49
Montreal registered a rouge on the kickoff after an unnecessary-roughness penalty on Saskatchewan
Sask — TD Picton 33 pass from Lauther
Harris was 4-for-4 for 62 yards
Mtl — TD Alexander 15 run (convert failed) 14:30
Alouettes drove 91 yards in nine plays for the winning TD
