Roughriders improve to 4-0 with victory over B.C. Lions
A.J. Ouellette recorded his first 100-yard game in green and white as the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the B.C. Lions 37-18 on Saturday night in Week 4 of the CFL season.
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In front of an announced crowd of 27,804 at Mosaic Stadium, the Roughriders improved to 4-0 for a second straight season while the Lions fell to 1-3.
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In the victory, Ouellette rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown while Saskatchewan's defence also chipped in with points as Tevaughn Campbell recorded a pick six in the first half as the Riders led 16-7 at the half.
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While Ouellette was the offensive star for the Riders, Saskatchewan's offence was led by backup quarterback Jake Maier, who drew the start for the injured Trevor Harris. Maier finished the night 13 of 23 for 170 yards and a touchdown.
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On the other side, the Lions were guided by backup quarterback Jeremiah Masoli with starter Nathan Rourke out due to injury of his own. Masoli completed 16 of 29 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
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On Saskatchewan's first drive of the game, Ouellette rumbled 26 yards on the first play before Maier connected with Mitch Picton for a first down through the air.
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From there, Brett Lauther nailed a 34-yard field goal to put the Roughriders up 3-0.
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Near the end of the first quarter, after another first-down carry by Ouellette, Maier found a wide-open Joe Robustelli up the sideline, as the receiver made a 34-yard catch while keeping himself in bounds.
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After the drive stalled, Lauther came in to make a 48-yard field goal to make it 6-0 Riders.
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On B.C.'s next drive, the Roughriders defence forced a turnover as linebacker C.J. Reavis punched the ball loose from Lions' running back James Butler, before defensive end Lake Korte-Moore jumped on the fumble. However, the Roughriders were forced to punt on the ensuing series.
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The Lions bounced back on their next offensive series as Butler picked up a 38-yard gain along the ground before Masoli hit Keon Hatcher for the 15-yard touchdown to put the Lions in front 7-6.
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Before the half was up, Lauther hit a 40-yard field goal to put Saskatchewan back on top 9-7.
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As B.C. looked to put points on the board late in the half, Campbell — who had a pick last week against Toronto — had other ideas as he intercepted Masoli and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown. With the convert, the Riders took the 16-7 lead at the break.
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The Roughriders increased their lead to 22-7 on the first drive of the second half as Maier and company engineered a 10-play, 54-yard drive capped off by an eight-yard touchdown by Ouellette, who eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the play. Saskatchewan missed a two-point convert attempt following the major.
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National Post
2 hours ago
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10 Thoughts: Roughriders show how important experienced depth can be
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have an undefeated record, but the CFL club is admittedly not perfect. Article content On Saturday, the Green and White improved to 4-0 to begin the 2025 CFL season with a 37-18 victory over the visiting B.C. Lions in a game that featured a pair of veteran backup quarterbacks going head-to-head for their respective teams. Article content Article content Here are the top takeaways from the contest as the Riders enter their first bye week of the season. Article content 10 Thoughts: Article content 1. Jake Maier made his first start at quarterback for the Green and White in place of the injured Trevor Harris and his teammates made it easy on him. While Maier was effective moving the ball at times through the air, a strong rushing attack and a defence that forced four turnovers helped take some pressure off him. In 45 career starts with Calgary prior to coming to Saskatchewan, Maier has thrown for 300 yards on 13 different occasions. He threw for 170 yards on Saturday night and that was more than enough to get the win. Article content 2. It's a luxury for the Roughriders to have an experienced backup. Sure Maier is no Harris but unlike what Saskatchewan went last through with the inexperience of Shea Patterson, who made his first career CFL start in 2024 when Harris was injured, Maier — a veteran of 45 career starts — looked comfortable in the pocket all night even if he didn't make every throw (13 of 23). Experienced depth can pay dividends. Article content 3. Leading the way in the running game was A.J. Ouellette, who had a career-high 139 yards on a career-high 23 carries in his sixth CFL season. The 2022 and 2023 East Division all-star has had a great last three games for the Riders and is poised for a big year if he keeps this up. I think this is what everyone expected in 2024. Article content 4. Everybody has a job to do on the team and Tommy Stevens might be the best at doing his. The short-yardage quarterback has been outstanding in his role this season and proved his worth again on Saturday night. While he took a loss of two in the first half, Stevens converted on a pair of QB sneaks in the second half before cementing the game on Saskatchewan's final drive with five carries for 29 yards. Article content Article content 5. On the other side, Jeremiah Masoli didn't look great for B.C. While the Lions had two effective touchdown drives, aided by the play of running back James Butler, Masoli threw three interceptions including a costly pick six that was the turning point in the game. If the Lions (1-3) want to contend for a playoff spot this year, they better hope Rourke can return soon. Article content 6. After notching his first interception in the CFL since 2018 last week against Toronto, Riders defensive back Tevaughn Campbell was the one scoring on that pick-six as he put exclamation on the first half with an interception returned for a touchdown to put the Riders up 16-7 at the break. Filling that cornerback spot was one of the biggest needs for the Roughriders this off-season and Campbell — who has adjusted back to the CFL game after six years in the NFL — has been a great addition.
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A.J. Ouellette recorded his first 100-yard game in green and white as the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the B.C. Lions 37-18 on Saturday night in Week 4 of the CFL season. Article content In front of an announced crowd of 27,804 at Mosaic Stadium, the Roughriders improved to 4-0 for a second straight season while the Lions fell to 1-3. Article content Article content In the victory, Ouellette rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown while Saskatchewan's defence also chipped in with points as Tevaughn Campbell recorded a pick six in the first half as the Riders led 16-7 at the half. Article content While Ouellette was the offensive star for the Riders, Saskatchewan's offence was led by backup quarterback Jake Maier, who drew the start for the injured Trevor Harris. Maier finished the night 13 of 23 for 170 yards and a touchdown. Article content On the other side, the Lions were guided by backup quarterback Jeremiah Masoli with starter Nathan Rourke out due to injury of his own. Masoli completed 16 of 29 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Article content On Saskatchewan's first drive of the game, Ouellette rumbled 26 yards on the first play before Maier connected with Mitch Picton for a first down through the air. Article content From there, Brett Lauther nailed a 34-yard field goal to put the Roughriders up 3-0. Article content Near the end of the first quarter, after another first-down carry by Ouellette, Maier found a wide-open Joe Robustelli up the sideline, as the receiver made a 34-yard catch while keeping himself in bounds. Article content After the drive stalled, Lauther came in to make a 48-yard field goal to make it 6-0 Riders. Article content On B.C.'s next drive, the Roughriders defence forced a turnover as linebacker C.J. Reavis punched the ball loose from Lions' running back James Butler, before defensive end Lake Korte-Moore jumped on the fumble. However, the Roughriders were forced to punt on the ensuing series. Article content Article content The Lions bounced back on their next offensive series as Butler picked up a 38-yard gain along the ground before Masoli hit Keon Hatcher for the 15-yard touchdown to put the Lions in front 7-6. Article content Before the half was up, Lauther hit a 40-yard field goal to put Saskatchewan back on top 9-7. Article content As B.C. looked to put points on the board late in the half, Campbell — who had a pick last week against Toronto — had other ideas as he intercepted Masoli and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown. With the convert, the Riders took the 16-7 lead at the break. Article content The Roughriders increased their lead to 22-7 on the first drive of the second half as Maier and company engineered a 10-play, 54-yard drive capped off by an eight-yard touchdown by Ouellette, who eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the play. Saskatchewan missed a two-point convert attempt following the major.
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