'We played hard': Riders beat Bombers in pre-season finale
Trevor Harris checked every box on the Saskatchewan coaching staff’s checklist in his opening and only drive of the Roughriders 28-16 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night at IG Stadium.
Saskatchewan improved to 2-0 in the pre-season with most of its starters seeing playing time.
Harris signed with Saskatchewan in the off-season to replace Cody Fajardo. Despite lobbying for additional playing time, the 37-year old starter saw just one series, (nine plays 83-yards) in which is completed all four pass attempts for 72-yards and a touchdown strike to Derel Walker.
“I was happy to get out there. [I] lost an argument on the sideline with Craig [Dickenson] to play some more. I get where he’s coming from. It was just good to get out there and do some of the things that we wanted to do,” said Harris after the win adding the coach said he’ll let him play all four quarters next week.
In 18 games for the Montreal Alouettes last season, Harris completed 331 passes for 4,157 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The Waldo, OH. product trades teams with last year’s Riders pivot Cody Fajardo who signed in Montreal in the off-season.
“I thought he played well. We had anticipated him playing a little longer but he got every throw in we wanted him to make. It was a great drive. We took him out. We wanted to see other quarterbacks,” head coach Craig Dickenson said, adding the staff wanted to get a better look at the other three quarterbacks.
It is the back-up quarterback battle that has intrigued many in Riderville.
Mason Fine saw the majority of the playing time. Last year’s back-up quarterback completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Jake Dolegala who has had an impressive training camp for Saskatchewan completed both of his pass attempts for just 17 yards while adding 12 yards on the ground.
Shea Patterson rushed for 33 yards on five attempts in a variety of short yardage situations including lunging into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“I think all three of them did a great job,” said Harris on the other three quarterbacks. “I’m glad I don’t have to make the decisions.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Riders held the Bombers to just 157 yards through the air and 109 on the ground. “It felt amazing to get my first sack as a professional, it was kind of surreal, but after that I just wanted another one,” said Cody Roscoe, who is pushing for a roster spot.
Kicker Brett Lauther struggled early missing a pair of PATs and a 45 yard attempt.
The veteran kicker was much better down the stretch connecting on 51 and 12 yard attempts.
The Blue Bombers did not have their veteran starting quarterback Zach Collaros in the line-up.
In his place, back-up Dru Brown connected on eight of his 15 attempts for 69 yards. Tyrell Pigrome made an excellent push toward a job at quarterback going five-for-six, 65 yards and a touchdown.
Also noticibly absent were star receivers Dalton Schoen and Nik Demski. Rookie running back Jordan Salima dashed into the end zone for a four yard major in the fourth quarter to bring the deficit to 21-15.
“I thought we played hard. I thought we were physical. Without watching the film you just get general impressions, so I thought the guys looked like they knew what they were doing and they played clean,” Dickenson said of the win, crediting the team’s discipline in only taking a single penalty.
He says he knows the offensive and defensive fronts they’ll face in the coming weeks will be significantly more challenging.
Difficult decisions now face the Roughriders coaching staff as they’ll begin roster cuts inside the next 48-hours.
“We’ll watch the film as a staff and we’ll meet in the morning and we’ll talk about it.” Dickenson said, acknowledging there are some tough decisions ahead of him.
The Roughriders open their regular season on Sunday, June 11th when they travel to Edmonton to face the Elks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.