Roughriders defeat Ticats in top team showdown on Saturday

CBC

9 hours ago

Social Sharing
Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 20-of-26 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns as the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 29-9 on Saturday in a showdown of the top teams in the Canadian Football League.
Harris extended his league-record streak of consecutive games with a completion percentage of 70 per cent or better to 12 games by finishing the game at 77 per cent.
Saskatchewan improved to 7-1 with the win, adding to their lead in the CFL West.
The Ticats are still in first in the East despite dropping to 6-4.
Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell entered the game on a tear, throwing for 2,856 yards in nine games with 21 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
He was harassed throughout the game by the tenacious Roughriders' defence, who recorded six sacks and two interceptions. Mitchel finished with 16-of-31 completions for 201 yards.
The Riders took control with 18 unanswered points in the second quarter. Entering the frame trailing 6-1, the Riders took their first lead of the game on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Harris to receiver Dohnte Meyers. Running back O.J. Ouellette then added a two-point convert to give Saskatchewan a 9-6 lead.
Saskatchewan increased its lead late in the quarter when Harris connected with Tommy Nield on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 1:06 left in the half.
With Hamilton on the Saskatchewan 43-yard line facing a third-and-two situation, Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was sacked by Shane Ray.
The Riders took over on the Hamilton 51-yard line and with a stiff wind at their back, they decided to give kicker Brett Lauther a shot at a 59-yard field goal on the final play of the half. Lauther, who missed three field goals in the game, drilled this attempt down the middle to send the Riders into the locker room with a 19-6 lead.
The Tiger-Cats chose to take the wind to start the second half but the third quarter was dominated Saskatchewan. The Roughriders defence intercepted Mitchell twice in the quarter as Saskatchewan increased its lead to 26-6 with an impressive drive into the wind.
Harris capped an 11-play, 90-yard drive that took 7:10 off the clock with a 12-yard touchdown reception to Joe Robustelli with 54 seconds left in the quarter.
Hamilton had impressive drives on their first two possessions of the game but were forced to settle for fields goals both times with Marc Liegghio connecting from 11 and 21 yards.