REGINA — It took the Saskatchewan Roughriders a little longer than they would have liked to get rolling on Saturday afternoon against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, but once they did, it was another utterly dominant performance for the Green and White.
Saskatchewan scored 18 unanswered points in the second quarter and would go on to a 29-9 win in front of a sold-out crowd at Mosaic Stadium. It’s the second game in a row they’ve faced the top team in the East Division and went on to a commanding victory, after taking a 34-6 win over Montreal in Week 9.
As the score would indicate, Saskatchewan's defence was absolutely smothering from start to finish, getting regular and consistent pressure on Hamilton quarterback Bo-Levi Mitchell. That resulted in six sacks on the afternoon, with Mitchell only managing 201 yards passing and the Tiger-Cats ofence being held to 255 yards total.
So how did the Riders almost completely shut down one of the CFL’s top offences?
“Communication and playing together,” linebacker A.J. Allen said on the Rider Broadcast Network post-game show after leading the team with seven tackles and a sack. “We have a great group of guys, great coordinators as well, the D-line is always getting after it. Playing together is what's helping us a lot right now, testament to everybody out there.”
The Roughriders secondary was also getting the job done, holding Hamilton’s lethal ‘Three Amigos’ receiving group — Kenny Lawler, Tim White and Kiondre Smith — to five catches for 81 yards. Allen said the key to limiting their production was to be aware of situations and what Hamilton liked to do.
“There's definitely more situations where Kenny likes to get involved and there's situations where Kiondre gets involved and trying to put Bo in situations he doesn't likem” Allen said. “We can't focus on one person, they have a great receiving corps and a great running back as well, so it's a matter of situations.”
As well as things turned out, they weren’t looking all that good for Saskatchewan through the first 15 minutes. Hamilton had a couple lengthy drives that reached Saskatchewan's red zone, but neither resulted in touchdowns, as the Tiger-Cats were forced to settle for a pair of field goals. Hamilton ended up with a 6-1 lead out of the first quarter, but that all changed after the short break.
Dohnte Meyers gave Saskatchewan the lead with a 58-yard touchdown, Tommy Nield had a 26-yard catch for a major late in the second quarter and Brett Lauther hit a 59-yard field goal for a 19-6 Riders lead at halftime.
A major factor in the receiving corps suddenly breaking free was the play of running back A.J. Ouellette, who gave the Tiger-Cats enough trouble with his hard-nosed runs they had to adjust for what he was doing. Once that happened, it was all systems go.
“They approached our run game a little different than the last time we played them,” said Ouellette, who had 18 carries for 84 yards and three catches for 33 yards. “Once we found out what they were doing, once me and the offensive line got in a groove and started thinking alike, we started clicking. That opens up the pass game and then the pass game is helping out the run game at the end.”
Robustelli added a 15-yard touchdown in the third quarter and a 14-yard field goal in the final minute of the game capped scoring for Saskatchewan, Hamilton, meanwhile, was held to a Marc Liegghio field goal in the fourth quarter.
As one might expect, Riders' head coach Corey Mace was more than happy with his troops’ impressive showing, especially on the defensive side of things as they gave one of the CFL’s most dangerous quarterbacks fits all night — a product of the preparation heading into the game.
“Those guys worked their tails off all week, had a great week of practice,” Mace said. “Shout out to those guys for really taking the time to really dive into the playbook and how the coaches were teaching — that's a credit to them.”
Getting pressure on Mitchell all game was a key factor in that success and gave the defensive backs more opportunities to go ball hunting.
“I thought the guys did a great job of that,” Mace said. “The DBs did a good job of disguising coverages, executing coverages and we were able to come away with a couple turnovers as well. Ultimately, that was good enough for us to win this week.”
The Roughriders are beginning to run away with the Canadian Football League regular season standings, improving to 8-1, sitting two wins clear of Calgary on top of the West Division. Hamilton fell to 6-4 and remain first in the East.
There are also a couple of connections to historic Rider teams — the 8-1 start has only happened one other time in history, that being the Grey Cup-winning 2013 campaign. And the last time Saskatchewan held teams to single digit points in back-to-back games came in 2007, another season that ended with a Riders Grey Cup.
Trevor Harris went 21-for-27 passing with 307 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. KeeSean Johnson was his favourite target with eight catches for 118 yards. Rolan Milligan Jr. and Tevaughn Campbell each had interceptions, Micah Johnson picked up a pair of sacks.
Saskatchewan is back in action on Saturday, August 13 when the team travels to Calgary for their second meeting of the season against the Stampeders. Kick-off is 5 p.m. on the Rider Broadcast Network.
