The Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-0) hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-3) on Sunday night in a rematch this time from Mosaic Stadium to close out Week 3 of the CFL season.
In their meeting last week, Hamilton blew a lead and Saskatchewan won on a last-second field goal by Brett Lauther for a 33-30 win. This time around, Saskatchewan did not need a comeback as they dominated this game from start to finish.
First Quarter:
On the first play of the game, Saskatchewan’s Thomas Bertrand-Hudon stripped the ball away from Hamilton returner Lawrence Woods III and it was recovered by Christian Albright on the Ticats’ 20-yard line. Two plays later, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus for a 7-0 lead with 13:37 left.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed three passes for 19 yards before the drive stalled and the Ticats punted the ball back to Saskatchewan. Hamilton’s offense was shut out in the first quarter and struggled throughout this game.
Later in the first quarter, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Ajou Ajou extending the Roughriders lead to 14-0 with 3:24 left. On the final play of the first quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther made a 34-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead.
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris completed 7 of 9 passes for 104 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, and Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 5 of 7 passes for 25 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Hamilton’s secondary was leaving Saskatchewan’s wide receivers wide open losing the man-to-man coverages. With 8:39 left, Saskatchewan punter Adam Korsak punted the ball 41 yards into the endzone for a single point. Saskatchewan’s lead was now 18-0.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was having trouble connecting to his receivers. Mitchell was missing throws and the team looked lost out there like they had never played football before.
However, late in the second quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Shemar Bridges, who beat Rolan Milligan Jr. one-on-one to make the touchdown catch. The score was now 18-7 Saskatchewan with 2:01 left before halftime.
With 51 seconds left, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris completed a 14-yard pass to A.J. Ouellette. Unfortunately, Harris got hit on his left knee when he was tackled by defensive lineman Nick Usher. He limped off the field and did not return to the game.
Shea Patterson was the new quarterback and played the rest of the game. On the last play of the second quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther missed a 43-yard field goal but the Roughriders led 18-7 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Saskatchewan had 223 yards on offense (181 yards passing, 46 yards rushing, four yards lost). Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 16 of 21 passes (76.2%) for 177 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Backup quarterback Shea Patterson completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for four yards.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had nine carries for 44 yards and made two catches for 21 yards. Wide receiver Ajou Ajou made one catch for 40 yards, and one touchdown while Samuel Emilus made three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown. Saskatchewan’s defense made one sack and one tackle for loss.
Hamilton had 87 yards on offense (74 yards passing, 17 yards rushing, four yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 7 of 12 passes (58.3%) for 74 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for 12 yards. Running back James Butler had two catches for four yards, and Shemar Bridges made two catches for 49 yards. Hamilton’s defense made one sack and one tackle for loss. Hamilton was penalized 8 times for 75 yards in the first half.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Trevor Harris’s presence was missed as the offense struggled for the majority of the second half. However, their defense stepped up in the second half. With 8:21 left, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Charbel Dabire stripped the ball away from Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and it was recovered by Jameer Thurman for a seven-yard return.
Saskatchewan’s offense picked up 18 yards before punting the ball back to Hamilton. Later in the third quarter, Hamilton had the ball with 1:17 left. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell tried to force a throw into coverage when Saskatchewan linebacker C.J. Avery deflected it before Jameer Thurman intercepted it and scored a 28-yard touchdown and Saskatchewan’s lead grew to 25-7.
With 21 seconds left of the third quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass intended to Dezmon Patmon was deflected by Saskatchewan defensive back Marcus Sayles and intercepted by DaMarcus Fields for a seven-yard return at the Ticats’ 53-yard line.
On the final play of the third quarter, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette gained three yards before he was tackled on the Ticats’ 50-yard line. The Roughriders led the Ticats 25-7 at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther made a 16-yard field goal for a 28-7 lead with 10:20 left. On Hamilton’s possession, Saskatchewan’s defense stopped Hamilton several times but penalties gave the Ticats automatic first downs including two roughing the passer penalties on Anthony Lanier II.
The Ticats would take advantage of the penalties when running back Ante Milanovic-Litre scored a one-yard touchdown and the score was now 28-14 Saskatchewan. The drive went 14 plays for 70 yards.
With 5:25 left, Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette took over with five carries for 24 yards before quarterback Shea Patterson scored a one-yard touchdown for a 35-14 lead with 2:42 left in the game. On the kickoff, Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther kicked the ball 95 yards into the endzone for a single point for a 36-14 lead.
After those points, Saskatchewan’s defense did not pressure Bo Levi Mitchell as much with the game already put away. With 2:06 left, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kiondre Smith. They tried a two-point conversion but did not get and the score was now 36-20 with 1:59 left.
Hamilton successfully converted the onside kick recovered by Shemar Bridges. However, quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass with 1:18 left was intercepted by Rolan Milligan Jr. for a 16-yard return and the game was over. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-20.
Final Stats:
Saskatchewan had 313 yards on offense (218 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, five yards lost). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 4 of 10 passes for 41 yards, two carries for three yards, and one touchdown.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had 20 carries for 98 yards and made four catches for 47 yards. Wide receiver Shawn Bane Jr. made four catches for 36 yards, and Jerreth Sterns made four catches for 23 yards.
Kicker Brett Lauther made 2 of 3 field goals with a long of 34 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense made 37 tackles, 12 tackles on special teams, one tackle for loss, two sacks, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Hamilton had 314 yards on offense (295 yards passing, 29 yards rushing, 10 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 29 of 45 passes (64%) for 295 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and two carries for 17 yards.
Running back James Butler had five carries for 10 yards and made three catches for 12 yards. Wide receiver Kiondre Smith made five catches for 52 yards, and one touchdown while Shemar Bridges made 9 catches for 113 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Marc Liegghio made two extra points. Hamilton’s defense made 45 tackles, nine tackles on special teams, two sacks, and one interception.
Final Thoughts:
Obviously, Saskatchewan now waits and sees what the injury stats are for quarterback Trevor Harris. He was having a great game before the injury. Speaking of injuries, there were a lot of them including Marcus Sayles and Hamilton running back James Butler.
If Trevor Harris is going to miss some time, the Roughriders should consider finding another quarterback on the free-agent market. Shea Patterson had a chance to establish himself as a solid backup but he could not move Saskatchewan’s offense. That is a cause for concern but luckily, the Roughriders are on a bye next week.
For Hamilton, they looked lost out there on the field. Bo Levi Mitchell and wide receiver Tim White have not been able to connect. Tim White was targeted six times and could not make a catch and that is a cause for concern.
Out of the six targets, White should’ve caught four of those passes from Mitchell. Bo Levi Mitchell was forcing a lot of throws into coverages and it resulted in three interceptions. He was trying to do too much and it cost him.
Hamilton as a whole is not a good football team and something needs to change for Hamilton to get back on track whether it’s benching players or coaching changes. If they don’t, it is going to be a long season of disappointment for a team who should be competitive and they’re not.
Next weekend, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are on a bye week while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
