After Trevor Harris led the Saskatchewan Roughriders to an impressive victory Friday, head coach Corey Mace wasn’t about to let his veteran quarterback slide a career milestone into the background. Harris completed 30 of 38 passes for 401 yards as the Riders downed the Ottawa Redblacks 42-20, a victory that featured the 40-year-old pivot becoming the 12th quarterback in CFL history to break the 40,000-yard mark in career passing yards. He now has 40,352 career passing yards and is only 182 yards behind Tracy Ham (40,534) for 11th place. Although Mace is well aware of Harris’s disdain for focusing on personal achievements, he felt it necessary during the post-game celebration to recognize his quarterback for breaking the 40,000-yard barrier. “It’s incredible. We all know how long the league’s been around, and there’s only 12 people do that,” said Mace. ”In true Trevor fashion, he took that (game ball) and was looking to give away offensive player of the game ball. I said, ‘No, buddy, that’s your ball. You pick another one to give somebody else, right?’ “That’s Trevor, though. He’s never going to be a ‘me’ guy or accept it. He’s always going to deflect, and it’s not a show. That’s just really who he is, which is a huge part of why you love him. “But I’ll tell you what, nobody got more cheers than when he got that ball because that’s incredible and we’re so happy to have him on a personal level. So grateful for that guy, just as a football player, our quarterback, but just so many other things have (nothing) to do with him throwing the football.” While the Riders celebrated the victory that improved their record to 6-2, the struggling Redblacks were left to deal with another loss. The Redblacks are now winless in eight games this season and have a 14-game regular-season losing streak dating back to the 2025 season. Ottawa’s last regular-season victory was a 34-33 win over the B.C. Lions on Sept. 5, 2025. After that win, the Redblacks lost their final six games of the 2025 season. The Redblacks held a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter, but the Riders responded with four consecutive touchdown drives to take control of the contest. Saskatchewan’s offence struggled in the first half. They were facing a bit of the unknown after Ottawa fired defensive coordinator Will Fields on Aug. 1, replacing him with special teams coach Jeff Reinebold. Harris admitted the Riders struggled a bit trying to understand Ottawa’s defensive scheme and tendencies in the first half. “Once we had a firm grasp of what they were doing, we were able to really start cooking and moving the football. I was proud of the offence in the second half in terms of all the scoring drives we had,” said Harris. “But what was really cool was when Ottawa answered, we were able to stay on the football field, put together drives and always answer the bell and come back with a score. That’s what championship offences do, and especially when you’re down some prominent players and need other guys to step up, and they did.” The offensive explosion was somewhat unexpected given the number of injuries in the group — the Riders were missing receivers Kian Schaffer-Baker and Samuel Emilus, along with running back A.J. Ouellette. Yet the receiving corps didn’t miss a beat. Veteran KeeSean Johnson led the way with 11 catches for 133 yards and one touchdown, but newcomers Johnny Johnson III, D’Sean Mimbs and Dylan Djete also had big games. Johnson III totalled 117 yards on seven catches, Mimbs had 84 yards on six receptions and Djete, making his first CFL start, caught four passes for 53 yards. Johnson knew he would have to do the heavy lifting Friday, but he also expected the youngsters to make their mark. “Of course, but I also knew that we had a lot of guys that could make a lot of plays in our room. We preach that week in and week out. I mean we hold everybody to a high standard within practice, so I know what the guys are going to do out there,” said Johnson. Djete started the second half comeback when he scored his first CFL touchdown on a 18-yard reception from Harris. Johnson connected with Harris on a two-point conversion to give the Riders a 21-14 lead. Tommy Stevens, Saskatchewan’s short-yardage specialist, sealed the victory with three touchdown runs, scoring from one yard, five yards and seven yards. Stevens, who scored three rushing touchdowns in last week’s 28-26 victory over the Edmonton Elks, leads the CFL with 11 rushing touchdowns. Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier, who signed with the Redblacks as a free agent after spending the 2025 season with the Riders, completed 31 of 43 passes for 339 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was his third straight game of 300 or more passing yards. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the first half, with Ottawa’s Bryson Barnes scoring on a one-yard plunge and Johnson grabbing a five-yard scoring pass from Harris. Johnson, who had eight receptions for 107 yards in the half, caught seven passes for 97 yards on Saskatchewan’s final two possessions before the break. Johnson’s touchdown catch, coming with seven seconds left in the half, gave the Riders a 13-6 lead. Justin Hardy, on a 23-yard reception, and Keelan White, on a seven-yard catch, also had touchdowns for Ottawa. Up next This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026. Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press
