Roughriders winning streak halted

Maurice Leggett has at least three reasons to always remember the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 48-28 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.

The veteran linebacker returned a punt 97 yards for a touchdown, grabbed an interception and ran 54 yards for a score and had a special family member watching among the sold-out crowd of 33,134 at Investors Group Field.

“This is a great game to remember,” Leggett said. “This is the first game my mom’s actually seen me play in Canada.”

The 30-year-old Pennsylvania native is in his fourth CFL season, all with Winnipeg, but also has 22 games with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs on his football resume.

The victory halted Saskatchewan’s three-game win streak, evening its record to 5-5 while Winnipeg moves to 8-3 in the competitive CFL West Division.

Leggett’s performance was also admired by teammate Clarence Denmark, who recorded his own pair of TDs with catches of 12 and 18 yards from quarterback Matt Nichols.

“Moe, man, he’s an awesome, awesome athlete,” Denmark said of Leggett. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”

Denmark now has six TDs this season, including another pair in a win against Montreal two games ago.

Leggett’s interception of a Kevin Glenn pass gave Winnipeg a 37-20 lead midway through the third quarter.

Things would soon get worse for Glenn, who suffered an injury to his throwing hand during his team’s next series. He was replaced by Toronto-born pivot Brandon Bridge.

Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones didn’t have an update on how serious the injury was to the 17-year veteran, who was guiding the club out of an early-season hole.