On Saturday afternoon, the Saskatchewan Roughriders battled the Toronto Argonauts in the Touchdown Atlantic game from Acadia University’s Raymond Field in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, for the first time in three years.
Before the game started, Roughriders wide receiver Duke Williams hit Shaq Richardson with his own helmet. These two went at it again later in the game.
The Roughriders got the ball to start the game. Quarterback Cody Fajardo and running back Jamal Morrow led the offense down to Toronto’s 34-yard line before facing a 3rd and 11. Roughriders’ kicker Brett Lauther missed a 42-yard field goal, but Brandon Banks jogged around in the endzone before taking a knee, giving the Roughriders a 1-0 lead.
Late in the first quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther made a 36-yard field goal, extending the Roughriders’ lead 4-0 with 2:37 left. When Toronto got the ball, McLeod Bethel-Thompson made two big plays. First, he threw a 15-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels, and then he ran for 15 yards. Running back, Andrew Harris had three carries to get the Argo’s to Saskatchewan’s 14-yard line as the first quarter ended down 4-0.
In the second quarter, Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson dropped back and threw the ball to the corner of the endzone, where DaVaris Daniels went up to catch the ball with a Roughriders defender on him for the touchdown. Toronto led 7-4 with 14:44 left.
Penalties killed the Roughriders’ on the next drive. On 3rd and 1, Roughriders running back Jamal Morrow ran for 51 yards to get them at the Argo’s 17-yard line. On 1st and 10, wide receiver Duke Williams was called for holding, but luckily, the penalty was off-set when Toronto Benoit Marion was also penalized, and they replayed first down. Then, a holding call against Logan Ferland made it 2nd and 16 for Saskatchewan. They could not get the first down, and Brett Lauther made his field goal for 30-yards that tied the game, 7-7, with 10:35 left.
On Toronto’s next possession, McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass was intercepted by Blace Brown. However, the Roughriders’ offense went two-and-out, and Toronto got the ball back. After Toronto went two-and-out, the Roughriders got the ball back, but Royce Metchie intercepted Cody Fajardo’s pass.
On 2nd and 10, Argo’s quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Cam Phillips after a Roughriders’ defense blew his assignment. The score was now 14-7 Toronto, with 2:25 left in the second quarter.
On Saskatchewan’s next drive, Cody Fajardo led the team down to the Argo’s 13-yard line. On 1st and 10, Fajardo scrambled out of the pocket before throwing the ball to Jamal Morrow. Morrow broke the plain as he got whacked in the endzone for the touchdown, tying the game 14-14 with 1:01 left. Just as the clock expired for halftime, Toronto kicker Boris Bede made a 12-yard field goal, putting the Argonauts up 17-14.
Toronto got the ball to start the third quarter. Running back, Andrew Harris got in a few carries, while McLeod Bethel-Thompson made a couple of long passes to get them down to the Roughriders’ 20-yard line. However, center Justin Lawrence fumbled the ball on the snap, and Bethel-Thompson fell on it, bringing up third down. Boris Bede made a 41-yard field goal for a 20-14 lead with 8:20 left. Those were the only points scored in the third quarter, and the game remained 20-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Roughriders had the ball to start the fourth quarter but went two-and-out. Toronto made little progress. They punted the ball into the endzone, where Kaare Vedvik took a knee, giving the Argo’s a 21-14 lead with 11:36 left in the game.
The Roughriders quickly responded with Fajardo throwing four straight passes that ended with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Duke Williams, tying the game 21-21 with 8:59 left. Williams said something to Shaq Richardson, leading him to throw a punch. TSN reporter Matthew Scianitti reported that Toronto accused Williams of spitting at Richardson.
After Toronto went two-and-out, the Roughriders drove down the field and picked up three more points on a Brett Lauther 32-yard field goal for a 24-21 lead with 4:55 left in the game.
On Toronto’s next drive, McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 34-yard pass to DaVaris Daniels before the drive stalled. Kicker Boris Bede missed a 42-yard field goal wide left but did get the point when the ball went out of bounds in the endzone, 24-22 with 3:12 left.
Saskatchewan then had possession of the ball, and all they had to do was get a first down to win the game. However, Cody Fajardo’s pass intended for Jakob Prall was intercepted by Wynton McManis and returned for a 50-yard touchdown. Toronto went for a two-point conversion and got it for a 30-24 lead with 2:06 left.
Saskatchewan had one more shot to win the game, but Cody Fajardo was intercepted for the second straight drive by Shaq Richardson, ending the game, and Toronto won 30-24. The Argonauts are now 2-2 for the season, while the Roughriders drop to 4-2.
Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was 26/37 for 276 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and five carries for 32 yards. Running back, Andrew Harris had 15 carries for 39 yards, while Cam Phillips led the receivers with six catches for 94 yards and one touchdown. The Argo’s defense allowed 381 yards, 50 tackles, five sacks, one pass breakup, and three interceptions.
Saskatchewan quarterback Cody Fajardo was 24/34 for 284 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and four carries for 20 yards. Running back, Jamal Morrow had 11 carries for 77 yards, four catches for 29 yards, and one touchdown, while wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker had seven catches for 96 yards. The Roughriders’ defense allowed 347 yards, 46 tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception.
For Toronto, they are the first East team to beat a West team this year. This was a good win for them, and they will get a chance to beat Saskatchewan again next Saturday at 7 pm on ESPNEWS.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan showed before and during the game that they are undisciplined. There is no leadership on that team, including the head coach. What Duke Williams did to Shaq Richardson is inexcusable, and the CFL and CFLPA need to put their foot down on these shenanigans. This can’t continue if you want to grow the game of Canadian football.
