A.J. Ouellette’s 100+yard game powers Saskatchewan past BC Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders remain perfect in 2025 as they take down the BC Lions 37-18 on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

It was a battle of backups, with Jake Maier stepping in for Trevor Harris and Jeremiah Masoli starting in place of game-time decision Nathan Rourke on WestJet Canada Day Weekend.

The former Calgary Stampeder Maier was capable in his first start for the Riders, completing 13 of his 23 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown to help Saskatchewan improve to 4-0 for the second straight year under head coach Corey Mace.

The Riders leaned on A.J. Ouellette in the physical contest, and the big back rewarded them to the tune of 139 yards and a touchdown. Ouellette followed up his career-best two-game stretch in Weeks 2 and 3 with his first 100-yard game as a Rider.

Tevaughn Campbell’s pick-six to close out the first half highlighted Saskatchewan’s stingy defensive effort. It was a marked improvement for a unit that entered Week 4 allowing a league-high 336 passing yards per game.

It was a tougher ask for Masoli, who was called on last-minute. The Lions pivot completed 16 of his 29 throws for 173 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, while Rourke watched from the sidelines with an oblique injury he suffered in Week 2.

James Butler put together a monster day on the ground despite the loss, amassing 123 yards on 17 carries and 26 receiving yards on four receptions. The back added a late, fourth-quarter touchdown as the Lions remain winless at Mosaic since 2022.

Without Harris under centre, the Riders leaned on their run game early, with Ouellette setting the tone on his first touch — a 26-yard burst — and adding 11 more yards on his next two carries. Brett Lauther, aiming to get back on track from his four-for-eight start to the season, opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal.

To close out the first quarter, the Riders dialled up a sustained drive starting on their 10-yard line. Ouellette got things rolling with back-to-back runs for a combined 20 yards, and Maier followed with his first big play of the game, hitting Joe Robustelli, who slipped behind the defence and hauled in a 34-yard gain along the sideline. Lauther capped the drive by adding three more to Saskatchewan’s lead, making it 6-0.

On the Lions’ first play of the second quarter, Riders linebacker C.J. Reavis jarred the ball loose from Butler as he went to the ground, and Canadian Lake Korte-Moore recovered it. Maier and the Riders couldn’t capitalise on the turnover, punting three plays later.

When the Lions got the ball back, Butler was determined to make up for his previous error. The 30-year-old Chicago native had three touches for 53 yards on the drive, highlighted by a 38-yard gash into the heart of the Riders’ front. Masoli was a clean three-for-three through the air, closing out the series with a dart to Hatcher for the contest’s first touchdown. Sean Whyte – one of two remaining CFL kickers without a miss this season – stayed perfect on the extra point to give BC its first lead.

The second quarter turned into a defensive slugfest, highlighted by Mathieu Betts recording his first two sacks of the season. The 2023 Most Outstanding Defensive Player forced the Riders to settle for a 45-yard field goal with his second sack, but exited the game holding his arm shortly after the play. Lauther’s second make from beyond 40 yards gave Saskatchewan the lead back.

With a minute left in the half and sure-footed Whyte on their side, the Lions mounted one last push looking for the lead. But after an offside penalty wiped out a 36-yard touchdown to Justin McInnis, Masoli floated a sideline throw that Campbell jumped the route and took back to the house as time expired. Lauther added the extra point to complete the stunning swing and send the Riders into halftime with a 16-7 lead.

To kick off the second half, it was the Ouellette show for Saskatchewan’s offence. The punishing runner took five touches for 34 yards, including a well-timed screen to move the chains on a second-and-12 in BC territory. He polished the clinical drive with a nine-yard touchdown run, putting him over the century mark for the first time as a Rider. Corey Mace opted to go for two to stretch the lead to 17, but Maier’s pass sailed long, keeping the score at 22-7. After the touchdown, BC defensive lineman Dewayne Hendrix — who entered Week 4 leading the CFL with three sacks — was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

After BC’s first possession of the second half came up empty, a Joe Couch punt that rolled into the end zone gave Saskatchewan a 23–7 lead. Masoli responded with a scrambling attack, leading a nine-play drive deep into Riders territory, but the Lions stalled inside the 10 and settled for a 13-yard chip shot from Whyte.

With another Joe Couch punt conceding a single and Saskatchewan draining nearly five minutes off the clock on the ensuing drive, the Lions were running out of time to mount a comeback. Masoli looked deep but was picked off by Milligan, the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Brett Lauther capitalised on the field position with another field goal, and on Masoli’s next throw, he was intercepted again — this time by Antoine Brooks Jr., the first of his career.

The game now out of hand, Maier joined the party with a 42-yard bomb to Dhel Duncan-Busby, the first career receiving touchdown for the second-year Canadian receiver.

The Lions would score once more by way of a Butler rushing touchdown, adding to his impressive day on the ground, but it was ultimately too little, too late. KeeSean Johnson reeled in the ensuing onside kick, and Lauther added one more field goal — his fifth of the outing — to ensure the result for Saskatchewan.

The Lions head to Montreal for Week 5, where they will meet the Alouettes at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on July 5, while the Riders get a bye before their Week 6 matchup against the Calgary Stampeders at home.