The Saskatchewan Roughriders are back in the winning streak with a 34-29 victory over the BC Lions at Mosaic Stadium.
The win also marked the first quarterback Jake Dolegala made as a starter in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
“Awesome. Not another word,” exclaimed Doligala when asked to describe the feeling of his first win.
The Raiders opened the scoring in the first two minutes of play on Sunday – a groundbreaking touchdown that saw Keanu Schaffer-Baker score his first touchdown of the season after hip surgery and a lengthy stay on the injured list.
“I wasn’t near the end zone, so I said, ‘Let me roll before someone touches me quickly’ and I got in there, so it was just a blessing,” said Shaver Baker of the key moment.
Meanwhile, Dolegala came out swinging in his second start of the season – recording 239 yards and three touchdowns.
After a close catch in the kicker end zone, the Lions were able to kick a field goal from inside the 20’s zone.
The Lions led the Knights 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lions opened the scoring in the second quarter – fought back with a 30-yard pass to Alexander Hollins that resulted in a touchdown six minutes into the second quarter.
A holding call against O-lineman Evan Johnson returned the Riders 10 yards with six minutes remaining in the half.
To make up for the shortfall on 20 yards, Dolegala fired an impressive long kick to receiver Samuel Emelius to bring the Riders within striking distance.
“I mean he’s a stud there’s no other way to put him,” Dolegala said of playing with Emilus.
This was followed by a 15-yard pass to Jerreth Sterns – putting the two runners on BC’s six.
Green and White finished off the impressive drive by rushing into the end zone by running back Jamal Morrow.
With the Major, the Lions led the Knights 14-10.
The Lions took a hit with a forced fumble during a punt BC return.
Combined with a 15-yard misconduct penalty against Blacks linebacker Ryder Varga – the Riders gained possession at BC’s 21-yard line.
The Riders took advantage when Dolegala launched an 18-yard pass into the end zone – giving Sterns his first CFL touchdown and extending the Green and White’s lead to 21-10.
“It’s all you know. Kids grow up dreaming of just playing soccer, let alone scoring in a professional game. So having the chance to do that is a real blessing,” Stearns said.
After a mid-field interception—the Green and White were forced to punt—with Brett Luther sneaking a 53-yard kick through the uprights to make the game 24–10.
The Lions finished out the second quarter and regained some momentum as kicker Shaun White completed a 42-yard field goal on the last play of the half to make it 24-13.
After a relatively quiet start to the second half—the Riders lit up the scoreboard again with a touchdown catch from Samuel Emeluis with four minutes left in the third period.
“I was like screwing up, I’m going to put the ball up, Sammy’s got 45 inches vertical. He’s going to come up and get it and that’s what he did and I trust him [to do that]Doligala explained.
“I just saw the ball, jumped as high as I could and made a play,” Emilus shrugged when asked about it.
The scoreboard read 31-13 at the end of the quarter.
The Lions finally managed to put another major on the board five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Lions QB Vernon Adams Jr. finished as the runner-up. An 80-yard, nine-play drive with a touchdown pass to receiver Keon Thatcher deep in the Riders’ end zone to get back to within 11 points of the Riders’ lead.
The Lions would strike again nearly four minutes later with Adams drilling a 78-yard touchdown pass to receiver Lucky Whitehead.
A rough passer penalty against the BC Riders was left at the one and a half yard line on a two-point conversion attempt to make it a three-point ball game.
QB Dominique Davis was stopped in his tracks by linebacker Larry Dean to keep the score 31-26 in favor of Saskatchewan.
Lions kicker Shaun White scored again with 2:06 left in the game to make it 2 points at 31-29.
A catch near the sidelines by producer Regina Mitchell Picton will help the Knights get a much-needed first with under two minutes remaining.
However, Rider’s is stopped and then twice they hitchhike.
The Lions received the ball at their own 40-yard line and did their best to get into goal position.
However, a series of incomplete passes due to heavy pressure from the Saskatchewan defense would see BC relinquish possession after a sack on the 22nd.
The Raiders had one final score from last night when Luther kicked a 27-yard field goal to end the game 34-29.
With the win, the green-white improved his scoring again to . 500 and remains third in the West.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders got back into action on September 3 in the Labor Day Classic against the 8-2 Winnipeg Blue Bombers.