The Saskatchewan Roughriders registered their fifth consecutive season-opening victory, but not without some tense moments — outlasting the Ottawa REDBLACKS 31-26 at Mosaic Stadium on Thursday.
The Roughriders led 31-14 before Ottawa scored all 12 fourth-quarter points.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Head Coach Corey Mace said, “but it was a win.”
Saskatchewan got two touchdown passes from Trevor Harris, who hit Samuel Emilus and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon for majors.
Emilus caught eight passes for 133 yards.
Bertrand-Hudon also scored on a six-yard run for his second two-TD game as a CFLer. The first one was on Sept. 29th, 2023 against the host B.C. Lions.
Bertrand-Hudon was in the game for tailback A.J. Ouellette, who was sidelined by an injury late in the first quarter.
“I’m just happy to help the team win,” Bertrand-Hudon said after rushing 14 times for a game-high 57 yards.
Ouellette and two other starters — defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. and receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker — left the game with injuries sustained in the first half. Offensive tackle Payton Collins, making his first CFL start, left the game in the third quarter.
“It’s not like we had small pieces go down, either,” Harris noted.
Despite injuries to four key players — whose status was undetermined after the game — the Roughriders’ resilience and resourcefulness paid off once again.
“Guys stepped up in a lot of different ways,” middle linebacker Jameer Thurman said after registering 10 defensive tackles and one sack in his 100th CFL game.
“We had guys playing a lot of special teams and playing a lot of defensive snaps, but we found a way and then we came away with the win.”
After Ottawa assumed a 7-0 lead, Saskatchewan scored 24 consecutive points — and 31 of the next 38 — before Ottawa’s offence caught fire.
The game’s first possession did not begin auspiciously for the REDBLACKS, who were penalized for a time-count violation that took them back to their 23-yard line. Ottawa proceeded to march 87 yards in 10 plays, including seven Dru Brown completions for 84 yards.
Short-yardage quarterback Dustin Crum ended the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Lewis Ward added the convert.
A missed field-goal attempt by Ward was returned 60 yards by Mario Alford, who ignited a seven-play, 64-yard march. Tommy Stevens reached the end zone on a one-yard quarterback sneak on the first play of the second quarter. Brett Lauther’s convert created a 7-7 tie.
Saskatchewan went ahead 14-7 when Lauther converted a nine-yard touchdown pass from Harris to Emilus, who scored at 6:37 of the second quarter.
Lauther’s 18-yard field goal, with 17 seconds remaining in the second quarter, put Saskatchewan up 17-7 and concluded the first-half scoring.
The Roughriders assumed a 24-7 lead when Lauther’s extra point followed a 14-yard touchdown pass from Harris to Bertrand-Hudon. It was the first TD reception for the Delaware State product as a college or professional player.
The TD pass, the 182nd of Harris’s career, moved him into sole possession of 19th on the CFL’s all-time list. Russ Jackson (185) is 18th.
Ottawa ended Saskatchewan’s run of 24 consecutive points when Brown hit Eugene Lewis for an eight-yard score at 8:30 of the third quarter. Ward’s convert made it 24-14.
Bertrand-Hudon’s six-yard TD run, on second-and-goal, was followed by a Lauther conversion that increased Saskatchewan’s advantage to 31-14.
Ottawa stormed back, however, and got a two-yard TD run by William Stanback early in the fourth quarter. Ward’s convert attempt was unsuccessful.
The REDBLACKS scored again when Brown found Justin Hardy for a 27-yard TD at 10:04 of the fourth quarter. A failed two-point conversion attempt left Saskatchewan with a 31-26 lead.
The REDBLACKS began their final possession on their 41-yard line, with 1:12 left in the game.
On second down, Malik Carney registered his second sack of the game, felling Brown for a loss of 16. A third-and-26 gamble was unsuccessful with 40 seconds left.
“(Carney) was ballin’,” Thurman said. “I knew that there was a time when we had a lead that our defensive line was going to start eating. They saw the opportunity as well and then they got after the quarterback.”
After the REDBLACKS’ turnover on downs, the Roughriders ran out the clock.
Brown completed 34 of 41 passes for 413 yards. Harris was 19-for-26 for 277 yards.
Hardy, like Emilus, had eight catches for 133 yards. Ottawa’s Bralon Addison added eight receptions for 112 yards.
The Roughriders are now idle until June 14th, when they visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Then comes a June 20th road game against the Toronto Argonauts.
Saskatchewan returns home on June 28th when the B.C. Lions pay a visit (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
EXTRA POINTS
• Alford had the longest missed field goal return (60 yards) by a Roughrider in a regular-season opener.
• Stevens scored on his first carry as a Roughrider. With 10 rushing TDs for the Calgary Stampeders last season, Stevens was tied for the league lead.
• Harris has 22 touchdown passes in his last 12 starts for Saskatchewan.
• Saskatchewan did not punt until 2½ minutes into the fourth quarter, when Joe Couch was called upon for the first time in a regular-season game. Couch spent last season on the Roughriders’ practice roster.
• The Roughriders registered four sacks without surrendering one.
• Saskatchewan, which in 2024 set a league record for fewest lost fumbles in a season (four), fumbled four times and lost two on Thursday. The Roughriders fumbled 11 times in 18 games last season.
• Lauther has hit 23 consecutive regular-season field-goal attempts. His streak is at 28 when playoffs are included. With seven points on Thursday, he needs only six for 1,000 as a CFLer.
• With four converts, Lauther increased his total as a Roughrider to 167 and moved into a tie with Reg Whitehouse for fifth in team history. Dave Ridgway leads the way with 541, followed by Paul McCallum (405), Jack Abendschan (312) and Luca Congi (237).
• Both teams capitalized in the red zone. Saskatchewan was 4-for-5. Ottawa was 3-for-3.
• Ottawa rushed for only 30 yards on 14 carries. The REDBLACKS had three rushing yards at halftime. Saskatchewan has allowed 30 or fewer rushing yards four times in 19 regular-season games under Mace, who doubles as the defensive co-ordinator.
• Thursday’s attendance: 25,973.
SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
Ott — TD Crum 1 run (Ward convert) 6:35
Brown was 7-for-7 for 84 yards.
SECOND QUARTER
Sask — TD Stevens 1 run (Lauther convert) 0:13
Riders moved 64 yards in seven plays after Alford returned missed field goal 60 yards.
Sask — TD Emilus 9 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 6:37
Key play was a 34-yard pass from Harris to Emilus.
Sask — FG Lauther 18 14:43
Harris completed three straight passes to Emilus for a total of 45 yards
THIRD QUARTER
Sask — TD Bertrand-Hudon 14 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 3:19
Harris hit Johnson for gains of 38 (on second-and-17) and 22.
Ott — Lewis 8 pass from Brown (Ward convert) 8:30
Brown was 6-for-6 for 60 yards on 10-play, 73-yard TD drive.
Sask — TD Bertrand-Hudon 6 run (Lauther convert) 11:02
34-yard kickoff return by Alford set up Roughriders on Ottawa’s 43-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER
Ott — TD Stanback 2 run (convert failed) 0:57
Nine-play, 95-yard touchdown drive.
Ott — TD Hardy 27 pass from Brown (two-point convert failed) 10:40
Brown was 5-for-5 for 85 yards.
