The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-1) closed out Week 6 of the CFL season on Sunday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-3) from Mosaic Stadium. With Bo Levi Mitchell out for the foreseeable future, Jake Dolegala got the start for Hamilton. It was his 12th career CFL start. The last time he started a game was in August 2024 with the B.C. Lions. It was also linebacker Wynton McManis’s 100th-career CFL game.
Both offenses struggled to move the ball in the first quarter. Hamilton quarterback Jake Dolegala went 4 of 5 for 17 yards. His receivers had to jump to make the catches. Otherwise, they were going to be incomplete passes.
Saskatchewan had the ball on the 44-yard line. Quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 13-yard pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to the 53-yard line. The Roughriders moved the ball to the 27-yard line before kicker Alex Hale missed a 35-yard field goal wide right. Hamilton returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. conceded the single point. The Roughriders took a 1-0 lead with 8:18 left.
Hamilton quarterback Jake Dolegala threw a nine-yard pass to Kiondre Smith to the 49-yard line. Dolegala rushed for two yards, and Larry Rountree III rushed for two yards before Dolegala was sacked by James Vaughters for a five-yard loss. Hamilton punter Mitch McCarthy punted the ball 51 yards. The ball bounced into the endzone, where Saskatchewan returner Mathew Sexton conceded the single point. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the second quarter. Saskatchewan’s offense had 66 yards. Trevor Harris went 4 of 6 for 42 yards.
In the second quarter, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 37-yard line. Trevor Harris threw a seven-yard pass to Samuel Emilus to the 44-yard line. Running back A.J. Ouellette had three carries for 14 yards to the 52-yard line. They continued to move the ball to the 23-yard line. Kicker Alex Hale made a 32-yard field goal to give the Roughriders a 4-1 lead with 6:58 left.
Hamilton’s offense got a penalty for procedure to start their next drive. Running back Larry Rountree III got those yards back with a six-yard run to the 41-yard line. On the next play, Jake Dolegala threw a short pass to Larry Rountree III for 17 yards. Rountree III lost the ball after Damarcus Fields slapped it out, but Hamilton recovered it on the 52-yard line. Hamilton continued to move the ball to the 34-yard line, where kicker Marc Liegghio made a 42-yard field goal, tying the game 4-4 with 3:54 left.
Saskatchewan began its next drive with Trevor Harris throwing an 18-yard pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to the 52-yard line. Running back A.J. Ouellette had three carries for 23 yards, and Harris threw two more passes for 19 yards to the 10-yard line. On the next play, Saskatchewan went with a play-action pass. Harris froze the defense, allowing him to throw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus. The Roughriders took an 11-4 lead with 1:39 left to conclude a seven-play drive for 70 yards.
Hamilton returner Myron Mitchell gave the Tiger-Cats good field position with a 69-yard return to the 33-yard line. Jake Dolegala threw two passes for 19 yards, and rushed for a yard to the 13-yard line. Kicker Marc Liegghio made a 17-yard field goal. The Tiger-Cats trailed the Roughriders 11-7 at halftime.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 190 yards. Trevor Harris went 11 of 15 for 116 yards and one touchdown. A.J. Ouellette had 13 carries for 69 yards, while wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker made four catches for 51 yards, and Samuel Emilus made four catches for 34 yards and one touchdown.
Hamilton’s offense had 65 yards. Jake Dolegala went 7 of 13 for 53 yards, and three carries for five yards. Larry Rountree had four carries for 12 yards and two catches for 19 yards. Wide receiver Myron Mitchell made one catch for 10 yards, and Kenny Lawler made one catch for five yards.
In the third quarter, Saskatchewan returner Mathew Sexton broke four tackles for a 38-yard return. However, he injured his right knee as a cast was placed on it, and was carted away. Two plays in, Trevor Harris faked a play-action, but Hamilton linebacker Wynton McManis did not buy it and made the interception for a four-yard return to the 30-yard line.
Hamilton running back Larry Rountree III had two carries for 13 yards, while Jake Dolegala avoided pressure by running for 23 yards to the 44-yard line. The Tiger-Cats continued to move the ball to the 35-yard line. On third down, Dolegala was stopped by Jackson Ford, and Saskatchewan took over on the 35-yard line.
A.J. Ouellette rushed for two yards before Trevor Harris threw three passes for 43 yards to the 30-yard line. A.J. Ouellette rushed two more times for 12 yards to the 18-yard line. On the next play, Trevor Harris threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker for an 18-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter to conclude an eight-play drive for 75 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan moved the ball to the 48-yard line. Trevor Harris’s pass intended for KeeSean Johnson was intercepted by Stavros Katsantonis. Two plays later, Saskatchewan’s defense would get the ball back after Jake Dolegala completed a pass to Kenny Lawler. Antoine Brooks Jr. slapped the ball out of Lawler’s hand, and it was recovered by Marcus Sayles. He returned it to the one-yard line. Tommy Stevens followed his offensive linemen to score the touchdown. Kicker Alex Hale missed the extra point. It was now 24-7 with 9:05 left.
Late in the game, Hamilton moved the ball to the 15-yard line. On the next play, Jake Dolegala’s pass intended for Kenny Lawler was intercepted by Josh Woods for a pick-six 106-yard touchdown for a 31-7 lead with three minutes left.
Tre Ford replaced Jake Dolegala. He completed two passes for 14 yards, and rushed for 11 yards to the 45-yard line. On third down, Ford was sacked by Caleb Sanders for a five-yard loss. Saskatchewan quarterback Tommy Stevens rushed for 26 yards to the 14-yard line. On the next play, he faked a handoff before running up the middle for a 14-yard touchdown. The Roughriders dominated to a 38-7 win over the Tiger-Cats. The Roughriders scored 27 points off turnovers.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 342 yards (211 passing yards, 137 rushing yards, 6 yards lost), 25 first downs, 4 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 55 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 18 of 25 passes (72%) for 211 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 18 carries for 83 yards, while Tommy Stevens had eight carries for 54 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker made six catches for 78 yards and one touchdown, while Samuel Emilus made six catches for 72 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 45 tackles, one tackle for loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one turnover on downs.
Hamilton’s offense had 250 yards (169 passing yards, 100 rushing yards, 19 yards lost), 17 first downs, 0 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 45 yards. Quarterback Jake Dolegala completed 17 of 30 passes (56%) for 122 yards, one interception, and eight carries for 33 yards, while Tre Ford completed 5 of 6 passes (83%) for 47 yards and two carries for 24 yards.
Running back Larry Rountree III had nine carries for 36 yards, and six catches for 31 yards. Wide receiver Kiondre Smith made five catches for 56 yards, and Kenny Lawler made five catches for 38 yards. The defense made 42 tackles, one sack, and two interceptions.
Next Saturday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats host the Toronto Argonauts at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders are on a bye week.
