The Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-0) opened the 2024 CFL season by visiting Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday afternoon against the Edmonton Elks (0-1) under new head coach Corey Mace and a returning Trevor Harris. On the other side, McLeod Bethel-Thompson made his first CFL start in two seasons after spending the 2023 season with the New Orleans Breakers (USFL).
This game was originally scheduled to be played at 7 pm but due to the Edmonton Oilers playing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers, the CFL moved the game to a 4 pm timeslot. The lesson coming out of this game is if you are up big, you need to put the opposing team away for good. If not, you might just lose the game and Edmonton felt that on Saturday.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw passes for 48 yards before the drive stalled and new kicker Boris Bede made a 17-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:49 left.
On Saskatchewan’s second series, quarterback Trevor Harris threw an 18-yard pass to Jerreth Sterns. The Roughriders kept Edmonton’s defense guessing by mixing running and passing plays. Trevor Harris took advantage of Edmonton’s defense leaving Shawn Bane Jr. wide open for a 27-yard touchdown for a 7-3 lead with 5:21 left.
Penalties were an issue in the first half. After Edmonton’s defense forced a two-and-out, Saskatchewan punter Adam Korsak punted the ball for 51 yards to Jevon Leake. Leake got some good blocks as he scored a 75-yard touchdown but an illegal block penalty on Edmonton’s D.K. Bonhomme erased the touchdown. The ball was placed on Edmonton’s 30-yard line. On the last play of the first quarter, Edmonton running Kevin Brown rushed for a gain of three yards before getting brought down at Edmonton’s 47-yard line to begin the second quarter down 7-3.
Second Quarter:
Edmonton was unable to move the ball any further to begin the second quarter and punted the ball back to Saskatchewan. Edmonton’s defense made quick work to give the offense the ball back with 12:41 left of the second quarter.
On the second play from scrimmage, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson fumbled the ball on the snap but he recovered it for a 12-yard loss at the Saskatchewan’s 55-yard line. Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball for 57 yards into the endzone for a single point. It was now 7-4 Saskatchewan with 11:04 left before halftime.
Later in the second quarter, Saskatchewan lost offensive lineman Logan Ferland, who was ejected from the game for punching Leon O’Neal Jr. Throughout the game, there was some chatter between the two teams.
With 3:57 left of the second quarter, Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball for 69 yards to Mario Alford. Alford got a couple of nice blocks and took it to the house for a 91-yard touchdown. However, Saskatchewan was tacked with two penalties and the ball was placed on their 10-yard line. Saskatchewan did not do much on offense and gave it back to Edmonton.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw three straight passes for 36 yards. Two plays later, Bethel-Thompson threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Hergy Mayala to take an 11-7 lead with 1:06 left.
With 17 seconds left, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris’s pass was intercepted by Darrius Bratton. Edmonton took a couple of kneel downs to end the first half up 11-7.
First Half Stats:
Edmonton had 145 yards on offense. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 12 of 17 passes (71%) for 129 yards and one touchdown. Running back Kevin Brown had five carries for 24 yards. Wide receiver Dillon Mitchell made three catches for 49 yards, and Hergy Mayala made two catches for 28 yards and one touchdown. Edmonton had six first downs, penalized three times for 38 yards, and the defense made two sacks and one interception.
Saskatchewan had 170 yards on offense. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 12 of 17 passes (71%) for 155 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back A.J. Ouellette had eight carries for 22 yards and one catch for 19 yards.
Wide receiver Jarrett Sterns made five catches for 58 yards while Shawn Bane Jr. made one catch for 27 yards and one touchdown. Saskatchewan had seven first downs, was penalized five times for 75 yards, and the defense made one sack.
Third Quarter:
Edmonton began the third quarter with a too many men penalty. This has been a trend in the three CFL games so far this weekend where players are not in their right assignments or someone is out there who shouldn’t be out there. Early in the third quarter, both teams struggled to move the ball offensively as there were a lot of dropped passes and inconsistent play.
