Riders’ offence sputters, Argos win 20-19 with a rouge

The Saskatchewan Roughriders only trailed once against the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday, but unfortunately for the team in green, that moment came with no time left on the clock.

Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a 40-yard field goal on the final play of the game, but the ball sailed through the back of the end zone for a rouge and a 20-19 win for Toronto.

“That’s the beauty of the CFL, I guess,” said Riders head coach Corey Mace. “It’s just tough.”

The loss now has the Riders sporting a 0-4-1 record over their last five games, which has allowed the CFL West Division to become crowded, with the B.C. Lions (5-5), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-6), Calgary Stampeders (4-6) and Edmonton Elks (3-7) all within striking distance of the Green and White.

“I feel like every week now we are finding new ways to end a game like that, and it just crushes me for the guys,” Mace said. “They work pretty dang hard, and they are going to try to find a way to work even harder.

“It’s got to get done. We have to become a team that has to finish these type of games, and we have been in enough of them now that we should understand how to do that.”

Riders quarterback Trevor Harris started the game right where he left off in last week’s 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. He started Thursday’s game by completing eight of nine passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

But the offence sputtered from the second quarter onward, with Harris throwing two interceptions in the final moments of the second frame. He finished the game with 18 completions for 190 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

The Riders’ defence played well throughout the game, especially down at their own goal line. The Argos got the ball down to the one-yard line on three different occasions, but didn’t punch it in either time.

“I’m very pleased,” Mace said. “In the CFL, any time you’re on the one-yard line, the odds aren’t in the defence’s favour.”

With the Riders down on their own one-yard line and just 31 seconds left, Harris appeared to connect with Kian Schaffer-Baker for a first down to keep the drive alive.

But Mace called a timeout, negating the play.

“We wanted to milk the clock for as long as possible, but I didn’t want to take a penalty there to get the clock stopped,” Mace said. “I knew we were still going to try to get it, but I knew they were going to end up kicking it with time on the clock and not trying to run all of their downs out anyways, and they were going to be in field goal range anyways.”

The first-year head coach said there were many things the team needs to improve on in order to win more games.

“We can’t turn the ball over when we’re backed up. I would have liked a third-down call back. We can’t take a penalty there on kick return at the end of the game when we are going to drive to kick a field goal. Things we certainly talk about often,” Mace said. “Either they are not hearing it, or we are not coaching it good enough.”

Despite noting areas for improvement, Mace took responsibility for the loss.

“Right now, I’m going to lean that the coaching is not good enough. We have to do a better job of getting the message to the guys, and maybe getting this understanding of situational football.”

Kicker Brett Lauther had a bounce-back game after missing four of seven kicks last week. He made all four of his attempts this week.

“I’m so proud of Brett,” Mace said. “If we as a team can do what Brett did this week and bounce back from something that was really tough on him — he responded by coming to work every day and doing extra kicks. He put the pressure on himself just to work and have belief and the guys had belief in him, so I’m so happy he was able to come out here and perform the way he did.”

Argos quarterback Chad Kelly made his season debut after being suspended for nine games due to violating the league’s gender-based violence policy. He finished the game with 24 completions for 322 yards and one interception.

“Speaking offensively for them, Chad started to find a rhythm,” Mace said. “There was some penalties we took defensively that cost us field position.”

Before missing his final kick, Hajrullahu had hit his three previous attempts. Argos backup quarterback Cam Dukes scored the Argos’ only touchdown on the game with a one-yard rush.

Frankie Hickson started the game at running back due to AJ Ouellette being put onto the six-game injured list with a hip issue. Hickson had 79 yards in the game.

Schaffer-Baker also made his first start after missing four games due to a shoulder injury. He had two catches for 11 yards in the game.

KeeSean Johnson scored the Riders’ only touchdown — his second straight game with a touchdown catch.

The Riders will meet the Blue Bombers next week in the Labour Day Classic.