WINNIPEG — The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers put a kicking on each other to open their respective Canadian Football League pre-seasons.
In a contest filled with substitutions and changes as the two teams worked rookie and veteran players alike in and out of the line-up, the Blue Bombers would go on to take a 15-9 victory at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Saturday afternoon.
Every point in the contest was scored by their respective place kickers, Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo nailed all five field goals he attempted, while Brett Lauther was 2-of-3 and Brian Garrity hit one of his two attempts for the Roughriders.
It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities, though, as both teams had multiple lengthy drives stall in the red zone — a sign that moving the ball isn’t an excessive challenge, but the finish undoubtedly needs to develop. Of course, that’s what the exhibition season is for, and Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace saw plenty of positives even in the loss.
“I thought our effort was there, but towards the back end of the game, I noticed guys were getting a little tired out there, some of the young bucks trying to figure out special teams straight to offence and defence,” Mace told the 620 CKRM Rider radio post-game show. “The physicality I thought was there, I thought we did a good job defensively on some of the quick game stuff, making big hits. Offensively, we had a couple good runs, specifically when Thomas the Train [Bertrand-Hudon] was in there. and A.J. [Ouellette] busted off a good run. So it was good from an effort and physicality standpoint, just small details of some young guys getting their first shot.”
That was naturally a major part of the contest, with a host of players getting their first CFL experience on Saturday afternoon. As a result, the goal of the game was mainly evaluation and how players performed in certain situations.
“There were a couple times out there today that during the season, maybe we don't make the same decisions, but it’s part of the evaluation,” Mace said. “It's something we call to be executed, so we want to see if those guys can handle that and that's part of trying to find the best possible guys to make the team.”
One player that stood out for the Riders was third-year veteran and University of Regina Rams graduate Jaxon Ford, who finished with four tackles — two for a loss — and tied fellow defensive backs Marcus Sayles and Roland Milligan Jr. for the team lead. Ford felt his past experience has helped him get off to a solid start this season and will ideally lead to continued progress.
“Every day is a ladder,” Ford told 620 CKRM colour analyst Luc Mullinder post-game. “We're building, building and building until we get to the top. I'm going to build off this, learn from the film and continue.”
Bertrand-Hudon also raised a few eyebrows with his showing, as he had six carries for 41 yards and was arguably the Roughriders’ most effective running back.
“It was very fun,” he said about the opening game. “It was good to be back on offence and run the ball a lot, the o-line opened some holes. I was able to be patient and hit the gap very fast. It felt great, especially after all camp. I think I've been doing good during camp, so being able to translate that to an actual game was great.”
The Game
As for how the game played out, Castillo had a 19-yard field goal for the only points in the first quarter before hitting from 50 yards and 41 yards for a 9-3 lead heading into half time. Castillo then knocked home boots from 18 yards and 21 yards in the fourth quarter to snuff out any Riders comeback attempt.
There was a bit of a sense of what might have been, as Lauther hit from 31 yards in the second quarter, but was 1-for-2 after the break, putting a kick off the upright from 39 yards out and then knocking one through from 26 yards to make it a 9-6 lead through three quarters.
Garrity kicked in the fourth quarter and missed from 48 yards before hitting from 18 yards and making for an interesting finish down the stretch. The Riders would get things going in the final minute and drive 40 yards on three plays before running out of time.
Roughriders Stats
All four Riders quarterbacks saw action, with Jake Maier going 8-for-13 passing for 80 yards, while Jack Coan was 3-for-6 for 58 yards, starter Trevor Harris 3-for-8 for 38 yards and Tommy Stevens 2-for-3 for 21 yards.
A.J. Oullette ran three times for 26 yards, including an impressive 21-yard run where he hurdled a Winnipeg defender for extra yards. Mario Anderson had seven carries for 16 yards, Stevens three for 15 and Trent Pennix one carry for two.
The Riders quarterbacks targeted nine different receivers, with Brayden Misseri leading with three catches for 51 yards, KeeSean Johnson catching two for 30 and D’Sean Mimbs three for 21.
All told, Saskatchewan had 297 yards total offence, including 100 yards on the ground.
Blue Bombers Stats
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros was his usual self, going 10-for-13 for 93 yards, while Terry Wilson was 6-for-8 for 72 yards, Chris Strevler 6-for-10 for 49 yards and Chase Artopoeus 5-for-6 for 43 yards.
Quinton Cooley led the Bombers ground attack with five carries for 36 yards.
Fifteen difference receivers had at least a catch, with Keric Wheatfall making three for 28 yards, Reggie White Jr. three for 27 yards, Myron Mitchell three for 27 yards and Kevens Clercius three for 18 yards.
Twenty different players had at least one tackle on defence.
Winnipeg had 310 yards total offence, 77 yards on the ground.