HAMILTON — The “S” on the helmet also stands for “Suspense.”
For the second consecutive week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders engineered fourth-quarter magic and celebrated a road victory — Sunday’s 33-30 nailbiter against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field.
After Hamilton went ahead 30-20 with 5:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders responded with 13 unanswered points.
In the season opener, Saskatchewan went on a 21-0 fourth-quarter run to defeat the host Edmonton Elks 29-21.
“We’ve got to do a better job of executing throughout the game and not give everybody a heart attack,’’ quarterback Trevor Harris remarked after the Roughriders began the season with back-to-back road victories for the first time in franchise history.
Dating back to 1932, the Roughriders have opened 12 seasons with at least two games on the road.
On Sunday, Brett Lauther’s 34-yard field goal at 11:20 of the fourth quarter pared Hamilton’s lead to 30-23.
After a Hamilton two-and-out, Saskatchewan moved 88 yards in eight plays, the last of which was a 10-yard TD pass from Harris to Kian Schaffer-Baker. Lauther’s convert produced a 30-30 tie with 43 seconds left.
On the next play from scrimmage, Bo Levi Mitchell’s pass was tipped by the intended receiver, Tim White, into the hands of rookie linebacker C.J. Avery.
Avery’s pick gave Saskatchewan a first down on Hamilton’s 33-yard line.
“I was just doing my job,” he said. “When you do your job, great things happen in football.
“The ball just ended up in my lap. I caught it and it sealed the game.”
Following back-to-back runs by A.J. Ouellette, Lauther settled matters with a 43-yard field goal — his fourth three-pointer in as many attempts on Sunday.
Since joining the Roughriders full-time in 2018, Lauther has delivered all 13 times a go-ahead/tying field goal or convert has been required in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime.
He increased that number by two on Sunday, delivering a game-tying convert and a game-winning field goal.
Lauther is 11-for-11 this season, having made all four field-goal attempts and all seven conversions.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR HARRIS
Harris moved up two spots, to 17th, on the CFL’s all-time passing-yardage list.
He leapfrogged Tom Burgess (30,308) and Sam Etcheverry (30,381) en route to finishing the game with 30,579.
Now in Harris’s sights is 16th-ranked Darian Durant (31,740), who is 1,161 ahead of the Roughriders’ current passer.
Harris passed Durant on Sunday to assume sole possession of 20th on the league’s all-time touchdown passes list. Harris now has 165 scoring tosses, one more than Durant.
On Sunday, Harris completed 32 of 45 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception.
He opened the 2024 season by going 22-for-31 for 305 yards, with three TDs and two interceptions.
Harris is the first Roughrider since Durant, in 2016, to open a season with back-to-back games of 300-plus passing yards.
Mitchell’s three TD passes on Sunday gave him a career total of 198. He moved into a 13th-place tie with Kent Austin on the all-time list.
PERTURBED BY PENALTIES
Head Coach Corey Mace is delighted by the Roughriders’ 2-0 record, which has been achieved despite some imperfections.
“We’ve got a lot of things we have to handle,” he said. “There’s the penalty problem. We had some busts on defence that were costly. Those and the injuries are all things that are on my mind.
“At the end of it, I try to keep reminding myself that we finished 1-and-0 this week in an adverse situation on the road yet again.
“We found a way to find a way.”
The Roughriders were assessed 11 penalties for 115 yards.
Also of concern are some red flags on defence. Two of Hamilton’s three TD passes were to wide-open receivers. One of those majors was set up by a 58-yard bomb to an uncovered target.
“I think it is a simple fix,” said Mace, who doubles as the Roughriders’ defensive co-ordinator.
“We had a little bit of rotation in the back end. I’m not even going to say it was just that. We’ve got to train our eyes a little bit better. It is, in my opinion, something that can be fixed fairly quickly.”
A VERY CONSISTENT AVERY
Both of Avery’s interceptions as a first-year Roughrider have occurred with 33 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
“God continues to bless me,” Avery said. “It was a blessing right there. I’ll continue to take those and roll with it.”
As a member of the Vegas Vipers in 2023, Avery recorded the first interception in the history of the revived XFL.
KEYIN’ ON KIAN
Schaffer-Baker had a team-high seven receptions for 109 yards in addition to registering his first multi-touchdown game as a CFLer.
Sunday’s second major resulted from a tough catch in traffic.
“Schaff came up to me and said, ‘Hey, if you’ve got to put something over the middle and make me big-bodied, I don’t care if I’ve got to take a hit. I’ll do whatever it takes,’ ” Harris said.
“I was just like, ‘Man, this guy’s a dog.’ He did a tremendous job. He went for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
“The guy’s a stud. We’re blessed to have him. He looks like the old Schaffer-Baker that I used to watch from afar and say, ‘Man, I’d love to play with this guy.’ ”
AJOU IS A GO
Ajou Ajou, the Roughriders’ seventh-round draft choice in 2024, was activated for Sunday’s game after being a healthy scratch in Week 1.
He received regular reps after Shawn Bane Jr. was injured late in the first half at Tim Hortons Field.
Ajou finished with five catches for 41 yards.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Roughriders have opened the regular season with back-to-back road games for the 12th time in franchise history.
That includes 1932, when the Regina Roughriders played their first three games on the road, going 1-2.
On the road, the Roughriders started out at 1-1 in 1939, 1948, 1958, 1973 and 1974. They were 0-2 coming home in 1956, 1957, 1972, 1999 and 2019.
FAST FACT
The Roughriders are 2-0 while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 0-2 for the first time since 2012.
NEXT UP
The Roughriders’ home opener is scheduled for Sunday against Hamilton (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
Saskatchewan has not played at home since defeating Winnipeg 25-12 in the pre-season opener, held on May 10. Five days later, the Roughriders completed pre-season play with a 28-27 victory in Edmonton.
“I’m getting goose bumps, man,” Avery said. “I’ve never seen the game-day atmosphere as far as the regular season, so I’m excited to see what it’s all about.
“I know the fan base is going to be ready and we’re going to be ready to put on a show for them.”
SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
Ham — FG Liegghio 13 5:41
Mitchell hit White for 17 yards on third-and-three
Sask — TD Schaffer-Baker 24 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 11:25
TD pass was preceded by 33-yard completion to Sterns
SECOND QUARTER
Ham — TD Dunbar 60 pass from Mitchell (Lieghhio convert) 0:21
Dunbar was wide open deep to complete two-play, 62-yard possession
Ham TD — Smith 38 pass from Mitchell (Liegghio convert) 9:28
Mitchell went 3-for-3 for 74 yards
Ham — FG Liegghio 40 13:41
Mitchell to Bridges for 23 yards set up field goal
THIRD QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 49 2:44
Field goal set up by completions to Sterns (11) and Ajou (11, 4)
Sask — TD Patterson 1 run (Lauther convert) 8:13
Back-to-back completions to Sterns for 23 and 19 moved ball to one-yard line
Ham — TD Bridges 16 pass from Mitchell (Liegghio convert) 13:25
58-yard pass to Smith set up Bridges’ first CFL touchdown
FOURTH QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 46 1:44
Roughriders moved 33 yards in six plays
Ham — FG Liegghio 41 9:28
Tiger-Cats moved 18 yards in six plays, which consumed 3:38 of valuable time
Sask — FG Lauther 34 11:20
Riders moved 44 yards in seven plays
Sask — TD Schaffer-Baker 10 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 14:17
Eight-play, 88-yard drive was ignited by 18-yard Sterns reception on second-and-17
Sask — FG Lauther 43 15:00
Avery interception with 33 seconds left put Saskatchewan in position for game-winning field goal
