QB Trevor Harris injured as Roughriders fall 33-31 to Stampeders

Article content

The Saskatchewan Roughriders not only lost the game 33-31 on Saturday night against the visiting Calgary Stampeders in Week 6 of the CFL season.

Article content

But the Green and White may have also lost their their starting quarterback for an extended period of time.

Article content

With 9:19 left in the fourth quarter and the Stamps leading 20-17, Riders’ quarterback Trevor Harris scrambled out of the pocket and ran 17 yards towards a first down, before getting spun around on a big hit. His right leg was then rolled on as he went to the ground. 

Harris went down clutching the injured leg as Mosaic Stadium fell silent. 

Both teams gathered near midfield as Harris was carted off to the locker room. On the way off, the 37-year-old — who started his 100th career game in the CFL last week — gave a brief wave to the crowd before looking visibly upset, with his head buried in a towel. 

The diagnosis for Harris wasn’t known after the game. 

Article content

“(It) certainly did not look good on the field and I know he’s in a lot of pain,” said Riders’ head coach Craig Dickenson. “We’ll keep him in our thoughts and hopefully it’s not as bad as it looked.” 

After the Harris injury turned Mosaic Stadium eerily quiet, Stamps’ quarterback Jake Maier marched his team down the field on a touchdown drive to put Calgary up 27-17. 

Then Riders’ backup quarterback Mason Fine had to enter the game, just moments after seeing his teammate and close friend go down. 

“I was sick to my stomach at first,” Fine said after the game. “You hate to see it. Especially someone like Trevor. 

“He’s helped me out a lot and that’s how you’ve got to look at it. Not really lose that compassion but say ‘hey, I’m going to do this for you and I’m going to go out there and play well for you.’ ”

Article content

Article content

And Fine did just that, engineering back-to-back touchdown drives. 

First, the third-year pivot connected with running back Jamal Morrow on a six-yard touchdown pass with 2:38 to go to cut the lead to 27-24. 

After a Stamps’ field goal made it 30-24, the Riders were faced with a third-and-24 after Fine was sacked on back-to-back plays.

But on the third-down play, after scrambling out of the pocket, Fine threw it up — with a hope and a prayer — to receiver Tevin Jones in double coverage. The ball was tipped by the Stamps’ defensive backs and ended up in the hands of Jones, who ran the rest of the way into the end zone. With the convert, the Riders led 31-30.

“We needed a play and I saw the ball get tipped up and I caught it and scored,” said Jones. “At the time, I thought we won.” 

Article content

But with 30 seconds to go, Calgary was able to put together a five-play, 30-yard drive, as Rene Paredes kicked a 50-yard field goal, to give the Stampeders the 33-31 victory as time expired. 

“We made a big play but then also you’ve got to credit Calgary, the offence and Jake Maier going down there and making plays and putting themselves in a position to win,” said Fine.

With the win, the Stamps improve to 2-3, while the Riders drop to 3-2 in the West Division standings. The season series is now tied 1-1 between the two teams, who will face each other again in Week 19 on Friday, Oct. 13 in Calgary. 

Super Mario 

Lost in the game story due to the Harris injury and the Stampeders’ walk-off win was the play of Riders’ returner Mario Alford who had not one, but two punt return touchdowns on Saturday night. 

Article content

On Calgary’s second punt of the game, Alford brought it back 67-yards to the end zone to open the scoring for the fifth punt return touchdown in his career. 

Then in the third quarter, Alford fielded another punt on his 16-yard line and brought it back 94 yards to the end zone for his second punt return touchdown of the night.

“The ultimate goal is to win,” said Alford. “I’m still down because we lost even though I did score two touchdowns.” 

With the second major, Alford surpassed Corey Holmes for most return touchdowns in Roughriders’ franchise history with six in just 18 games. 

In 2022, the 31-year-old — who was acquired by the Riders in a trade from the Montreal Alouettes last July — was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player after scoring two touchdowns on kickoff returns, two touchdowns on missed field goal returns and one touchdown on a punt return. 

Article content

Milestone moment 

Riders’ linebacker Larry Dean had a tackle near the end of the first half, which gave him 500 in his career. The 34-year-old Dean is the 41st player in CFL history to reach that milestone.

Statistic leaders

Harris completed 16-of-22 passes for 115 yards before going down with injury. Fine was 6-of-8 for 116 yards and two touchdown.

Maier was 26-of-37 for 315 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Morrow had nine carries for 37 yards. He also had a team-high eight catches for 63 yards and touchdown. Jones was the leading receiver with 84 yards on three catches.

Calgary’s top receiver was Luther Hakunavanhu, who had five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Stamps’ running back Dedrick Mills had 11 carries for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Article content

On the defensive side of the ball, Riders’ defensive lineman Pete Robertson led the way with six tackles and a sack. Deontai Williams had the lone interception for Saskatchewan.

Calgary linebacker Micah Awe led his team with 10 total tackles, while the Stamps registered seven quarterback sacks on the night.

Next up 

The Riders will visit the 4-1 BC Lions next Saturday. Calgary is set to host the 2-3 Ottawa Redblacks next Sunday. 

tshire@postmedia.com

Article content