The Corey Mace era began on a victorious note Monday as the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-12 at Mosaic Stadium.
Mace, who doubles as the Roughriders’ defensive co-ordinator, was also able to celebrate five sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and the fact that Winnipeg managed only 238 yards of net offence.
“We came here to do what we wanted to do — and that was win a football game,” Mace said.
Monday’s CFL pre-season game marked a return to the lineup for quarterback Trevor Harris, who missed the final 13 games of last season due to a knee injury.
“It was amazing,” Harris said of his first appearance in a game since July 15. “As I walked on to the field today, I thought about what had happened and the work that had gone into getting back to this point.
“I kind of just looked out there and said, ‘If something were to happen again, I’m at peace with it, because I grew so much from it.’ It was a good time to reflect a little bit. As soon as I came to grips with, ‘Whatever happens, happens,’ it kind of lets you let go of anything that could happen in the future, because the work has been put in and the time has been put in.
“I’m just grateful. God has been great through this whole thing. The people who I have worked with at ARPneuro, (such as) Jake Kozens, and Greg Mayer here have just been fantastic through this whole process.
“I couldn’t be more elated to be a part of this process of what Coach Mace and J.O. (Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day) and Kyle (Carson, Assistant GM) are building.”
In two offensive series on Monday, Harris completed seven of nine passes for 123 yards, including a 65-yard connection with Shawn Bane Jr.
With Harris behind centre, the Roughriders ran 15 plays, advanced 126 yards and produced five first downs.
“We were up and down the field,” he said, “but we’ve got to finish drives.”
The Bombers’ Sergio Castillo opened the scoring with a 26-yard field goal at 14:43 of the first quarter.
Brett Lauther countered with a 24-yard field goal at 4:32 of the second frame.
An interception by Zakoby McClain set up the Roughriders’ first touchdown — a one-yard run by Frankie Hickson at 11:55 of the second quarter.
Sergio Castillo’s 53-yard field goal, at 13:15 of the second quarter, reduced Saskatchewan’s lead to 9-6.
Lauther’s 41-yarder on the final play of the first half gave Saskatchewan a 12-6 lead.
The Roughriders went ahead 18-6 when Shea Patterson connected with Ajou Ajou, who made a one-handed catch and scampered untouched to the end zone to complete a 38-yard TD at 1:14 of the third quarter.
“That was awesome,” Patterson said of six-point connection with the 6-foot-2 rookie receiver. “He’s so long and he’s such a playmaker.”
After Ajou’s major, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon ran for a two-point convert to put the Roughriders ahead 20-6.
Back-to-back singles by Lauther fattened the lead to 22-6.
Lauther made it 25-6 with a 38-yard field goal at 10:29 of the fourth quarter.
Terry Wilson threw an eight-yard TD pass to Kevens Clercius with 2:22 left in the game to reduce Saskatchewan’s lead to 25-12. Roughriders defensive tackle Caleb Sanders registered a pass knockdown on the two-point convert attempt.
McClain and Diego Fagot registered the Roughriders’ interceptions.
Rodney Clemons, Deontai Williams, Tre’ Crawford, Habakkuk Baldonado and Miles Brown had the Roughriders’ sacks.
“That’s who we expect to be — being able to put some pressure on the quarterbacks,” Mace said. “Obviously, we’re not going to throw a huge blitz package in the first pre-season game. Also, we want to identify who are true rushers are.
“But it was really good to see to affect quarterbacks and get them off the spot. Ultimately, we walked away with a couple of turnovers (on interceptions), the way we had hoped.”
Sidney Houston Jr. registered the Roughriders’ third turnover by recovering fumble late in the fourth quarter
Winnipeg recorded two sacks and did not make an interception.
The Roughriders finished with 317 yards of net offence — 215 through the air and 127 along the ground, less 15 yards of team losses.
Clint Ratkovich led the running game with 40 yards on six carries. Hickson added 33 yards on seven rushes. Bertrand-Hudon carried the ball six times for 25 yards. A.J. Ouellette, who rushed for 1,009 yards for the Toronto Argonauts last season, gained 18 yards on six carries on Monday.
“I thought we had some good runs out there,” Ouellette said. “I left some out there. I’ve got to get used to the way the O-line is moving and their keys and all that. We’ll get to the film and fix our mistakes.
“I think we’re where we need to be right now and I’m excited for the future.”
Ouellette was also excited to play his first game as a Roughrider.
“It felt good being in front of this crowd,” said Ouellette, who signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in February. “I got a good little cheer when my name was announced.
“When it comes down to football, it’s still the same. I didn’t feel any different once I was out there.”
Mace hopes for a different story, penalty-wise, after the Roughriders were flagged nine times for 85 yards on Monday.
A holding penalty wiped out a 53-yard punt return by Dohnte Meyers and an offside call negated a 43-yard pass from Patterson to KeShawn Johnson.
“Obviously, the Achilles heel for us is the penalties,” Mace said. “We’ve been hard on that, really, since camp started
“There are far too many for our liking, specifically on big plays. Penalties equal points, for us or against us, so we’ve got to do a much better job. That’s the focus.”
How did Mace assess his own performance?
“I did OK,” he replied. “I was probably too aggressive on a couple of things, but I think we’re trying to build an understanding of who we’d like to be and I have a lot of trust in certain position groups.
“I made it very vocal that it might not be the last time that we get too aggressive on some things. That’s the kind of team that we want to be.
“I’d probably grade myself as a C-plus. There’s definitely some work for myself to do. That’s the accountability and ownership that we talk about.”
The Roughriders are to conclude their pre-season schedule Saturday, 2 p.m., against the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium. Fans are invited to Mosaic Stadium to watch the game on the MaxTron as part of the second annual Rider Rally.
EXTRA POINTS: Saskatchewan increased its pre-season winning streak to three games … Coors Light Roughriders Training Camp is to resume in Saskatoon, where full workouts are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at Griffiths Stadium … Bane Jr. produced his team-high receiving yards total (65) on one catch … Jerreth Sterns took off on a 60-yard kickoff return … Malik Carney, Caleb Sanders and C.J. Coldon had the Roughriders’ pass knockdowns … Saskatchewan dominated the time of possession (35:15).
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2024-05-21 01:14:58Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnJpZGVydmlsbGUuY29tLzIwMjQvMDUvMjAvbWFjZS1sZWQtcm91Z2hyaWRlcnMta2ljay1vZmYtcHJlLXNlYXNvbi13aXRoLTI1LTEyLXdpbi1vdmVyLXdpbm5pcGVnL9IBAA
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