For three quarters Saturday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders stuck with the Calgary Stampeders.
Unfortunately for the Roughriders, the first quarter was a different story. Saskatchewan trailed the Stampeders 24-0 after the opening 15 minutes and never recovered en route to a 34-22 CFL loss at Mosaic Stadium.
“The first quarter, we shot ourselves in the foot,” Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge said. “We can’t turn the ball over, especially with a team like that. We’ve definitely got to execute on every play and, in the first quarter, it was very hard for our offence to get going.”
The Roughriders’ defence was put in difficult positions in the first quarter, as two turnovers by the offence and a no-yards penalty on the special teams helped Calgary enjoy short fields three times. The Stampeders scored 17 points on those possessions.
“Defensively, we didn’t come out with enough energy,” Roughriders defensive end Tobi Antigha said. “We gave up the big play early. We talk about us being a bend-but-don’t-break defence, but sometimes we don’t need to bend at all — especially against a good team like Calgary.
“In Hamilton (in a 31-20 victory on July 19), we started out slow but we were able to regain our momentum. When you play Calgary, you know you’ve got to be on top of everything because they’re a well-coached team, they’re a well-disciplined team and you know they’re going to take advantage of every mistake you make — and that’s what they did in that first quarter.”
Calgary improved to 6-0-0 with the win, while the Roughriders fell to 3-3-0.
The Stampeders opened the scoring at 3:52 of the opening frame when Bo Levi Mitchell hit Marken Michel with a 41-yard touchdown pass. Rene Paredes kicked the convert and Calgary led 7-0.
The TD came on the first play after the Roughriders’ Marcus Thigpen fumbled on a third-and-one gamble from the Saskatchewan 41.
The Roughriders’ next possession ended in a punt and a no-yards penalty, giving Calgary a first down at Saskatchewan’s 43-yard line. The defence held, forcing Paredes to kick a 52-yard field goal at 8:06.
The Stampeders built on their lead just three plays later, as Terry Williams returned a Josh Bartel punt 78 yards for a touchdown at 9:40. Paredes added the convert and it was 17-0.
It was the second straight game in which the Roughriders had allowed a punt-return TD; Hamilton’s Frankie Williams scored from 98 yards away in Saskatchewan’s victory on July 19.
The lead grew again at 14:18 of the first quarter, when Mitchell found Eric Rogers with a 15-yard TD pass. Paredes’ point-after made it 24-0.
That major was set up by another Saskatchewan turnover, a Jerome Messam fumble that Calgary recovered at the Roughriders’ 40.
Saskatchewan got on the board at 4:18 of the second quarter, when Brett Lauther kicked a 35-yard field goal.
The defence scored the Roughriders’ first TD of the game, as Antigha — who had dropped to safety — returned an interception 52 yards to paydirt at 10:26. Lauther’s convert made it 24-10 and the Roughriders had life.
It was Antigha’s first touchdown since Nov. 23, 2013, when, as a receiver, he caught a 35-yard TD pass from Heys McMath in Presbyterian College’s 20-13 loss to Gardner-Webb University.
Lauther completed the first-half scoring, kicking a 56-yard field goal at 14:36 that made it 24-13.
That tied him for the seventh-longest field goal in franchise history. The list comprises Paul McCallum (62 yards), Dave Ridgway (60), Paul Watson (59), McCallum (58), Bob Macoritti and McCallum (57) and Lauther and McCallum (56).
Lauther hoofed a pair of field goals in the third quarter — from 48 yards at 4:13 and from 32 yards at 9:40 — to cut Calgary’s lead to 24-19. But the Stampeders marched 75 yards in five plays for the response, a 15-yard TD pass from Mitchell to DaVaris Daniels.
Paredes kicked the convert and Calgary led 31-19 at 11:49 of the third.
Lauther’s fifth field goal of the game, a 47-yarder at 5:35 of the fourth, cut the deficit to 31-22. But Paredes connected from 35 yards out at 12:39 to complete the scoring.
The Roughriders had 14 first downs and 239 yards of net offence. Saskatchewan’s defence held Calgary to 12 first downs and 227 yards of net offence, but couldn’t overcome a tough first quarter.
“The one positive that comes out of this is the fact that our guys have a good belief system,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “They kept on fighting, they kept on scratching and made it a competitive game. Calgary had to play into the fourth quarter to win the game.”
Bridge played all but two offensive plays — backup David Watford ran the offence on those plays — and completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 147 yards. Bridge’s longest completion covered 17 yards as Saskatchewan tried to employ a ball-control offence.
Jones said his squad is trying to emulate Calgary, which doesn’t ask Mitchell to go deep too often. Instead, the Stamps look to run the ball and use short passes to maintain possession.
“We’re going to steal a little bit of what they’re doing, so you’d better get used to it because we’re going to do some more of it,” said Jones, whose team is to visit the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday.
“I can tell Edmonton right now: We’re going to run the football, we’re going to be running (bootlegs), we’re going to throw screens and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get good at that and we’re going to play great defence and special teams.”
