Redblacks cruise past Roughriders

Quarterback Trevor Harris had a solid outing, throwing for 345 yards and two touchdowns as Ottawa Redblacks opened their regular season with a 40-17 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday night at TD Place.

Harris went 26 for 36 and also threw an interception for Ottawa (1-0).

Things didn’t go so well for the Roughriders (1-1), who lost starting quarterback Zach Collaros in the second quarter.

Collaros, who was sacked in the first quarter, completed four of 10 passes for 106 yards, one touchdown and one interception, in his brief appearance.

Brandon Bridge stepped in to replace Collaros and struggled, going 13 for 22 for 145 yards with one interception.

The Redblacks got significant contributions from rookie kicker Lewis Ward, who went three for four in his CFL debut in front of 24,224 fans.

Leading 25-14 to start the second half, the Redblacks padded their lead midway through the third quarter as Harris connected with Spencer for a 56-yard touchdown pass. Harris ran in for the two-point conversion to take a commanding 33-14 lead.

A four-yard pass to William Powell in the fourth quarter made it Ottawa 40-17

The only scoring for Saskatchewan in the second half came on a 35-yard field goal by Brett Lauther.

The Redblacks opened the game with backto-back field goals by Ward and kept Saskatchewan’s offence off the field for much of the first quarter.