With 4:49 left, Saskatchewan punter Adam Korsak punted the ball 62 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point which made it 11-8 Edmonton. In the next series, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw two passes for 61 yards including a 52-yard pass to Eugene Lewis. Three plays later, Bethel-Thompson threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Hergy Mayala for an 18-8 lead with 1:14 left of the third quarter.
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris threw an interception to Kai Gray, who returned it for 22 yards before getting tackled on their 52-yard line. With 24 seconds left, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw two passes for 12 yards getting them to the Saskatchewan’s 46-yard line ending the third quarter up 18-8.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton kicker Boris Bede kicked a 30-yard field goal extending their lead to 21-8 with 13:38 left in the game. Down by 13 points, Saskatchewan began to mount a comeback.
On the third play from Edmonton’s 40-yard line, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Shawn Bane Jr. who beat Edmonton’s secondaries and the score was now 21-15 with 11:11 left in the game.
Saskatchewan’s defense made a big play when defensive back Deontai Williams stripped the ball out of Kevin Brown’s arm and was recovered by Jameer Thurman on Edmonton’s 16-yard line. Three plays later, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette scored a one-yard touchdown and Edmonton’s lead was now down to 22-21 with 8:12 left. The crowd at Edmonton fell silent watching the comeback.
Things went from bad to worse for Edmonton when kicker Boris Bede missed a 48-yard field goal and Mario Alford ran it back for 48 yards before he was tackled on their 45-yard line. Luckily, Edmonton’s defense forced a two-and-out with 3:14 left.
With 1:45 left in the game, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. stripped McLeod Bethel-Thompson of the football and recovered it. During this drive, Edmonton defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche was ejected for headbutting a Saskatchewan player moving them up to the 33-yard line.
Saskatchewan capitalized on the turnover when quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 33-yard touchdown pass in busted coverage to Shawn Bane Jr. for a 29-21 lead with 1:05 left to play. The Roughriders scored 21 unanswered points to erase a 13-point deficit. The drama was not over.
With 38 seconds left, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass was intercepted by C.J. Avery in what looked to be game over. However, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette fumbled the ball and Darrius Bratton recovered giving Edmonton another chance from their 51-yard line. Bethel-Thompson had 18 seconds to work with.
He completed two passes for 18 yards at the Saskatchewan’s 45-yard line. On the last play, Bethel-Thompson threw a deep pass into the endzone intended for Malik Flowers but the pass was incomplete and the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Edmonton Elks 29-21.
Final Stats:
Saskatchewan had 338 yards on offense. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 22 of 31 passes (71%) for 305 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 18 carries for 40 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for 19 yards. Wide receiver Shawn Bane Jr. had a great game making five catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
Kicker Brett Lauther made four extra points. Saskatchewan’s defense made 46 tackles, eight tackles on special teams, two tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Edmonton had 349 yards on offense. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 33 of 42 passes (79%) for 336 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for six yards. Running back Kevin Brown had seven carries for 23 yards and five catches for 26 yards. Wide receiver Hergy Mayala made five catches for 40 yards, and two touchdowns, while Dillon Mitchell made seven catches for 93 yards.
Kicker Boris Bede made two of three field goals with a long of 30 yards and two extra points. Edmonton’s defense made 39 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Final Thoughts:
This game was all over the place. Edmonton got too comfortable after taking a 13-point lead and made a ton of mistakes. They have to learn to close games out. It was great to see Bethel-Thompson back in the CFL. On the last play of the game, Bethel-Thompson should’ve thrown the ball to Eugene Lewis, who would’ve had a shot to make a game-winning touchdown.
Saskatchewan deserves credit for not giving up despite not playing a great three quarters. They kept fighting, taking advantage of Edmonton’s mistakes and found a way to win this game. Corey Mace gets his first win as a head coach but they cannot continue to trail from behind if they want to have a shot at making the playoffs this season.
Next Friday, the Edmonton Elks host the Montreal Alouettes at 9 pm on CFL Plus while the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats next Sunday at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
