The Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-2) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (0-8) on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium in their second meeting of the season. The last time these two teams met was in Week 5 in Ottawa. The Roughriders came into this game missing several of their key players, including wide receivers Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker.
Ottawa got the ball to start the game at the 16-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 19 yards to the 35-yard line before they punted the ball to Saskatchewan. The Roughriders had the ball on the 54-yard line.
Quarterback Trevor Harris threw two passes for 29 yards, and running back Quali Conley had a carry for 11 yards to the 21-yard line. A penalty on Saskatchewan backed them up five yards. Kicker Alex Hale made a 35-yard field goal to put the Roughriders up 3-0 with 8:32 left.
Ottawa had the ball on the 40-yard line. Jake Maier called for the ball, but it bounced off Kalil Pimpleton. There was a scramble for the ball before it was recovered by Antoine Brooks Jr. at the 24-yard line. Then, Ottawa’s defense got the ball back when Trevor Harris’s pass intended for Quali Conley was intercepted by Lucas Cormier for a 12-yard return to the 23-yard line.
Late in the first quarter, Saskatchewan stopped Ottawa on second down. Ottawa was set to punt the ball. The ball was blocked by Nick Wiebe and recovered in the endzone by David Gbenda for the touchdown. However, an unnecessary roughness on Devin Adams making contact to the head of Ottawa long snapper Peter Adjey gave Ottawa an automatic first down. Adjey was injured after the ball and had to be carted off the field. The Redblacks moved the ball to the 38-yard line to close out the first quarter, trailing the Roughriders 3-0. Saskatchewan’s offense had 68 yards, and Ottawa’s offense had 67 yards.
In the second quarter, Jake Maier threw a 27-yard pass to Ayden Eberhardt to the one-yard line. On the next play, Bryson Barnes scored the touchdown. Lewis Ward missed the extra point wide right. The Redblacks took a 6-3 lead on a 13-play drive for 97 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Saskatchewan’s defense stopped Ottawa’s offense on third down. The Roughriders moved the offense to the seven-yard line before Alex Hale made a 15-yard field goal, tying the game 6-6 with 2:01 left.
After Ottawa went two-and-out, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 29-yard line. Trevor Harris threw five passes for 66 yards to the five-yard line. Then, Harris threw a quick pass to KeeSean Johnson for the touchdown. The Roughriders led 13-6 at halftime on an eight-play drive for 81 yards.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 236 yards. Trevor Harris went 15 of 22 for 201 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Quali Conley had five carries for 20 yards. Wide receiver KeeSean Johnson made eight catches for 107 yards and one touchdown, while Dylan Djete made two catches for 29 yards.
Ottawa’s offense had 162 yards. Jake Maier went 15 of 20 for 161 yards. Running back Greg Bell had four carries for eight yards. Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made five catches for 59 yards, while Keelen White made four catches for 42 yards.
In the third quarter, Ottawa had the ball on the 43-yard line. Jake Maier threw a 25-yard pass to Justin Hardy to the 18-yard line. Two plays later, Ayden Eberhardt was called for an offside penalty, backing the Redblacks five yards. On the next play, Maier threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Justin Hardy. They went for a two-point conversion, where Maier threw the ball to Kalil Pimpleton for two points. The Redblacks took a 14-13 lead with 11:56 left on a four-play drive for 53 yards.
Saskatchewan had the ball on the 41-yard line. Trevor Harris was sacked by Bryce Carter for a four-yard loss before he threw a 21-yard pass to D’Sean Mimbs to the 52-yard line. The Roughriders continued to move the ball to the 18-yard line. Then, Harris threw a corner route pass to Dylan Dejete, who broke a tackle on his way into the endzone. Saskatchewan went for a two-point conversion, where Harris completed the two-point conversion to KeeSean Johnson. It was now 21-14 with 8:33 left on a seven-play drive for 69 yards.
Ottawa moved the ball to the 51-yard line before punting it back to Saskatchewan. The Roughriders had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. They moved the ball to the one-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Tommy Stevens scored a one-yard touchdown. The Roughriders led 28-14 with 14:31 left on a 12-play drive for 96 yards. Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 15 yards before his next pass was intercepted by Jonathan Edouard at the 30-yard line. The Roughriders moved the ball to the six-yard line, where Tommy Stevens rushed up the middle to score the touchdown. It was now 35-14 with 9:38 left on a five-play drive for 80 yards.
Ottawa had the ball on the 31-yard line. They ate too much time moving the ball to the seven-yard line. Then, Maier threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to Keelen White. Kicker Lewis Ward missed the extra point. It was now 35-20 with 4:08 left on a 12-play drive for 79 yards.
Ottawa tried an onside kick, but Saskatchewan recovered it on the 43-yard line. Tommy Stevens had seven carries for 28 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown. The Roughriders led 42-20 with 1:17 left to conclude an eight-play drive for 43 yards.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson replaced Jake Maier. He threw two passes for 18 yards to the 53-yard line. Then, Thompson lost the ball when he was sacked by Liam Hoskins, and it was recovered by Benoit Marion, and that was the ballgame. The Roughriders beat the Redblacks 42-20 for their second straight win.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 535 yards (401 passing yards, 139 rushing yards, 5 yards lost), 30 first downs, 5 of 6 from the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 48 yards.
Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 30 of 38 passes (78.9%) for 401 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for eight yards. Harris became the 12th player in CFL history to reach 40,00 career passing yards. Running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon had seven carries for 63 yards, Tommy Stevens had nine carries for 45 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and Quali Conley had six carries for 23 yards.
Wide receiver KeeSean Johnson made 11 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown, while Johnny Johnson III made seven catches for 117 yards, and Dylan Dejete made four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 40 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
Ottawa’s offense had 353 yards (357 passing yards, 12 rushing yards, 16 yards lost), 24 first downs, 2 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 40 yards. Jake Maier completed 31 of 43 passes (72.1%) for 339 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for one yard. Running back Greg Bell had four carries for eight yards.
Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made eight catches for 99 yards, while Justin Hardy made four catches for 79 yards and one touchdown, and Keelen White made eight catches for 66 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 50 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception.
Next Friday, the Ottawa Redblacks visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network.
