The Saskatchewan Roughriders left little doubt they deserved to beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when they scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
That was just the exclamation point on a convincing 38-7 victory, though.
Long before the emphatic showing over the last 15 minutes, the Riders proved they were the better team Sunday. And by far.
How they did it is the focus of Riders Morning After.
Why they won
D-Fence.
It was a collective effort for the Riders without the ball as they made life miserable for former teammate Jake Dolegala, who was making his first start for the Tiger-Cats in place of the injured Bo Levi Mitchell.
The Riders held the visitors to just 250 yards of net offence and didn’t allow a touchdown. There were a couple of big plays that really stood out.
Tevaughn Campbell got his fingertips on an intended pass to Kenny Lawler, impeding the Dolegala’s toss just enough to turn what looked like a sure six points into an incomplete. If the Ticats connect on that 11-yard attempt with 31 seconds left in the second quarter, the score is probably tied 11-11 at the half and all bets are off for the final 30 minutes.
Instead, Hamilton had to settle for a field goal.
The Tiger-Cats defence gave them a bit of a spark when Wynton McManis picked off Trevor Harris early in the third quarter. But on the ensuing drive, Jaxon Ford wrapped up Dolegala at the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs at Saskatchewan’s 35-yard line.
The Hamilton offence was stuck in neutral for most of the game. It almost felt like it was going in reverse after those two plays.
Throw in a forced fumble by Antoine Brooks Jr. and a recovery by Marcus Sayles, who just missed taking it to the end zone, plus a late pick-six by Josh Woods, and the defence completely controlled this game.
Game ball
If you were giving it to an offensive player, it would be between Tommy Stevens and Kian Schaffer-Baker. Maybe it’d be worth splitting the ball in half.
It’s not like A.J. Ouellette was poor in his return to action after a two-game injury absence. He had 83 yards rushing on 18 carries before the game was out of reach. It’s just that Stevens, the short-yardage quarterback, had a more impactful showing with his legs. He carried the ball eight times, picking up 54 yards and scoring two touchdowns. The second TD came on a 14-yard scamper with 1:20 left on the clock.
Schaffer-Baker caught six of the seven passes that came his way for 78 yards and a touchdown. He burned Ticats’ Kaleb Hayes in isolation, allowing Harris to find him wide open in the end zone on a 18-yard pass in the third quarter.
But let’s be real, it was all about the defence, so someone from that side of the ball deserves this recognition.
There are tons of candidates, but let’s go with James Vaughters. The lineman sacked Dolegala twice – picking up two of the team’s three quarterback sacks – and added three tackles.
Couldn’t have done it without
Kick returner Mathew Sexton picked up where he left off. Coming off his 101-yard punt return for a touchdown in Ottawa, Sexton was giving the Riders excellent field position in the first half on Sunday. He returned three punts for 77 yards.
However, Sexton’s game was cut short on the opening play of the second half when he brought back the kickoff 38 yards and then sustained an apparent right leg injury upon being tackled. Sexton had to be carted off the field.
That was a shame for both Sexton and the Riders. The CFL rookie had been great filling in for James Letcher Jr.
Play of the game
It was the Hamilton’s last chance to make a game of it.
The Riders were leading 24-7, but the Tiger-Cats were marching down the field and had the ball at the Saskatchewan 15. A touchdown would have made things at least a little tense for the home side.
But Dolegala dropped back and threw intro quadruple coverage looking for Lawler. He was picked off by Woods at the four-yard line. Woods took it back all the way to the other end of the field for a Riders score.
Dolegala was relegated to the bench. Game over.
https://x.com/CFL/status/2076482218256671074
According to Riders senior journalist and historian Rob Vanstone, the 107-yard return was the third-longest in team history.
Hard to vote against that.
The stat that matters most
Point of turnovers: Saskatchewan 27, Hamilton 0.
Pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?
