Six right-side blockers added up to six points for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.
Jermarcus Hardrick, Jacob Brammer, Zack Fry, Mitch Picton, Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson all made key contributions to a 47-yard touchdown run by A.J. Ouellette during a 28-23 CFL victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Fry, an extra offensive lineman, was deployed on the far right side of a seven-man front, beside Hardrick (right tackle).
Upon the snap of the ball, Brammer (right guard) collaborated with Hardrick and Fry to open a gaping hole on the right side.
Picton, who was running parallel to the line of scrimmage from left to right as quarterback Trevor Harris called signals, sealed off safety Stavros Katsantonis shortly after centre Logan Ferland snapped the ball.
As Ouellette crossed the 35-yard line, key blocks were provided by two receivers — Meyers (on Jamal Peters) and Johnson (on Destin Talbert).
“We take pride in it as a group, as a team, as an offence,” Johnson said of the blocking prowess. “We’re doing our job on each play.
“You never know which block could be the touchdown-leading block, so we go out there and block our man to the end of the play.”
After sprinting 30 yards, Ouellette cleared his own path to pay dirt by stiff-arming defensive back DaShaun Amos.
“It felt good,” Ouellette said with a smile after Tuesday’s practice. “Andrew (Harris, running backs coach) was yelling at me that last season my stiff-arm wasn’t as violent as it should be.
“That was a straight punch to the jaw, I think, so it felt good.”
The longest run of Ouellette’s CFL career followed a 23-yard punt return by Mario Alford, who had made five would-be tacklers miss before finding undefended turf on the right side.
Earlier, Ouellette had taken off on an 18-yard run after Picton and fellow receivers Dhel Duncan-Busby and Samuel Emilus provided blocking assistance.
On the offensive line, left guard Trevon Tate got a piece of two Tiger-Cats defenders. Ferland and left tackle Daniel Johnson also pushed Tiger-Cats players out of the way as Ouellette found a hole and took off.
Katsantonis made the tackle, but only after being dragged eight yards by the Roughriders’ tailback.
Ouellette’s own blocking talents were exhibited on the Roughriders’ final TD — a 15-yard reception by Johnson.
Hamilton sent seven pass rushers. Blitzing linebacker Kyle Wilson, to the left of Harris, was picked up and shepherded out of the way by Ouellette.
An unbothered Harris looked to the front left corner of the end zone and pinpointed a pass to Johnson just inside the pylon.
“Trevor just had faith in me running an out route,” Johnson said. “He put the ball in the air, so we try to come down with it every time it’s in the air.”
The Roughriders’ quarterback had neutralized the blitz by releasing the football in just 1.7 seconds. Which brings us to …
TREVOR’S TIMES
The read-and-release expertise of Harris was evident on Saturday.
Twenty-four of his 37 passes were out of his right hand within two seconds. Eighteen throws were unfurled within 1.75 seconds.
On a touchdown drive in which all four completions were to Johnson, the release times were 1.51, 1.71, 1.46 and 1.70.
(On the first play of that sequence, a block by Emilus helped Johnson gain 19 yards after the catch for a net advance of 28.)
Harris’s average release time on Saturday: 1.98.
That figure is inflated by one play on which “T-Mobile” bought time in the pocket by evading two would-be pass rushers. Harris eventually found (who else?) Johnson for a gain of 12, releasing the ball 7.15 seconds after Ferland’s snap.
Subtract the 7.15 and the average release time over the other 36 passes was 1.82.
TREVOR’S TOTALS
Harris needs 14 completions to tie Tom Clements (2,808) for 11th on the CFL’s All-Time list.
Harris moved past Michael Reilly (2,772) while going 26-for-37 versus Hamilton on Saturday.
With 3,949 attempts as a CFLer, Harris is 52 shy of 17th-ranked Darian Durant.
A career total of 183 TD passes places Harris 19th on the list, just behind Sam Etcheverry (186) and Russ Jackson (185).
Harris is second in career completion percentage (70.75), just behind Cody Fajardo (71.02). Fajardo is 1,529-for-2,153.
As for yardage, Harris is 16th with 33,720. He is steadily approaching Dieter Brock (34,830) and Reilly (34,805).
Two weeks into the 2025 season, Harris leads the loop in red-zone touchdown passes (three).
He is second in quarterback efficiency rating (102.1), behind the B.C. Lions’ Nathan Rourke (106.1).
Harris has thrown at least one TD pass in 18 of his 20 starts as a Roughrider, playoffs included.
He has 29 TD passes in 18 regular-season starts with Saskatchewan.
