RIDERS HAND STAMPS FIRST LOSS OF SEASON
Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Shaq Evans carries the ball past Calgary Stampeders defenders during Sunday’s game at Mosaic Stadium. The Riders notched their first win in a month, downing the first place Stampeders 40-27.
The defence was amazing. Special teams scored a touchdown for us and we had good field position all night long.
So that’s what head coach and general manager Chris Jones meant when he said the Saskatchewan Roughriders were headed in a “different direction” after cutting Duron Carter on Aug. 11.
Eight days after releasing the wide receiver/defensive back, the Riders snapped a two-game losing skid by thumping the previously unbeaten Calgary Stampeders 4027 at Mosaic Stadium.
“It was a total team effort,” said Riders quarterback Zach Collaros. “The defence was amazing. Special teams scored a touchdown for us and we had good field position all night long.”
The Riders dominated the Stampeders in all facets of the Sunday ’s game, atoning for a 34-22 loss at home to Calgary on July 28.
Saskatchewan scored offensively, defensively and on special teams Sunday while improving its record to 4-4. Calgary fell to 7-1.
Rider rookie defensive back Nick Marshall scored on a 67-yard interception return and also on a threeyard run while quarterbacking the Wildcat formation.
Saskatchewan linebacker Samuel Eguavoen scored from 30 yards out after blocking a punt. Brett Lauther connected on all six fieldgoal attempts.
Riders defensive end Charleston Hughes had two sacks against his former team, increasing his league-leading total to 11.
The Riders opened the scoring on their first possession when Collaros engineered a seven-play, 74yard drive that stalled at Calgary ’s five-yard line. Lauther connected on 13-yard field-goal attempt and the Riders led 3-0 at 4:27 of the first quarter.
Saskatchewan settled for a field goal after another promising drive stalled at Calgary’s 35-yard-line. Lauther hit on a 43-yard attempt and the Riders led 6-0 at 9:45 of the first quarter.
A Calgary gamble on third-and-three on Saskatchewan’s 50-yard line backfired when Marshall intercepted a pass intended for Davaris Daniels. Marshall returned the pick 67 yards for his second touchdown of the season.
The Riders led 14-0 after the first quarter.
The Stampeders bounced back on their next possession when Daniels slipped behind Marshall for a 45-yard touchdown catch. Rene Paredes was wide on the convert attempt as the Stampeders trailed 14-6 at 3:21 of the second quarter.
The blocked-punt return for a touchdown by Eguavoen increased the Riders’ lead 20-6. Lauther’s convert gave the Riders a 21-6 lead at 6:23 of the second quarter.
The Riders increased their lead to 24-6 when Lauther connected on a 43-yard field goal at 9:42 of the second quarter.
The Riders converted a fumble recovery by Zack Evans into a touchdown early in the third quarter. Hughes recorded the sack to force the fumble.
Four plays later, Marshall, a quarterback in college, scored on a three-yard run from the Wildcat formation. Lauther’s conversion gave the Riders a 31-6 lead at 3:16 of the third quarter.
Kamar Jorden made a diving catch on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Bo Levi Mitchell at 7:17 of the third quarter. The two-point convert attempt by Calgary failed and the Stampeders trailed 31-12.
The Stampeders closed to 31-18 when Juwan Brescacin scored a 29-yard pass from Mitchell. Jorden hauled in a pass from Mitchell for the two-point convert and Calgary trailed the Riders 31-20 at 13:06 of the third quarter.
Lauther connected a 22-yard field goal and the Riders led 34-20 at 4:35 of the fourth quarter.
Lauther added another field goal — this time from 28 yards — as the Riders grabbed a 37-20 lead at 9:31 of the fourth quarter.
The Stampeders rebounded when Daniels hauled 17-yard TD pass from Mitchell at 12:23 of the fourth quarter. Calgary trailed 3727 after Paredes’ conversion.
Lauther closed out the scoring with a 37-yard field goal at 14:47 of the fourth quarter.
Note: Jones, who traditionally wears black shirts on the Riders’ sideline, wore a green shirt as part of the CFL’S Diversity Is Strength promotion. All of the non-playing Riders’ personnel wore green shirts with the No. 32 in honour of Regina product Neal Hughes, who is Metis. He spent nine seasons with the Riders, sharing in Grey Cups in 2007 and 2013 … Sunday ’s game was a sellout, marking the third time this season that 33,350 spectators filled Mosaic Stadium.