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Duron Carter’s trademark smile is in place after wins and losses with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

It was there after Friday’s 33-32 loss to the visiting Ottawa Redblacks kept the Riders from taking another step toward clinching their first playoff CFL berth since 2014. The Riders squandered that opportunity while blowing a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

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“The smile is like a nervous reaction,’’ Carter said after the Riders’ record fell to 8-7. “When I’m really upset, I smile.’’

Carter had good reason to smile after pacing the Riders’ offence with 11 receptions for a career-high 231 yards. Friday’s game marked the second time in Carter’s four-year CFL career that he caught 11 passes.

“I was on fire,’’ Carter said. “It was like playing NBA Jam and I couldn’t miss. I had the blue flame going on under me and it was just how I felt. I couldn’t drop anything.’’

Carter, who surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the second time as a CFLer, has 72 receptions for 1,037 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games this season.

Carter and teammate Naaman Roosevelt have both exceeded 1,000 receiving yards. Roosevelt has 1,035 yards on 75 catches.

“It feels good and hopefully there is plenty more,’’ Carter said.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn targeted Carter 14 times Friday.

“When you have a guy like that who is hot, you have to get him the ball,’’ Glenn said. “With all that said, we still lost.’’

Carter felt he could have been even more productive.

“I was frustrated the whole game,’’ he said. “I had a lot of yards, but I thought I could have had a lot more.’’

mmccormick@postmedia.com

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