Game Recap
A late interception by Wynton McManis was the difference in Touchdown Atlantic as the Toronto Argonauts claimed Touchdown Atlantic over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 30-24.
Before the game, there a heated exchange before the game between the Riders Duke Williams and the Argos Shaq Richardson led to Williams tossing a helmet at the Argos player.
Nova Scotia’s Brett Lauther provided the opening score of the game, but not the way the kicker would’ve wanted to. Lauther’s field goal attempt 42 yards was right and was conceded for a single point to give the Riders the slight edge.
Defensively it was a strong start for the Riders on their opening series, forcing Toronto to punt after two plays.
Lauther would make good on his second try as he kicked a 36 yard field goal to move Saskatchewan’s lead to 4-0.
Toronto would score the first touchdown of the game early in the second quarter when Bethel McLeod-Thompson tossed a seven yard pass to DaVaris Daniels as the Argos grabbed their first lead of the game.
Saskatchewan would tie the game on Lauther’s second field goal of the game. The green and white received a scare when Cody Fajardo was sacked with a low hit from the Argo’s Shawn Oakman. Following the sack, Fajardo was hobbling but managed to remain in the game. The play was challenged by Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson but it was upheld after a review.
Blace Brown who was inserted in the Riders secondary on Saturday with the absences of Rolan Milligan and Amari Henderson, registered his first interception late in the second quarter.
Under three minutes of the opening half, Saskatchewan’s secondary got burnt for a touchdown as Cameron Phillips caught a 40 yard pass as the Argos regained the lead.
It was a quick response from the Riders offence, as they drove 60 yards on a possession that was capped off by a 13 yard touchdown reception for Jamal Morrow.
Before the end of the half, Toronto was able to end it off with a late 12 yard field goal from Boris Bede, with the Riders heading into the locker room at halftime down 17-14.
Bede would open the scoring in the second half with a 42 yard field goal to push the Argos lead to 20-14.
In the final quarter, down by a touchdown, the Riders would tie the game up following after Williams hauled in a catch turned it into a 32 yard touchdown as the Riders tied the game at 21-21.
Tempers boiled all afternoon, in the fourth quarter, Williams and Richardson renewed acquaintances on a couple of occasions.
The Riders took the lead on the third field goal of the afternoon from 32 yards out, as the green and white led 24-21.
An attempt to tie the game for the Argos was missed when Bede was unable to hit a 42 field goal.
With a two point edge, Saskatchewan was unable to manage the lead. McManis intercepted Fajardo’s pass and returned it for 50 yards for a touchdown. Toronto grabbed the advantage at 30-24.
Fajardo and the Riders had one more attempt to stage a late game rally, but the comeback was ended when Richardson collected a deflected ball and recorded the interception to end the game.
It was up and down for the Riders QB, Fajardo ended up going 24 for 34 for 284 yards passing for a pair of touchdowns and three interceptions.
Kian Schaffer-Baker ended his afternoon with seven catches for 96 yards.
Jamal Morrow had 106 combined yards on offence for Saskatchewan.
Postgame Comments
After the game Head Coach Craig Dickenson spoke to the voice of the Riders, Michael Ball and said the Riders had to deal with a couple of late scratches.
A.C. Leonard was a late minute subtraction from the lineup. The Riders coach says the defensive end had been dealing with a shoulder injury over the last couple of weeks and wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but Leonard re-aggravated the injury earlier in the day and was unable to suit up.
Rolan Milligan was also absent from the lineup against the Argos. Dickenson says the defensive halfback woke up sick and couldn’t make it on the field against the Argos. He added it was difficult for the defence to play on Saturday with a different lineup than the one they were practicing with ahead of the matchup with the Argos but added that he thought the defence had a solid game.
It was a tough afternoon for Farjardo as he took a lot of hits as he’s already dealing with an injured knee. Dickenson said is QB battled all afternoon. “He’s a gritty tough guy and I think the players really respond to him.”
On the game winning interception by McManis, Dickenson credited the Argos defender for making a key play at a pivotal moment of the contest. “Every once in a while you have to tip your hat to the opponent and that’s one of those plays we needed to do that.”
Saskatchewan’s record drops down to 4-2 while the Argos move up to 2-2.
The two teams will meet for the back end of the home and home set on Saturday, July 23 at Mosaic Stadium. Opening kickoff is 5:00.
