REGINA – The Riders’ resurgence continued at Old Mosaic Stadium on Saturday night, as backup QB Mitchell Gale led Saskatchewan on a game-winning drive as time expired for their second consecutive victory.
Darian Durant and the Riders offence received the ball to start, and carried some of the winning momentum into Saturday’s tilt with Hamilton. Durant started the game with four consecutive completions and the home team wasted no time putting points on the board, as Tyler Crapigna booted home a field goal to put the Riders up 3-0 early.
The Tiger-Cats offence took over following the field goal, but wouldn’t keep the ball for long. Collaros’ first pass attempt of the game was underthrown to WR John Chiles, and former Ticat DB Ed Gainey came up with a big interception for the Riders.
Durant was able to string together a few more completions on the next drive, including a pair to WR Caleb Holley, but the Riders were forced to punt.
Despite a brilliant coffin corner punt from Josh Bartel, Collaros and the Tiger-Cats offence came out firing, with first down passes to Andy Fantuz and Spencer Watt to move to midfield. Another big completion to Fantuz brought the Ticats within striking distance, and Collaros found Brandon Banks, who scurried into the end zone for the Hamilton touchdown.
After throwing an interception on his first pass attempt of the game, Collaros rebounded by completing five of six pass attempts for 103 yards on a 105-yard touchdown drive to give the Tiger-Cats their first lead of the game.
Durant came out slinging on the next Roughriders drive, connecting with Holley for a 30 yard gain before finding Armanti Edwards down the middle for a spectacular 46-yard touchdown grab. Crapigna’s extra point was good, and the Riders took a 10-7 lead.
Collaros continued to work on the next drive, finding Fantuz and WR Junior Collins twice while completing four of six attempts. An end zone shot to Fantuz fell incomplete, and Maher kicked home the field goal, tying the game at 10.
The high-flying football continued as the Riders took over, as Durant connected with National WR Nic Demski for a 53 yard completion before finding Holley deep, fighting his way down to the one-yard line.
An apparent goal-line fumble by Riders QB Mitchell Gale, which was returned for a touchdown by Adrian Tracy, was overturned, and Durant punched it in on the following play to give the Riders a 17-10 lead.
Neither offence could muster much in the dying minutes, and the Riders headed into halftime with a 17-10 lead on home soil. Durant finished the half completing 75% of his attempts for 268 yards and a touchdown, with Holley recording seven catches for 102 yards.
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The defences took over in the third quarter, forcing three punts to open the second half. Brett Maher had a chance to pull Hamilton to within four, but missed a 42-yard field goal wide right.
The Roughriders found themselves deep in Hamilton territory at the end of the third quarter, but backup QB Mitchell Gale was intercepted by DB Dominique Ellis to halt Saskatchewan’s momentum.
Gale took the place of Durant, who left the game due to injury and would not return.
Maher had another opportunity after a 37-yard Hamilton drive, but missed the 53-yard attempt wide left, settling for a single.
The Riders offence didn’t look the same after Durant’s departure, settling for a punt as they held a slim six point lead in the fourth quarter.
Collaros and the Tiger-Cats took over with six minutes remaining in the game and went to work, battling their way down the field. Fantuz remained a popular target for Collaros, eclipsing 100 yards on the drive.
Jeremiah Masoli made the most of his opportunity on second and two, following a perfect block by OL Ryan Bomben 21 yards to the end zone for a Ticats touchdown. Maher’s extra point was good and the Tiger-Cats took a narrow one-point lead nearing the end of the fourth.
Gale and the Riders offence took possession with time running out, and the backup pivot ran the three-minute drill with expertise, completing five pass attempts for 44 yards and rushing for 12 himself before Tyler Crapigna kicked home a short field goal to seal the victory.
The Roughriders have now won two straight games for the first time in 2016, and will head into a bye week before travelling to Toronto to take on the Argonauts.
Following their second consecutive loss, the Tiger-Cats will head home next week where they’ll host the CFL’s best Calgary Stampeders, who were the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season.
