Rider runs to redemption in victory over Tiger-Cats

Thigpen’s late 34-yard touchdown romp makes up for miscue in loss to Alouettes

It’s going to be a good bye week for the Saskatchewan Roughriders after they said goodbye to a twogame losing streak.

The Roughriders reversed their fortunes Thursday by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18-13 before 30,594 spectators at Mosaic Stadium.

Saskatchewan (2-2) is now idle until its July 19 CFL game in Hamilton.

“The bye week is a great way to get a refresher and to visit family and friends,” said Marcus Thigpen, who scored the go-ahead touchdown at 13:31 of the fourth quarter. “At same time, I’m going to work out and be ready for the next time that we play Hamilton.”

The Riders are in this position thanks to Thigpen’s 34-yard touchdown romp, which gave them an 18-13 lead. One play earlier, Joshua Stanford had made a spectacular 29-yard catch of a Brandon Bridge pass.

Thigpen’s touchdown run was a form of redemption after what took place last Saturday when the Riders were beaten 23-17 by the visiting Montreal Alouettes. On the Riders’ first offensive play, Thigpen dropped what would have been a sure touchdown pass.

“That has been on my mind all week,” Thigpen said. “They say to ‘let go of the game’ and I couldn’t let go because that’s not me. I wanted to get out there and show what I can do for our team and for our fan base.”

Guard Brendon LaBatte felt the win helped erase some of the memories of what took place against the Alouettes and the Ottawa Redblacks. The Riders were thumped 40-17 by Ottawa on June 21.

“Ottawa was a pretty bad beating, and against Montreal, we didn’t even show up,” LaBatte said. “Defensively, to hold that offence to what we did is awesome. That kept us in the game and our special teams were stout.

“Offensively, we didn’t light the world on fire, but we made the key plays at the end when we needed them.”

Thigpen’s touchdown run and Stanford’s catch were among the few offensive highlights for Saskatchewan.

Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager, rotated Brandon Bridge and David Watford at quarterback in a bid to produce some offence.

Bridge, who started, completed 11 of 13 passes for 101 yards and had four carries for 30 yards. He also lost a fumble while diving across the goal-line for what was nearly a 14-yard touchdown run.

Watford completed three of six passes for 47 yards and had seven carries for a team-high 50 yards.

The Riders stepped up defensively, limiting Hamilton’s highpowered offence to 13 points. Liam Hajrullahu accounted for all of Hamilton’s scoring, going 4-for5 on field goal attempts (one of which produced a single).

Defensive end Charleston Hughes came through for the Riders with a sack, a fumble recovery and a 57-yard rumble for a touchdown — all on the same play.

Jones joked that Hughes should have been penalized for delay of game.

“I’m going to clock it and I will come back with a time for you,” Hughes said with a laugh.

It was the second fumble that Hughes has returned for a touchdown in his 11-year CFL career. The first took place in 2011 when, as a member of the Calgary Stampeders, he ran 71 yards for a touchdown against the Roughriders.

“(The win) changed a lot for us, and it changed a lot for the fans and for everybody in the league, because they were starting to think we weren’t on a good path,” Hughes said. “Now that we got a win against a team that was really hot, it shows that we can be dominant and a force to be reckoned with.”

Cornerback/wide receiver Duron Carter bounced back from two shaky outings with a solid performance against the Tiger-Cats.

“It’s really about getting comfortable with everybody,” Carter said. “It’s only my third start with them (at cornerback) and we’re starting to get some chemistry.”

Tobi Antigha, who is listed as a defensive end, recorded the Riders’ lone interception after dropping back to safety.

“Actually, we put in that play this week,” Antigha said. “It was a good play call for the (Hamilton) offensive series. I was surprised they actually threw it. I guess they didn’t see me out there.”

Offensively, we didn’t light the world on fire, but we made the key plays at the end when we needed them.