Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

The third time in the CFL’s West Division semifinal wasn’t the charm for Calgary Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Stampeders 26-24 on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium. The defeat marked the third consecutive year that the Stampders, with Burris playing quarterback, have lost in the semifinal.
“It’s not three years in a row because it’s one year at a time,” Burris said after the sellout crowd of 28,800 had filed out of Mosaic Stadium. “This is a much different team than in the past. We had a chance to win and we just gave it away. That was the big thing.”

The big difference between the previous Calgary teams was that, this time, the Stampeders were on the road for a semifinal. In 2005, Calgary was beaten 33-26 by the visiting Edmonton Eskimos. In 2006, the Roughriders upset the second-place Stampeders 30-21.
The Stampeders had hoped to emulate the victorious road teams after a 7-10-1 record left them in third place. The odds of that taking place grew long as the Stampeders fell behind 13-0 five minutes into the playoff contest.
“It’s all about getting off to a good start regardless if they scored early or whatever,” Burris said. “It was about us getting off to a good start and we didn’t do it. We were fortunate that we came out in the second half and we’re able to do some good things. We had our chances to win. We just didn’t do it.”
Saskatchewan’s defence was relentless in the opening half, which contributed to Burris’s struggles. He completed seven of 13 passes for 92 yards and gave up an interception to Eddie Davis in the end zone that snuffed out a promising drive.
Burris recovered in the second half to finish with 323 yards, completing 20 of 36 pass attempts and two touchdowns.
“One thing we thought Henry would be much better at would be securing the football and not turning it over with interceptions,” said Stampeders head coach Tom Higgins. “It became very reminiscent of things we have seen in the past but to the victors go the spoils. The season is over for the Stampeders.”
The speculation on Higgins’s future with the Stampeders will continue. There have been recent reports that Higgins was to be replaced by former Calgary quarterbacks and assistant head coach John Hufnagel, regardless of this season’s outcome. Higgins talked extensively about that possibility during Saturday’s pre-game media conferences. He wasn’t as forthcoming on Sunday.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the football game,” Higgins said. “Please ask me about the football game and I’ll answer it.”
The Roughriders defence had the answer to Burris, who signed with Calgary in 2005 after his second stint with Saskatchewan. The defensive line had pressure on Burris and the defensive backs seemed to know where Burris’s passes were intended.
“We moved around on defence,” said Davis. “He thought he could come at us from this spot but we would come from another. We confused him out there and we did a good job defensively.”
The Stampeders defence also had its problems. Saskatchewan receiver D.J. Flick hooked up with quarterback Kerry Joseph on a 62-yard touchdown pass on the first offensive play of the game.
“That was a slap in the face,” said linebacker Scott Coe. “It’s one of those things that you had better wake up quickly.”
A Burris fumble led to 48-yard field goal by Luca Congi. Congi added a 49-yard field goal shortly thereafter and the Stampeders were buried in a deep hole. Joseph added to the defensive challenge by rushing for 109 yards.
“We didn’t accomplish anything we wanted to do defensively,” said Coe. “Kerry ran the ball as he pleased and threw the ball when he was in space. We couldn’t stop him. We didn’t give our offence a proper chance to get out there and play.”
Burris wasn’t the only former Roughrider in the Stampeders locker room lamenting the end of the season. Calgary centre Rob Lazeo spent five seasons with the Roughriders before being traded to the Stampeders on June 23 for running back Wes Cates.
“It doesn’t matter if I played for them in past, the season is over,” said Lazeo. “I do think they are going to go on to win the Grey Cup. I thought whoever won this game would do it because B.C. is ripe for the picking. Saskatchewan has a good team and I’m glad to see that they got a home playoff game. It’s good for the fans because they deserved it.”