Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
HAMILTON — The Saskatchewan Roughriders are starting the 2024 campaign as the comeback kids.
After being down 20-7 at the half, the Green and White picked up the pace and ultimately pounced past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with a 33-30 win to close Week 2.
According to Roughriders historian Rob Vanstone, this is the first time Saskatchewan has started a season with back-to-back road wins.
Hamilton’s defence did its part, recording the only sacks of the game including the first for rookie linebacker Ray Wilborn and the first three for defensive lineman Brandon Barlow as a Ticat.
Still, Saskatchewan prevailed in what proved to be a quarterback duel to the final minute.
Here are CFL.ca’s three key stats in the Riders win over the Ticats.
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1 – INTERCEPTION
The only interception of the game proved to be the tipping point for the Green and White.
With the game tied 30-30 in the final minute of the fourth quarter, Bo Levi Mitchell‘s pass to receiver Tim White deflected off the Ticats receiver and into the arms of Rider rookie linebacker C.J. Avery.
Avery’s pick primed Saskatchewan for a final-play, game-winning 43-yard field goal made by Brett Lauther.
The interception is a CFL first for Avery, who signed with the Riders in April. The 25-year-old Mississippi native most recently played with the Vegas Vipers of the XFL in 2023, where he made the first interception in the history of the revived league.
Saskatchewan’s defence was led was cornerback Marcus Sayles, who had seven tackles on the night. Four players — Deontai Williams, Rolan Milligan Jr., C.J. Reavis and Jameer Thurman — recorded four tackles each.
390 – RIDER PASSING YARDS
The passing stats for the Riders and Ticats accurately reflect how close these two quarterbacks battled Sunday night.
Trevor Harris completed 32 of 45 passes for 390 yards, just 10 yards more than Mitchell who completed 27 of 38 for 380 yards.
Mitchell did have an edge on passing touchdowns (three to two) and averaged 10 yards a pass compared to 8.7 for Harris.
The air attack was vital for both sides, as the run game couldn’t get going. The Riders eked out 12 carries for 33 yards, while the Tabbies had 13 carries for 30 yards.
109 – YARDS FOR SCHAFFER-BAKER
Harris’s first five touchdown passes of the 2024 season have been to two players he had never connected with for a major before.
In Week 1, it was all Shawn Bane Jr. On Sunday night, it was Kian Schaffer-Baker — who had his first multi-major game in the CFL.
The fourth-year fan favourite from Mississauga, Ont., scored the Riders first and final touchdowns of the night, finishing with seven receptions for 109 yards, his longest being 37 yards. The Week 2 win marks Schaffer-Baker’s fifth CFL game with more than 100 yards receiving, and the earliest it has happened in a season for him.
Schaffer-Baker first met this benchmark as a rookie against the Calgary Stampeders on October 2, 2021, catching five passes for 107 yards. He then had two games with 100-plus yards receiving in 2022, including a career-high 170 yards off five receptions, one touchdown, against the BC Lions on August 26.
Last season, he had one game like this, making nine catches for 104 yards against the BC Lions on September 29.
Notably, Bane Jr. had to leave Sunday’s game in the first half with an injury. Second-year Rider Jerreth Sterns stepped up in his place with eight receptions for a team-leading 112 yards receiving.
