Rod Pedersen
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-2) were in Hamilton Sunday afternoon to face the Tiger-Cats (2-7) to close out Week 12 in the CFL. The Riders were after a franchise record eighth consecutive victory. Here’s the game log from the broadcast booth:
– It was sunny and 13 degrees Celsius at the 1 pm ET kickoff with a southwest wind at 15 km/h.
– The scratches from the Riders’ 46-man roster were RB Will Ford and OT Levy Adcock.
– The Riders wore their “all-white” road uniforms with white jerseys, pants and helmets. The Ticats were in their home black jerseys with gold pants and black helmets.
– The Riders won the coin toss and elected to defer. The Ticats opened with the football.
– Hamilton’s opening series, with Zach Collaros at QB, began at their 36. They managed two first downs on Andy Fantuz and Greg Ellingson receptions before attempting a 50-yard Justin Medlock field goal. It was good, and the Ticats led 3-0 at the 3:38 mark.
– The Riders took the ball at their 35 with Tino Sunseri making his first pro start at QB. 2-and-out.
– Ticats’ second series began at their 37. Collaros got them to the Rider 44 with a series of hitches and screens, but they ended the drive with a 51-yard Medlock field goal. 6-0 Ticats with 7:49 to go in the first period.
– Riders took it at their 35 again. Tino got them to the Ticats’ 36 before being intercepted by Hamilton’s Courtney Stephen at the Ticat 14. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 TICATS 0
– Hamilton’s third series began at the 14. The Riders got their first sack of the game when Macho Harris took down Collaros on the third play of the series. They got one first down before punting from their 32.
– The Riders’ third possession began at their 35 after a Weston Dressler punt return. They were 2-and-out and Sunseri was sacked by Ticats LB Taylor Reed.
– Hamilton’ s fourth series began at the Rider 44. The drive carried over into the second quarter.
AFTER ONE: TICATS 6 RIDERS 0
– Three plays into the second quarter Collaros threw a 15-yard TD pass to Luke Tasker giving the Ticats a 13-0 lead at the 1:14 mark.
– The Riders’ fourth series began at their 39. On the first play Tino was sacked for an 8-yard loss. 2-and-out.
– Ticats’ fifth series began at their 26. 2-and-out.
– The Riders’ first series began at their 46. 2-and-out.
– Hamilton ball for a sixth series at their 15. 2-and-out.
– Rider ball at their 52 with 7:53 to go in the half. They got to the Ticats’ 3-yard line before settling for a 10-yard Milo field goal. 13-3 Hamilton with 2:59 remaining in the half.
– Hamilton took it at their 35. 2-and-out.
– Rider ball at their 36 with 2:12 remaining. 2-and-out. Tino was facemasked but it wasn’t called.
– With 1:42 remaining the Ticats began at their 48. They got down to the Rider 15 but they ran out of time before being able to find the endzone, or kick a field goal. Ticats coach Kent Austin rifled his headset to the ground as time expired.
AT THE BREAK: TICATS 13 RIDERS 3
– The Riders got the ball to open the second half, and their opening series began at their 26. They were 2-and-out. Corey Chamblin challenged a non DPI call, but after review, the play stood.
– The Ticats’ first series began at the Rider 53. They got to the Rider 42 but Collaros was sacked by the Riders’ Ricky Foley for a 12-yard loss. They ended the series with a 43-yard Medlock field goal attempt that he rang off the iron and it went for no points. Still 13-3 Hamilton with 10:06 to go in the third frame.
– Riders took it at their 25. 2-and-out.
– Hamilton’s Terrell Sinkfield returned the punt 57-yards for a touchdown and the Ticats went up 20-3 with 7:24 to go in the third.
– The Riders’ second series began at their 26. They got one first down on an Anthony Allen run, but Tino was sacked again and they had to punt from their 44.
– Hamilton ball at their 27 with 5:11 to go in the quarter. Collaros moved them all the way downfield to the Rider 24 but he was intercepted at the Saskatchewan 12 by Rider DT Derek Walker on a tip. TURNOVERS: RIDERS 1 TICATS 1
– The Riders’ third series began at their 12. They managed one first down on a Jerome Messam run before punting from their 19.
AFTER THREE: TICATS 20 RIDERS 3
– The first play of the fourth quarter was Hamilton starting a drive at the Rider 44. They were 2-and-out.
– The Riders started from their 45 after a horse collar tackle penalty on the Ticats on Rider returner Tristan Jackson. 2-and-out.
– With 12:48 remaining, the Ticats took over the ball at their 26. They got to the Rider 51 before punting.
– With 9:43 to go, the Riders got it at their 26. 2-and-out after an Anthony Allen run and incomplete pass attempt to Chris Getzlaf.
– With 8:30 to go the Ticats started from their 25. Collaros calmly led them down the field and capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Luke Tasker with 3:47 to go. 27-3 Hamilton.
– With 3:28 to go the Riders started at their 15. 2-and-out and Sunseri was sacked again. Punt.
– With 2:26 to go the Ticats started at the Rider 43. 2-and-out and a 53-yard punt single from Medlock making it 28-3.
– With 1:30 remaining the Riders took over from their 20. Dressler caught his first pass of the game in the series. Time ran out on a Taj Smith reception inside the Ticats’ 50 as he stepped out of bounds.
GAME OVER: TICATS 28 RIDERS 3
POSTGAME COMMENTS
RIDER COACH COREY CHAMBLIN
– Anytime you lose it’s always disappointing. We haven’t experienced this in seven weeks and now we did. Now we have to move forward.
– It was the first game for Tino. There were some jitters. I don’t think Darian was perfect in his first game. That’s just the way it goes.
– We thought we had some things there and we didn’t get them (on offense). You can’t look back at what you should’ve done. We just need to look at all three phases and see what corrections we can make to suit our team.
– It was ugly before the challenge on the P-I, and it got uglier after that. We just knew we had to dig our heels in and try to fight our way out.
– The table’s turned for the Ticats. The last time we played them, we had a lot of sacks and the table turned on us today. That’s just the way it goes.
• The Riders’ next game is Sunday afternoon at home to the Ottawa REDBLACKS on TSN and CKRM.
