The Roughriders fall to the Alouettes

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were eager to get off to a fast start to open the 2018 CFL regular season.

That notion has vanished reasonably quickly.

Saskatchewan fell to 1-2-0 on Saturday after a 23-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium. The Als had lost a club-record 13 straight games entering the contest, but took down a Saskatchewan team that expected a better start.

The Roughriders opened the regular season with a 27-19 victory over the defending Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts, but followed that with a 40-17 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks. Then came Saturday’s defeat.

“This is the third year in a row that we’ve dug ourselves a hole early in the year,” said Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones, whose team was 1-2-0 after three games in 2017 and 0-3-0 at the same point in 2016.

“You can’t hide and be like an ostrich and go put your head in the sand. You’ve got to face it head-on, see what you’re doing wrong and try to fix the problems. That’s the way I’ve always tried to handle business.”

One of the issues for the 2018 Roughriders is discipline. Saskatchewan was assessed 12 penalties for 120 yards on Saturday, with some of the infractions extending Montreal drives.

“We put ourselves behind the 8-ball with penalties after penalties after penalties,” said Roughriders defensive back Ed Gainey. “We got them in a couple of situations where they shot themselves in the foot. They got penalties as well, but we let them out the gate.

“We gave up a couple of big plays deep and they took advantage of it.”

The Als opened the scoring at 5:04 of the first quarter, when Boris Bede kicked a 17-yard field goal. The three-pointer came three plays after Drew Willy found B.J. Cunningham running open through the Saskatchewan secondary for a 48-yard gain to the Roughriders’ 17-yard line.

The Roughriders were moving the ball late in the first quarter, but a Brandon Bridge pass went through the hands of Naaman Roosevelt and was intercepted by Branden Dozier at the Montreal 10-yard line. He returned it 63 yards to the Saskatchewan 37 on the final play of the quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Willie Jefferson stripped Willy of the football and Tobi Antigha recovered at the Roughriders’ 42-yard line. However, that possession ended with a punt.

Saskatchewan knotted the score at 10:18 of the second quarter when Brett Lauther booted a 39-yard field goal.

But the tie lasted just one minute 17 seconds, as Willy found Chris Williams behind cornerback Duron Carter for a 79-yard pass-and-run touchdown at 11:35. Bede’s convert gave Montreal a 10-3 lead.

Bede added a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half and the Als led 13-3 at the break.

David Watford started the second half at quarterback for the Roughriders and he led them to a field goal on his second drive. Lauther’s 32-yarder at 5:57 of the third quarter cut the Als’ lead to 13-6.

“Brandon was struggling a little bit in the first half seeing the game and we decided at halftime that it would be a better option to try out David,” Jones said when asked to explain the move.

The Roughriders employed the same strategy in 2017, when Bridge relieved starter Kevin Glenn in 11 regular-season games and one playoff contest.

Bridge was making his first start of the season in place of Zach Collaros, who was put on the six-game injured list due to a concussion he suffered in Ottawa.

“You never want to be pulled, but I have to support it,” said Bridge, who completed eight of 18 pass attempts for 111 yards with two interceptions. “Last year, that’s how Kevin Glenn had to do it and he was supportive. I’ve got to be the same way. I’ve got to be supportive, no matter what.”

Bede kicked a 38-yard field goal at 8:58 and a 69-yard punt single at 13:51 to give Montreal a 17-6 advantage through three quarters.

Christion Jones provided a spark for the Roughriders early in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard punt return to the Montreal 17. Two plays later, Watford found Roosevelt with a five-yard TD pass — the first scoring toss of Watford’s CFL career.

A two-point convert attempt failed and the Als led 17-12 at 3:02.

Shortly after Jefferson recovered a Tyrell Sutton fumble at the Montreal 33, Lauther connected on a 25-yard field goal at 6:16 to cut the deficit to two.

Lauther had to try the kick after Watford’s pass to a wide-open Caleb Holley in the Als’ end zone hit an upright.

Bede restored Montreal’s five-point lead with a 21-yard field goal at 10:17. He added a 45-yarder at 12:16 and then conceded a safety at 14:59 to conclude the scoring.

Watford finished 10-for-22 passing for 108 yards with one TD and two interceptions. Roosevelt had six catches for 73 yards, while Shaq Evans recorded three receptions for 77 yards.

Asked who would start at quarterback Thursday when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit Mosaic Stadium, Jones replied: “We’ll see.”

Willy was 6-for-15 for 157 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter due to injury. Jeff Mathews was 8-for-12 for 98 yards in relief.

Williams had three catches for 130 yards, 126 of which came on two bombs over Carter.

“It was a game that we were definitely supposed to win and it sucks that we couldn’t get it done,” Gainey said. “Honestly, I don’t really have anything to say. They took advantage of their opportunities and they got it done.”