Game Recap
For the first time this season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were unable to hold on to their lead after the second and third quarters as they were defeated by the Toronto Argonauts 31-21.
The Riders defence forced five turnovers and the special teams provided by a touchdown, but it still wasn’t enough as Saskatchewan suffered their first loss on home turf in 2022.
Jake Dolegala had a slow start throwing the ball early on Sunday. His first pass was a few feet high of his intended target, Dieuly Artsilde Jr.
Toronto generated some momentum on their second drive of the game with a couple of bubble screen passes. Markeith Ambles had a 17 yard reception for the Argos in the beginning of the drive, that was followed by Kurleigh Gittens Jr. picking a up a 19 yard catch. Boris Bede would cap the first drive with a 26 yard field goal to open the scoring 3-0.
Dolegala would complete his first pass of the game on the third drive for the Roughriders as he completed a nine yard pass to Tevin Jones for the first Saskatchewan first down of the game.
Darnell Sankey provided the first big play of the game late in the first quarter with an interception inside of the Argos side of the field. The Riders weren’t able to move the ball and had to settle with a 28 yard field goal as Saskatchewan tied the game 3-3.
Argos running back Andrew Harris became the 6th player in CFL history to rush for over 10,000 early in the second quarter. Later in the drive, Harris tried to cross the goal line on a third down play inside of the Riders one yard line, but he was unable to cross the line as the Riders defence held their ground and forced a fumble on third down that was recovered by the men wearing green jerseys.
After Saskatchewan was unable to create anything with the turnover, the Argos would score the first touchdown of the game as Gittens Jr. hauled in a reception and sped his way for 70 yards.
Saskatchewan’s defence provided another timely response as Charleston Hughes 134th career sack knocked the ball out McLeod Bethel Thompson’s hand which the Riders recovered on the Argos 50.
The third turnover was the charm for the Riders as they were able to drive down the field for their first touchdown of the game as Jones hauled in a ten yard reception for the score.
At the end of the first half, Boris Bede attempted a 61 yard field goal, but missed wide right, Mario Alford would then take the ball and run it down the sideline for a 112 yard touchdown as Saskatchewan led 15-11 at the conclusion of the first half.
Jamal Morrow made the first major mistake on offence as he fumbled the ball inside of the his own territory. The defence was able to limit the double blue offence to a field goal with the Riders lead shrinking to 15-14.
Samuel Emilus showcased his speed as he got in behind the Argos, Emilus had to slow down to wait for Dolegala’s pass, but was still able to catch the ball for a 51 yard reception. The possession would end with a 28 yard field goal from Brett Lauther.
The fans at Mosaic Stadium rose from the seats, as Hughes batted a loose fumble and recovered it and ran it for what everyone thought was a touchdown. After a lengthy pause, it was ruled a illegal forward pass. Saskatchewan was unable to punch it in from the one yard line, and after a penalty, had to settle for a field goal, as the Riders had a 21 -14 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter started with a bang for the Riders as they were able stop Bethel-Thompson’s quarterback sneak short, as the green and white defence forced their fifth turnover of the game.
The Argos would tie the game with 4:28 remaining in regulation as Cam Phillips caught a five yard touchdown to even up the score 21-21.
Harris would continue his dominance on the final drive with 27 yards rushing, as Toronto chewed up nearly three minutes in the later stages of the game. The drive ended with a 30 yard field goal by Bede that gave the Argos a 24-21 lead with 43 seconds.
On the ensuing kickoff, Alford fumbled the ball which was scooped up by Enoch Penney-Laryea of the Argos and he returned it for a touchdown as the Argos provided the final blow to the Riders hopes.
Jones was the top receiver as he ended up with five catches and 67 yards.
Harris ended his afternoon with 143 yards rushing to lead the Argos to the win. Gittens Jr. had 152 yards receiving along with his touchdown.
The Riders fall to 4-3 on the season and will host BC on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium,
Postgame notes
After the game Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson felt a key point of the game was his team’s inability to convert Hughes fumble into a major.
“I felt like if we could’ve scored that touchdown, on the Charleston fumble recovery, and the quarterback sneak that was called back, I felt like if we could’ve gotten that one in, that we go up at ten at that point, felt like we could have won the game.”
Hughes says he was utilizing his instincts to try and create a big play when he moved the ball on the fumble.
“One of the refs came up to me in the play and said if I would’ve kicked the ball, it would’ve been a touchdown, but because I reached down and tried to scoop the ball with one hand, he interpreted it as I advance the ball forward, but it was like one of those things you got to make a quick decision, and I guess the decision wasn’t in my favour.”
With his third string quarterback pressed into duty, Dickenson felt Dolegala did a good job as one could have done in his situation.
“We wanted him to manage the game, not turn the ball over, I thought he did a good job of that, the one quarterback sneak, he got a little bit excited, he went a little early, our lineman weren’t set, but it’s on the lineman to get set also, so there’s a shared responsibility with that, but more the most part he looked poised.”
Even though there was some positivity feelings within the Riders after coming close to pulling off the upset win, Dolegala wouldn’t interpret Sunday’s game as a moral victory.
“Do I like to think today was one, not really, my job is to put the team in the position to win and I don’t feel like I did that. ”
When asked about Cody Fajardo’s status for Friday’s game against BC, Dickenson says there is a chance Fajardo could miss the first matchup of the season with the Lions on Friday. The Riders Head Coach also said that if Fajardo is unable to play against BC, no decision has been made on who would then get the start between Dolegala and Mason Fine.
Tevin Jones enjoyed a breakout game being the receiver on the Riders to catch multiple receptions. (The Riders running backs Jamal Morrow and Frankie Hickson combined for seven receptions) Jones feels his job is to catch the ball, no matter who is behind the centre.
“When I first got there, I told all the quarterbacks, throw it my way, I’m going to try and catch it, I don’t care who it is, I don’t care if it’s our equipment guy throwing the ball to me, put it in the air I’m going to catch it, that’s my job, I came here, to catch the ball, I came here, to do all I can, to help this team, whether it’s special teams, offence, if they throw me on defence I’m going to try and make a tackle, if they put the ball in the air, I’m going to take too.”
Mario Alford provided one of the biggest highlights of the night with his 112 yard touchdown, but also made a mistake when he tried to make an extra move that led to a fumble which led to a recovery that sealed the win for Toronto. The returner felt despite the highlights, the green and white didn’t accomplish the ultimate goal on Sunday.
“I’m not satisfied with the game even though, I did do that big return, we got to finish, I got to finish, on my part, it’s an even keel.” Alford added. “I scored, it is what it is but I’m ready to get back to work.”
Dickenson said the Argos did their best to get Andrew Harris rolling for them on Sunday.
“You can tell that they wanted to feed the ball to the running back by handing it to him or throwing it to him and win the game through Andrew Harris and he did, had an outstanding game, we couldn’t get off the field, and a lot of it he was really chewing up yards, I think they almost had 80 plays tonight which is way more than you want a team to have and it’s hard, you wear down after awhile when you’re on the field that long. ”
Saskatchewan will have the day off on Monday before they begin a short week of practice as they host BC on Friday night. You can catch the game on 620 CKRM with opening kickoff at 7:00.
