Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
Mario Alford returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the dying seconds as the Saskatchewan Roughriders stunned the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
After the Argonauts tied the Week 3 CFL contest 32-32 with 23 seconds left on Friday night at BMO Field, Alford brought back the ensuing kickoff to secure Saskatchewan’s second straight 3-0 start to a season.
“Coach told me before we went out there, ‘Let’s get it to the 40-, 45-(yard line),’ ” Alford told TSN’s Brit Dort after the game. “Then I saw the hole and I did what I do best.
“I try to put my team in the best position possible to win. We were able to execute; shoutout to the blockers.”
While the defending Grey Cup champion Argonauts —who fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2019 — scored the opening points of the game on their first drive as quarterback Nick Arbuckle engineered a nine-play, 80-yard drive capped off by a five-yard touchdown pass to Dejon Brissett, it was the Roughriders who led the way for the majority of the game.
On Saskatchewan’s first series, quarterback Trevor Harris and company put together a six-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by a 25-yard touchdown run by running back A.J. Ouellette, who had a similar 47-yard touchdown run last week against Hamilton.
With the convert, the game was tied 7-7 midway through the first quarter.
After a two-and-out by Saskatchewan’s defence and a 35-yard punt return by Alford, Saskatchewan’s offence went back to work as Harris connected with Dohnte Meyers for a 13-yard gain before the duo connected on a 32-yard touchdown pass on the very next play to put Saskatchewan on top 14-7.
Following another two-and-out by the Roughriders’ defence, Harris and company went back to work as Mitch Picton made a highlight-reel 33-yard catch which led to a 16-yard field goal by Brett Lauther to make it 17-7 Riders.
Near the end of the first half, the Argonauts got down to Saskatchewan’s one-yard line on a 17-play, 76-yard drive which lasted more than seven minutes, but they couldn’t come away with any points as Saskatchewan’s defence forced a turnover on downs after a goal-line stand.
The Argos got the ball back before the half was up, and after Riders defensive back Marcus Sayles couldn’t come down with an interception, Argos’ kicker Lirim Hajrullahu nailed a 56-yard field goal to make it 17-10 at the break.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Riders added to their lead as Harris hit Meyers on a slant pass before the second-year slotback broke free and rumbled 70 yards to the end zone for his second touchdown of the game to make it 24-10.
The Argos added a field goal on their next drive to cut the lead to 24-13.
Following a punt by the Riders, the Argos were looking to put another scoring drive together but Arbuckle was intercepted by defensive back Tevaughn Campbell, who registered his first pick in the CFL since 2018 after spending six years in the NFL.
However, the Riders gave it right back as Harris was intercepted by Tyshon Blackburn on the very next play at Saskatchewan’s 15-yard line.
Following a major penalty, the Argos got the ball on Saskatchewan’s one-yard line and Toronto’s short-yardage quarterback Jarret Doege punched it into the end zone to make it 24-21 after a successful two-point convert.
In the fourth quarter, the Roughriders padded their lead with a touchdown as Harris and company put together a 10-play, 42-yard drive before short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens plunged into the end zone to make it 31-21 with the convert.
Toronto added a 25-yard field goal to make it 31-24 before the Riders added a single point after Lauther missed a 33-yard field goal through the back of the end zone with 2:02 to go.
Needing eight points to tie, the Argos went to work as Arbuckle put together an eight-play, 70-yard drive capped off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mital with 23 seconds left before finding Brisset on the two-point convert to tie the game 32-32.
From there, the Argos couldn’t return Lauther’s kickoff as Saskatchewan came away with the victory.
“Mario has been fantastic this entire year to this point and you knew it was just a matter of time,” Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said on 620 CKRM’s postgame show. “And boy, what a time.”
Harris finished the night 13 of 17 for 234 yards with two touchdowns and interception while Ouellette had 91 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. Meyers was Saskatchewan’s top receiver with four catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Meyers) is an explosive athlete,” Harris told TSN postgame. “He makes tough catches. He’s just one of those guys where at any moment he can explode. We’re excited and fortunate to have him.”
Defensively, linebacker Jameer Thurman had a team-high seven tackles while A.J. Allen, Micah Johnson and Mike Rose registered sacks while Habakkuk Baldonado had a forced fumble.
For Toronto, Arbuckle finished 26 of 33 for 259 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Miyan Williams had a team-high 36 rushing yards while Mital led all receivers with 98 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Penalties were also a major factor on Friday night as the Argonauts committed 11 infractions for 129 yards while the Riders had 18 penalties for 178 yards.
After committing just eight penalties in their first two games, Mace was disappointed with the amount of flags against him team on Friday night.
“At this point, it’s super uncharacteristic for us,” Mace said on 620 CKRM’s postgame show. “It just kind of fell off the rails and we see what that looks like potentially what that can do to a team if we don’t keep our composure and play clean.
“We made it hard on ourselves, no doubt.”
After two straight road games, the Roughriders will return home in Week 4 of the season as the Green and White will host the B.C. Lions on June 28 at 5 p.m.
