Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said perfection is not a thing in football. In June 14’s game against the Hamilton Tiger Cats, the Riders were definitely not perfect but they played better than Hamilton, winning 28-23. Had Brett Lauther not had a brutal game kicking the ball they would have won going away.
Beyond the kicking game the mistakes that were most obvious for the Riders were on defence, especially in the secondary.
On Hamilton's first touchdown, wide receiver Tim White went down the seam uncovered. After the play Rider linebacker C.J. Avery and defensive back Demarcus Fields were left looking at each other. Both had covered the inside receiver leaving White open.
Earlier on the drive, Hamilton wide receiver Kenny Lawler was all alone on a corner route for 27 yards. Several times Lawler, the best Tiger Cat receiver, was wide open. Rider defensive back Rolan Milligan said Lawler is explosive and the best receiver in the league. Milligan said that you have to mind your Ps and Qs covering him. With Lawler having eight catches for 162 yards, all the Rider defenders need to brush up on their Ps and Qs before playing Lawler again.
Milligan further stated that the second half showed, when they cleaned up their mistakes, how good they can be on defence.
Each defence had an interception on a long pass. The interceptions had considerable similarities.
Riders quarterback Trevor Harris tried to hit wide receiver Sam Emilius on a double move down the right side line. He said he wanted the ball inside on that route. Emilius was open when Harris released the pass but Hamilton safety Stavros Katsantonis flew over to tip the pass into the air where it was intercepted by Jonathan Moxey. Harris said on his half roll to the right, if he had held the eyes of Katsantonis or put the ball to the outside a bit more he thought they maybe score a touchdown. I thought the pass also floated.
Milligan showed why he was the best defender in the league in 2024 with his interception. He said to Rawlco Radio’s Britton Gray that the Tiger Cats tried to clear him with a deep over route but he never moved. The pass from Bo Levi Mitchell, who was under pressure, floated and Milligan took it in stride all the way to the end zone.
Regina Leader-Post columnist Rob Vanstone commented that it was Milligan’s first touchdown. Milligan said it was fun to get to the end zone. He still remembered the play in 2023 against Calgary when he was stopped just shy of the end zone. He said it took him a year to get over the Calgary play.
I was impressed by the Rider defensive line. While they were limited to two sacks they, especially after the first quarter, made Mitchell uncomfortable in the pocket. In the first half Mitchell was 15 for 19 passing but in the second half was 11 for 21.
It was striking to see for a second game in a row, pressure with only four defenders rushing the passer. As in the Ottawa game Mace called few blitzes. He said Mitchel is good against the blitz and they need to catch him off guard with timing.
He did call another blitz where Riders linebacker Jameer Thurman was untouched on his way to the quarterback. He said they had seen some things that might get a free run to Mitchell. He invited the media to get someone to text him during the game if you feel it coming. It would be interesting to see if he would look at a recommendation from a member of the media in a game.
In the first two weeks of the season, the Riders are one of the few teams with an effective running game. They have run the ball for 89 and 133 yards.
Riders running back A.J. Ouellette's 47 yard touchdown run saw him barrelling down the field and brushing Moxey aside as he neared the goal line. Harris said that was the 45 they thought they were getting in free agency, now that his hips are right. He added that Ouellette might be the best pass protector in the league.
As the game wore down the Riders stayed pushing the ball on offense. Harris said they wanted to keep aggressive with their foot on the gas.
They followed the old football adage on their final touchdown drive to keep doing what is effective until stopped. Harris threw five passes with four completions to KeeSean Johnson, including the touchdown, on that drive. He said it was the look the defence kept giving them.
Harris described to Vanstone that the team motto on their wristbands for 2025 is “decisively engaged” – a military term in which retreat is not an option. He went on to say that Mace said that they are on the clock and an alarm clock is on the other side of the wristbands that says S.R. for Saskatchewan Roughrider time. He said if you say it fast, it sounds like “it's our time”.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about the Saskatchewan Roughriders since the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Football Reporters of Canada wing on Nov. 24, 2013.
