Super Mario’s brothers had quite a game.
Mario Alford lauded his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates a few minutes after taking off on a game-winning, 99-yard kickoff return against the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
“It isn’t just me, man. It’s the unit,” he said in the visitors’ dressing room at BMO Field after being presented with the Junkyard Dog chain, which recognizes exemplary special teams performance.
“I appreciate my blockers. I appreciate all you guys. I want to give this to all you guys.”
Along with two points.
Friday’s game was tied at 32-32 when Alford accepted a kickoff that followed an Argonauts touchdown and two-point convert.
He took off to his left and followed a largely unimpeded path to the end zone.
Alford’s skills were crucially complemented by the blocking abilities of Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, Jayden Dalke, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Kerfalla Exume, Jaxon Ford, Lake Korte-Moore, Aubrey Miller Jr., Aaron Patrick, Morgen Runge, Ali Saad and Nick Wiebe.
All the return and coverage units work closely with Special Teams Co-ordinator Kent Maugeri and his assistant, Jeff Higgins.
“With how dialled those players are in the special teams meetings, it’s showing out there on the field,” Head Coach Corey Mace said after the Roughriders’ 39-32 win.
“Above anything else, I’m just happy for those guys to be able to share that kind of moment for us.”
Alford was part of another important moment in the second quarter, when his 35-yard punt return was followed by back-to-back completions from Trevor Harris to Dohnte Meyers. After a 13-yard gain, they collaborated on a 32-yard touchdown.
Alford’s punt return, which gave Saskatchewan possession on Toronto’s 45-yard line, unfolded with key blocks from Exume, Patrick, Tevaughn Campbell and Joe Robustelli.
CLEARING THE WAY FOR A.J.
Saskatchewan’s first touchdown was on a 25-yard run by A.J. Ouellette.
As was the case with the Alford major, Ouellette received plenty of help from his friends while exhibiting his skills.
Right guard Jacob Brammer moved to his right and neutralized defensive end Andrew Chatfield Jr. with a kick-out block.
The left guard, Trevon Tate, pulled to the right and blazed a trail up-field for Ouellette. Tate felled defensive back Mark Milton on the 15-yard line.
After collaborating on a double team with right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, Runge (a first-year CFL fullback) surged to his right and cleared out linebacker Cameron Judge.
Centre Logan Ferland handled defensive tackle Jordan Williams.
The receivers also chipped in. Duncan-Busby, lined up beside left tackle Daniel Johnson, sealed off linebacker Isaac Darkangelo.
Robustelli, the right wideout, handled cornerback Tarvarus McFadden.
Touchdown.
DOUBLE DOHNTE
Meyers is coming off his first multi-touchdown game as a CFLer.
On the 32-yarder, he ran a slant pattern before cutting sharply to his right and heading toward the corner, behind defensive back Benjie Franklin.
Meyers caught the ball on the Argos’ nine-yard line and made a beeline for the front right corner of the end zone.
Harris released the football in 2.63 seconds after being afforded more than enough protection.
Zack Fry lined up on the far left as an extra offensive lineman. He had also provided additional bulk six days earlier on Ouellette’s 47-yard TD run against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Duncan-Busby stayed in the pocket for extra protection, helping to allow Harris time to use play-action and freeze the secondary with a pump fake.
Early in the third quarter, Harris found Meyers on a slant route, 10 yards downfield. After catching the precise pass in the left intermediate area, Meyers eluded Franklin and safety Tyshon Blackburn before winning a footrace with Darkangelo to complete a 70-yard score.
Meyers scored the 99th aerial touchdown of 70-plus yards in Roughriders history. The breakdown: 93 in the regular season, five in the playoffs, one in a Grey Cup.
The first such play was on Oct. 30th, 1937, when Jim Lander found Ralph Pierce for a 72-yard major in Winnipeg.
GOAL-LINE GRIT
Late in the first half, Toronto moved the ball 96 yards in 17 plays without registering a point.
On first-and-goal from the four, Nick Arbuckle took off to his right and initially looked like a good bet to score, only to have linebacker C.J. Reavis intervene and tackle the Argos quarterback on the one-yard line.
Arbuckle attempted a quarterback sneak on the next play but was stuffed by linebacker A.J. Allen. Safety Nelson Lokombo also provided resistance.
Toronto’s third-and-one gamble failed when Jameer Thurman made the tackle following a handoff to Kevin Brown.
Reavis contributed to the turnover on downs by forcing Brown inside and into a mass of humanity that also included (but was not restricted to) defensive linemen Habakkuk Baldonado, Mike Rose and Caleb Sanders.
During the teams’ previous meeting at BMO Field, the Roughriders had stopped Toronto near the goal line on three different possessions.
Reavis twice made a key tackle on the one-yard line during that Aug. 22nd, 2024 contest.
TOM TERRIFIC
Tommy Stevens is a perfect 10 so far.
The 6-foot-4, 245-yard quarterback has moved the chains all 10 times he has carried the ball in short-yardage situations over his first three games as a Roughrider.
He has gained more than the required yardage on eight occasions.
Most notably, he took off for 19 yards on second-and-two versus Toronto, with receiver KeeSean Johnson making a key block. Ouellette scored his 25-yard TD on the next play.
Also on Friday, Stevens ran for gains of four (on second-and-one), three (second-and-two) and two (third-and-one) before scoring a TD on second-and-two.
On the touchdown, Stevens surged to his left and accessed a path to the end zone that had been cleared by Fry, Runge and KeeSean Johnson.
MARIO’S MOVING
Alford and Tristan Jackson are tied for second in kickoff returns by a Roughrider (146). Corey Holmes leads the list with 185.
In punt returns, Alford is seventh All-Time (with 225) but could ascend to second by season’s end.
Alford trails Gene Wlasiuk (549), Jim Walter (256), Stewart Fraser (256), Holmes (249), Harry Lunn (247) and Jim Copeland (227).
WELCOME BACK
The Roughriders are carrying a 3-0 record into a home game for the eighth time in franchise history.
This scenario has previously unfolded in 1951, 1969, 1975, 2008, 2013, 2021 and 2024.
Saskatchewan is to face the B.C. Lions on Saturday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
SHORT SNORTS
• A.J. Allen registered his first CFL sack with some help from Mace’s ingenuity. The Roughriders’ Defensive Co-ordinator blitzed with two linebackers (Allen and Thurman) while having Baldonado settle back in coverage after lining up at defensive end.
• Mitch Picton, with tight coverage from Frankin, made a leaping catch for a 33-yard gain in the first quarter.
• Harris has 31 touchdown passes in 19 regular-season starts as a Roughrider.
