Rider Nation may have found a scapegoat for Friday’s loss in the CFL command centre but kicker Brett Lauther refused to let himself off the hook for the result post-game.
“Single-handedly losing that one for the guys was tough,” the veteran Roughrider told reporters in the locker room. “There are a lot of guys working hard in this organization, not only just the players but the coaches, the fans and people coming out. Going out and doing that, it’s unacceptable.”
“I don’t even know how many kicks I missed, but we shouldn’t even have been in that situation at the end of the game. We should have been probably taking knees and winning that football game.”
Lauther lined up for seven field goal attempts against the Montreal Alouettes but only connected on three of them in front of a perplexed Mosaic Stadium crowd. He made kicks from 13, 35, and 42 yards out but missed from 30, 38, 43, and 48 — two of which came in a tightly contested fourth quarter.
The first of those final frame misses was taken back 128 yards for a touchdown by James Letcher Jr., while the second sailed wide-left on the final play with a chance to send the game to overtime. In total, Lauther cost the team 15 points in a three-point loss but head coach Corey Mace still stood behind his kicker at the podium.
“I know the easy out is just to point to one person but boy, there was lots of other stuff out there that we could have done in crucial moments to not even put ourselves in that situation,” he insisted.
“It wasn’t his day, man. He’s 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. I have full faith in the guy, otherwise we would just continue to go for it on third (down).”
Lauther was not nearly as forgiving of his own performance and could offer no external explanation for it, dismissing any suggestion that there was wind at play.
“No excuses at all. It was a pretty good night overall, great snaps and holds the whole night. Guys will try to eat this one for me, but this is just solely on me. There’s no excuse for going out and doing that in a football game,” he said.
“I feel like the biggest liability on the team right now, so that’s never a good feeling. But all I can do is come in, go back to work tomorrow, and move on.”
The native of Truro, N.S. first cracked a CFL roster in 2013 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and has made three separate stops in Saskatchewan over his career, the latest dating back to 2018. He was named a West Division all-star in that first season and has become a fan favourite in the seven years since, receiving the CFLPA’s Tom Pate Memorial Award in 2023 for his outstanding sportsmanship and community service.
The 2024 season has been a struggle, as the 33-year-old is on pace for his worst campaign since his rookie year. Lauther has hit just 25-of-35 attempts through 10 games — a measly 71.4 percent — and has yet to put one through from outside 50 yards, his usual trademark. Nevertheless, he showed his character by choosing to speak to the media at his lowest moment.
“When you lose like that, you’ve got a responsibility to the fans in the entertainment business to be here and face the music,” Lauther said, stressing the importance of taking the failure in stride and moving on from it.
“I can’t preach to the kids about mental health and wellness and go to the schools and do those things and then not take care of yourself. I don’t want to beat myself up too much. The guys have been great, so supportive. No one was pointing fingers, even though they had all the right to.”
Despite burgeoning calls for a change in Riderville, Mace does not appear to have any interest in moving on from Lauther after his devastating outing. He felt all night that the game would come down to the final kick but still believes his guy can deliver when needed.
“Speaking to him during the game, I said, ‘I’ve got a feeling it’s going to come down to the last one.’ When we sent him out there, we’ve got faith in the guy. He proves it in practice as well, he can hit those” he said.
“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.”
The Riders (5-4-1) will return to action on Thursday, August 22 when they visit the Toronto Argonauts (5-4).
