Roughriders edge Hamilton thanks to late touchdown
Thigpen runs in winning score for Saskatchewan
REGINA — Marcus Thigpen found a hole and went 34 yards for the touchdown with 1:29 left as the Saskatchewan Roughriders downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18-13 on Thursday night.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s fourth field goal of the night — a 39-yarder — gave Hamilton a 1312 lead with 6:27 to go in the fourth quarter, but Saskatchewan quarterback Brandon Bridge engineered a four-play drive starting on the Roughriders’ 33-yard line that was capped by Thigpen.
Bridge finished 11-of-13 passing for 101 yards, while backup David Watford was 3-for-6 for 47 yards. Thigpen had 50 yards on seven carries.
Tiger-Cats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli produced his ninth straight game with 300 or more yards passing to tie a long-standing C-F-L record shared by Sam Etcheverry and Kent Austin. He finished with 333 yards, but no touchdowns and one interception.
Brandon Banks was Masoli’s top target with seven receptions for 113 yards.
The visitors opened the scoring with an 11-yard field goal from Hajrullahu on Hamilton’s first drive of the game. Hajrullahu would attempt another field goal later in the quarter but missed, leading to a rouge.
The Riders appeared to have taken the lead in the second quarter after a mad scramble by Bridge, but after another look by the command centre it was concluded that Bridge fumbled right before crossing the goal line.
Later in the quarter, defensive end Charleston Hughes forced a fumble and 57-yard recovery for a touchdown, giving the Riders a 6-4 lead.
The Ticats responded with another Hajrullahu field goal for a 7-6 lead at the half.
Brett Lauther added a field goal midway through the third quarter for a 9-7 lead only for Hajrullahu to respond with another field goal of his own.
The see-saw battle continued early in the fourth quarter, with Lauther hitting a 41-yard field goal for a 12-10 lead.
Thigpen’s touchdown was the seventh lead change of the game.
Bombers quarterback Nichols to make 1st start of 2018 on Saturday
Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols will make his return to the starting lineup Saturday when the Blue Bombers host the B.C Lions.
The Bombers made the announcement Thursday on their Twitter account.
Nichols suffered a right knee injury June 6 in training camp and missed Winnipeg’s first three games of the season.
Rookie quarterback Chris Streveler filled in admirably in Nichols’ absence and was named one of the CFL’s top performers in Week 2 with three touchdown passes.
The 31-year-old Nichols had a breakout season last year, passing for 4,472 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading the Bombers to a 12-6 record. He was named team MVP.