ROB VANSTONE: Sam’s stellar six-point snag sparked Saskatchewan’s Sunday scoring surge
As the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats in CFL action in Regina, SK, July 12, 2026. Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
On a day when the Saskatchewan Roughriders tied their all-time temperature record, it took the offence a little while to heat up.
But when it did, it was essentially curtains for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who succumbed 38-7 at Mosaic Stadium on a sweltering Sunday.
The game was deadlocked at 4-4 when Trevor Harris found a wide-open Samuel Emilus for a 10-yard touchdown at 13:21 of the second quarter.
“It was big — especially getting that energy back in the building,” said Emilus, whose fourth major of the 2026 CFL season punctuated a seven-play, 70-yard drive.
Emilus scored Saskatchewan’s first of five touchdowns as its record improved to 4-1.
Well before the offence found its groove, the Roughriders’ defence made it clear that the home team would not require an abundance of points to win.
At halftime, the Tiger-Cats had a paltry 65 yards of net offence, compared to Saskatchewan’s total of 190.
The time of possession was tilted in the Roughriders’ favour — 18:22 — over the first 30 minutes.
Saskatchewan owned the football for nearly 28 of the first 45 minutes, at which point the home side led 17-7.
The lone major of the third quarter was courtesy of an 18-yard scoring strike from Harris to Kian Schaffer-Baker. He completed an eight-play, 75-yard drive that began after safety Jaxon Ford made the stop on a third-and-short gamble for the second game in a row.
All of that was a prelude to one of the most statistically improbable fourth quarters you will ever see.
Over the final 15 minutes, Hamilton possessed the football for an eye-opposing 11:54. One would presume, then, that points would follow.
Oh, did they ever.
Saskatchewan erupted for all 20 fourth-quarter points despite owning the football for only 3:06 in the final frame.
How could that be so? We are delighted to provide you, the valued reader, with a detailed explanation.
Roughriders linebacker Antoine Brooks Jr. stripped the football from Tiger-Cats star receiver Kenny Lawler. Saskatchewan cornerback Marcus Sayles recovered the fumble and sailed 40 yards down the right sideline before being pushed out of bounds a few inches shy of the goal line.
Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens took it from there, plunging for a one-yard TD to help Saskatchewan assume a 24-7 lead with 5:38 remaining in the game.
Hamilton responded by moving the football 61 yards in 11 plays — devouring 6:01 — before linebacker Josh Woods intercepted ex-Roughrider Jake Dolegala on the three-yard line.
With the outcome secured, Saskatchewan’s defence delivered yet again. Caleb Sanders’ sack of Tre Ford on third-and-eight forced a turnover on downs.
Touchdown Tommy took it from there. Stevens ran for 26 yards before taking off on a 14-yard excursion that ended with a dive over the goal line. So concluded a Roughriders run of five TDs in 30:17.
“I thought (the offensive linemen) did a really good job up front, giving me the opportunity to get in there,” Stevens said.
Suitably, one of the game balls was presented to the entire offensive line, which created space for Stevens and running back A.J. Ouellette while permitting only one sack.
The Roughriders excelled in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Defensive end James Vaughters registered two sacks before Sanders, an interior lineman, forced the game’s final turnover on downs.
“It’s a team effort,” Vaughters said. “If the quarterback can’t step up in the pocket, the defensive ends should be getting sacks. If he can step up in the pocket, the defensive tackles should be getting them.
“It ebbs and flows. I always talk about it when I’m getting sacks and I’m not getting them. It’s always a team effort.”
That has been especially true over the past two games —a period in which the Roughriders have scored at least one touchdown in all three facets of the game.
Mathew Sexton took off on a 101-yard punt-return touchdown when the Roughriders defeated the host Ottawa REDBLACKS 27-22 on July 3. (Sexton sparkled again on Sunday before suffering what appeared to be a significant foot injury on the first play of the second half.)
On Sunday, Saskatchewan scored one defensive touchdown and was one yard away from a second.
The offence, once the TD by Emilus broke the ice, did more than enough for the Roughriders to win.
“That’s the complementary football we’re looking for,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “It’s about having each other’s back.
“It’s football. It’s adversity. Whoever makes a play, whether it’s big or small, doing your job allows someone else to make another play.
“Whether you’re a sparkplug or you’re the transmission or you’re the gas pedal, if some of those things aren’t working, I don’t care what kind of Ferrari you’ve got. It’s dead in the water.”
A perfect analogy following a game that had a Hot Wheels theme.
And who could have envisioned, when the game was originally scheduled, how ridiculously hot it would turn out to be?
The temperature at the opening kickoff was 35 degrees. Not since 1952 had the Roughriders played a home game in such heat.
When all was said and done, the defending Grey Cup champions were basking in another victory.
