While Saskatchewan’s defence stuffed Toronto three times on third-and-goal, the Green and White gave up a game-winning rouge on a missed field goal by Toronto as time expired to lose the game.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ winless streak has reached five games.
“Just tough,” said Roughriders’ head coach Corey Mace. “I feel like every week now for the last few, we’re finding new ways to end a game like that.
“And it just crushes me for the guys.”
With the loss, Saskatchewan drops to 5-5-1 on the season while the Argos improve to 6-4. Saskatchewan hasn’t won since July 19 and is 0-4-1 over their last five.
“(The players are) going to try to find a way to work even harder,” said Mace, whose team is back in action on Sept. 1 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic. “And it’s got to get done.
“We’ve got to become a team that has to finish these types of games. We’ve been in enough of them now that we should understand how to do that.”
A Game of Missed Opportunities
Quarterback Trevor Harris started the game strong with a touchdown pass to KeeSean Johnson in the first quarter as Saskatchewan led 13-0.
However after the good start, Harris was intercepted twice in the second quarter while Saskatchewan’s offence only mustered two field goals in the second half. In his second game back from injury, Harris completed 18-of-29 passes for 190 yards.
Saskatchewan’s leading receiver was Samuel Emilus, who had 66 yards on eight catches. Meanwhile, running back Frankie Hickson — filling in for the injured A.J. Ouellette — ran for 79 yards on 16 carries.
After short-yardage quarterback Cameron Dukes got Toronto on the board following a one-yard plunge, the Riders defence — led by linebacker C.J. Reavis, who had 10 tackles, one sack and one knockdown in the game — was able to stop the Argos on three third-and-goal attempts.
And while the turnovers were beneficial on the scoreboard, Mace noted that it put Saskatchewan’s offence in a tough position starting deep inside their own territory.
“We kind of never got into the field goal position the way that you’d like,” said the head coach. “The gift and the curse of having all those goal-line stops is that you’re starting backed up.
“You’re taking points off the board but you’re putting your offence in tough position.”
The Argos' Turnaround
After the Riders went up 19-16 with 2:45 left, Argos’ quarterback Chad Kelly — who threw for 322 yards in his first game of the season after serving a nine-game suspension — was intercepted by Riders’ defensive back Marcus Sayles for Saskatchewan’s fourth turnover of the night.
However, the Riders were forced to punt the ball away before Toronto converted a crucial third-and-15 before kicking a field goal to tie the game with 1:02 remaining.
Following a penalty on the ensuing kickoff return, Harris was sacked before the Riders were forced to punt the ball from their end zone with 25 seconds left.
After a 12-yard punt return, Argos’ kicker Lirim Hajrullahu came into attempt a 40-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Hajrullahu missed the kick wide left, but the ball still sailed through the back of the end zone to give Toronto the single point and the victory, extending the Riders’ winless streak to five games.
Looking Ahead
Following the loss, the head coach was asked what needs to change.
“A bunch of things,” said Mace. “We can’t turn the ball over in our own (end) backed up.
“I probably would have liked a third-down (defensive) call back. We can’t certainly take a penalty there on kick return at the end the game when we’re going to drive to kick a field goal.
“Things that we certainly talk about often. So, either they’re not hearing it or we’re not coaching it good enough.
“Right now, I’m going to lean it on the coaching is not good enough.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting the message to the guys.”
The Roughriders have a quick turnaround, as they face off against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic on September 1st. It’s a crucial game for both teams, with the Riders looking to turn their season around and the Bombers hoping to secure a crucial divisional win. The game will be a good test for both teams, and it will be interesting to see how the Roughriders respond to their recent struggles.