JUST A REMINDER …
Leading up to Saturday’s game, the Roughriders’ Brett Lauther had made 56 of his past 57 placement attempts.
The lone miss was a last-play-of-the-game longshot — a 60-yarder into the wind.
The 56-for-57 run, playoffs included, breaks down as follows: 34-for-35 on field goals and 22-for-22 on converts. Lauther attempts extra points from 33 yards.
He entered the Hamilton game having made 23 consecutive field-goal attempts in the regular season and 28 in a row overall. The streak included five field goals of 50-plus yards.
With 28 straight, playoffs included, Lauther tied the Roughriders’ record streak. Dave Ridgway (1993) and Chris Milo (2013) hit 28 in a row during the regular season.
Lauther enjoys a comfortable margin as the most accurate field-goal kicker in Roughriders history, taking into account everyone with a minimum of 100 attempts. Here’s the top five:
83.0% — Brett Lauther
79.1% — Chris Milo
79.0% — Luca Congi
78.0% — Dave Ridgway
76.7% — Paul McCallum
Ridgway and McCallum are both in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
PICK-SIX = 600
With Saturday’s 64-yard interception-return major, Rolan Milligan Jr. became the 600th player in franchise history to score a regular-season TD.
Playoffs included, the number increases to 619.
Saskatchewan’s three majors on Saturday increased its All-Time total to 3,723 — 3,396 in the regular season and 327 in the playoffs.
The totals include tries (worth five points) registered by members of the Regina Rugby Club or Regina Roughriders.
Milligan Jr.’s interception-return TD was the 121st by a Roughrider (114 in the regular season, six in the playoffs and one in a Grey Cup).
Saskatchewan has surrendered 118 such scores (107 regular season, 10 playoffs, one Grey Cup).
One more note about blocks: Defensive back DaMarcus Fields and defensive end Shane Ray helped to clear the way for Milligan Jr.’s score.
TIMELY TACKLE
Cornerback Marcus Sayles had a game-high nine defensive tackles, the most important of which came with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell stepped up in the pocket and threw a short pass on first down to Kenny Lawler, who was quickly felled by Sayles near the left sideline for an inconsequential gain of four. Better yet, Sayles prevented Lawler from getting out of bounds, so valuable time kept ticking away with the Tiger-Cats needing a touchdown.
Twenty-three seconds were left when Hamilton next snapped the ball, 55 yards away from the goal line.
Back-to-back incompletions followed, with linebacker A.J. Allen batting down Mitchell’s final throw with 12 seconds on the clock.
Sayles, by the way, added two pass knockdowns.
SHORT AND SWEET
Tommy Stevens is thriving as the Roughriders’ short-yardage quarterback.
He has moved the chains all five times he has carried the ball over the first two games.
The margin is especially impressive. Needing no more than one yard in four attempts on Saturday, he produced gains of four, three, two and two.
MARIO’S MOVING
Alford has moved into second on the Roughriders’ All-Time kickoff-return yardage list.
With 69 yards on three returns versus Hamilton, he increased his yardage total to 3,456 and passed Tristan Jackson (3,435). Corey Holmes (4,077) leads the list.
Early this season, Alford leads the league in average combined yards per game (178.5).
EXTRA POINTS
• Fullback Morgen Runge made his first CFL reception on Saturday when he caught a four-yarder from Harris to move the chains on second-and-four. Runge was playing in his second game with the Green and White.
• At 2-0, the Roughriders are enjoying another strong start. They were 3-0 out of the gate in 2021, 4-1 in 2022, 3-1 in 2023 and 4-0 in 2024. As well, they overcame an 0-2 start in 2019 to go 13-5 and finish first in the West Division.
• Middle linebacker Jameer Thurman leads the league in defensive plays (17) and is in the three-way tie top spot in defensive tackles (15). He also has two sacks, which put him in a six-way tie for the lead. The Roughriders’ Malik Carney is part of that sextet.
• Thurman had two quarterback pressures in addition to his sack. On one Hamilton series, Thurman and Carney had pressures on back-to-back plays. Alford returned the ensuing punt 23 yards to set up Ouellette’s TD.
• Habakkuk Baldonado also applied pressure on the play that ended with Thurman’s sack. On a subsequent sack by C.J. Reavis, defensive linemen Lake Korte-Moore and Ali Saad — both first-round Draft choices — provided a push up the middle.
• The Roughriders lead the league in first downs (47).
• Saskatchewan is the league’s least-penalized team (4.0 per game).
• The Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts are tied for the most sacks (six). The two teams are to meet on Friday at BMO Field (5:30 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
• The next home game is on a Saturday (June 28th), when the Roughriders welcome the Lions to Mosaic Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
