The Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) visited the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-2) on Saturday night to close out Week 2 of the CFL season. Saskatchewan got running back A.J. Ouellette back after missing the majority of last week’s game.
First Quarter:
Hamilton started the game on offense. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw three passes for 31 yards. He did complete another pass for 13 yards, but due to being called back for a holding penalty on Hamilton they ended up punting the ball to Saskatchewan with 12:03 left.
Hamilton’s defense stepped up. Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris’s pass intended for Samuel Emilus was intercepted by Jonathan Moxey after Steven Katsantonis collided with Emilus leaving the ball up in the air for a few seconds when Moxey made the interception. He returned it for 11 yards before KeeSean Johnson tackled him on their 36-yard line.
Hamilton’s offense took advantage of the turnover. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw five passes for 67 yards. They overcame a holding penalty before Mitchell threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Tim White for a 7-0 lead with 1:43 left to cap off an 11-play drive for 74 yards.
Saskatchewan went two-and-out. Hamilton got the ball on their 31-yard line to begin the second quarter up 7-0. Hamilton had 105 yards on offense, while Saskatchewan struggled with 49 yards on offense.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Hamilton’s offense had 21 yards, and Saskatchewan’s offense had 37 yards. Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther had a chance to put points on the board but he missed a 51-yard field goal.
Later in the second quarter, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette got a couple of solid blocks up front on his way to rushing for a 47-yard touchdown. Kicker Brett Lauther missed the extra point and trailed Hamilton 7-6 with 3:09 left.
Saskatchewan had a chance to take the lead late in the second quarter, but kicker Brett Lauther missed a 50-yard field goal, and the Roughriders trailed the Tiger-Cats 7-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Hamilton had 181 yards on offense (167 yards passing, 23 yards rushing, 9 yards lost), 10 first downs, 1 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized four times for 35 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 15 of 19 passes (79%) for 167 yards and one touchdown.
Running back Greg Bell had three carries for 21 yards, and wide receiver Kenny Lawler made two catches for 47 yards. The defense made one tackle for loss.
Saskatchewan had 205 yards on offense (99 yards passing, 106 yards rushing), 12 first downs, and the team was penalized three times for 40 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 11 of 16 passes (69%) for 99 yards and one interception.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had seven carries for 81 yards and one touchdown. Wide receivers KeeSean Johnson and Dhel Duncan-Busby both made two catches for 27 yards. The defense made one tackle for loss and one sack.
Third Quarter:
Saskatchewan got the ball to start the third quarter. The offense gained 12 yards before punting the ball to Hamilton. Saskatchewan’s defense stepped up when Rolan Milligan picked off Bo Levi Mitchell for a 64-yard pick-six touchdown. Quarterback Trevor Harris threw to Dhel Duncan-Busby for two points and it was now 14-7 with 11:45 left. On that interception, Mitchell was intending to throw the ball to Tim White. Had Mitchell thrown the ball earlier, he would have completed the pass to White instead of a pick-six touchdown.
For the rest of the third quarter, the two teams traded field goals. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 38-yard field goal, and Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther made a 25-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 39-yard pass to Kenny Lawler to the one-yard line. Hamilton fullback Ante Milanovic-Litre scored the one-yard touchdown. However, Saskatchewan linebacker Jameer Thurman pointed to the officials that his coach wanted to challenge the play.
After several minutes, Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace got his challenge but lost. Milanovic-Litre would again score the one-yard touchdown and the game was tied 17-17 with 14:08 left to cap off a five-play drive for 70 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the two teams would again trade field goals. Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther made a 40-yard field goal, and Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 32-yard field goal, and the game was tied again 20-20 with 10:13 left.
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris threw three passes for 54 yards, and running back A.J. Ouellette carried the ball one time for one yard setting them up on Hamilton’s 15-yard line. On the next play, Harris threw the ball to KeeSean Johnson for the touchdown. The officials checked to see if Johnson broke the plain and indeed, he did. The Roughriders led the Tiger-Cats 27-20 with seven minutes left to cap off a six-play drive for 70 yards.
Late in the fourth quarter, Hamilton got closer when kicker Marc Liegghio made a 40-yard field goal and it was now 27-23 with 4:18 left. Saskatchewan had a chance to put the game away, but kicker Brett Lauther’s 29-yard field goal sailed wide left.
They did get a single point for a 28-23 lead with 50 seconds left. Hamilton got to Saskatchewan’s 50-yard line and came up short on third down. The Roughriders held on to beat the Tiger-Cats by the final score of 28-23.
Final Stats:
Saskatchewan had 416 yards on offense (295 yards passing, 133 yards rushing, 12 yards lost), 25 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized three times for 40 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 26 of 37 passes (70.2%) for 295 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Running back A.J. Ouellette led the rushers with 13 carries for 96 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver KeeSean Johnson led the receivers making eight catches for 124 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made 35 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, and one interception.
Hamilton had 370 yards on offense (336 yards passing, 51 yards rushing, 17 yards lost), 19 first downs, 2 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized five times for 40 yards. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 26 of 40 passes (65%) for 336 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Running back Greg Bell led the rushers with five carries for 46 yards, and Kenney Lawler led the receivers making eight catches for 162 yards. Hamilton wide receiver Tim White made three catches for 22 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made 44 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception.
Next week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+. The Toronto Argonauts are on a bye week. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub.
