‘Eight wins is great’: Roughriders keep win streak alive, blowout Ti-Cats 29-9

Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace, QB Trevor Harris comment on the team's 29-9 win over Hamilton.

A sold-out Mosaic Stadium got what they came to see Saturday, as the hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders improved their record to 8-1, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 29-9.

Riders’ head coach Corey Mace wouldn’t answer a question from the media without first giving Rider Nation a shoutout.

“We absolutely love you,” he said. “That was incredible today. The amount of people that showed up was excellent.”

The sellout 33,350 announced attendance was the Roughriders’ first at Mosaic for a non-Labour Day Classic game since the pandemic.

“That was everything we ever envisioned when we first came here, to have that happening now, non Labour Day game, going into Labour Day. You have no idea how much that means to us as a team,” Mace added.

The win continues Saskatchewan’s win streak, now at four games.

The Riders’ last two wins were in blowout fashion, giving up a combined 15 points, scoring 60 over that span.

Defensive committee

Led by a committee of defenders, 19 different Riders made a tackle in the game.

“We have a really, really deep team. We’ve gots a bunch of dogs on this team,” defensive lineman Micah Johnson told reporters after the win. “It’s showing on the field because you got guys fighting and clawing to get tackles and sacks.”

“Everybody’s really going to get it, it’s a testament to the guys we have,” he added.

The Riders also held Ti-Cats QB Bo Levi Mitchell to 201 yards through the air, going 16/30, throwing no touchdown passes and two interceptions.

Mitchell was also sacked six times, increasing the season total to 28 – best in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

“There’s more to give though,” Johnson said. “I’m sure when we watch film, it’s going to be like, ‘we could’ve had like 3 or 4 more.’ We can be a lot better.”

“The goal was just to disrupt. The sacks are awesome,” Mace added. “We love those. But the disruption, having the quarterback worrying about what’s happening in front of them as opposed to what’s happening down the field, that is a beautiful place to live in. And those guys did a pretty good job of that tonight.”

Riders’ defensive backs Rolan Milligan Jr. and Tevaughn Campbell each caught an interception.

Milligan Jr. also celebrated his 31st birthday Saturday.

“We just locked down and that was that was the message all week,” Milligan said. “We had to be locked in coming off the bye and be ready to go.”

“It always feels good to touch the pill,” Campbell said. “Now we just need to keep stacking, to be honest. We’re on a good run right now in terms of turnovers, but we need to get more fumbles. But nonetheless, they come in bunches.”

Hamilton receiver Kenny Lawler, who had been Mitchell’s most dangerous offensive weapon leading up to the game, was blanketed all game long – making just three catches for 62 yards.

Saskatchewan also has not allowed a touchdown in two-straight games.

“Putting no touchdowns on the field and just executing our game plan and playing solid defense [is huge],” Campbell said. “There’s times there’s a little hiccups here and there, but I think we came back, corrected them and had a pretty solid game. Could be better, still.”

Mitchell was complimentary of the Riders’ defense but stopped short of calling them the best they had faced.

“They’re a great defense and have a lot of great players,” he told TSN. “When the ball is in the air, they go out there and get it.”

“But this doesn’t affect our confidence of who we are and what we can do and the ability we have to finish the season. This is going to be the atmosphere you’re in [at the Grey Cup], so, it helps us prepare for it. But it’s our job to use that to our advantage and continue to get better from it,” he added.

Offense explodes in 2nd quarter

On the offensive side, Trevor Harris continued his MOP-level play with 307 yards passing on 21 completions, 27 attempts, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Down 6-1 heading into the second quarter, the offense made two big plays to score majors on back-to-back drives, beginning with a 36-yard TD pass to Dohnte Meyers.

“As soon as I saw him open I was like, ‘just don’t over throw this.’ Because the wind was lifting my throws,” Harris said about the pass.

“I heard the call, we knew this play had big-play ability,” Meyers added. “I saw the ball in the air and knew I had to come down with it and get Rider Nation ready to celebrate.”

Three different receivers caught a TD pass from Harris, with Dohnte Meyers, Tommy Nield and Joe Robustelli each finding the endzone for majors.

“It starts with the examples set in the room,” Meyers added. “We have established veterans in our room who have been successful in this league and dominated. [They] have showed me the ropes and that’s echoed right out [on the field].”

Critical coach’s challenge

Prior to Saskatchewan’s second touchdown of the game, Harris aired out a pass to Joe Robustelli. He was hauled down by a Hamilton defender but there was no flag on the play.

Mace made the decision to challenge for defensive pass interference, a challenge which went in his favour – giving the Riders a 29-yard gain on the play.

“More times than not, you’re throwing it in a crucial situation. You have to weigh the risk reward of it all,” Mace said. “I thought the timing was a perfect combination of what I think needed to happen and a big swing for us there. It was awesome we were able to capitalize off of it.”

“There’s often 3 or 4 plays that can turn a game,” Harris said. “You can always point to a few which went in our favour. You just never know when they’re going to happen.”

Mace is 2/6 on challenge attempts this season.

Meanwhile, Harris threw a 77 per cent completion rate. The feat grows a CFL-record streak of games over 70 per cent to 12 games.

The Rider pivot left the game for the final three minutes of the game after taking a high hit. Back-up Tommy Stevens finished the game under centre for Saskatchewan.

Harris admitted he was frustrated to be taken out of the game.

“I’ve got to be better than that,” he added. “That was an emotional time there. I didn’t want their defense to think they had got to me.”

Riders on top

At 8-1, Saskatchewan now sits comfortably atop the West Division with 16 points, a full two wins better than second place Calgary.

It is just the second time in franchise history the Riders have been 8-1 through nine games. The last time they did was 2013, when Saskatchewan went on to win the Grey Cup.

“Eight wins is not something we had on our on our list of items to check off,” Harris said. “To win in eight games is great. We’re getting toward our goals and it’s awesome we’re able to do that.”

“But again, it doesn’t source any points next week,” he added.

Despite having the best record in the Canadian Football League (CFL), the team feels there’s more to give.

“We’ll continue to hammer out the stuff we need to get better at,” Mace said. “We want to be the best version of us. That’s all we want to look at. And there will always be stuff to get better at.”

The Riders next opponent is the Stampeders in Week 12. That game is scheduled for Saturday Aug. 23.

Saskatchewan’s only loss this season came against Calgary in Week 6.