Saskatchewan Roughriders hold off Tiger-Cats to win on the road

The Saskatchewan made it two wins on the bounce to start the 2025 campaign as they outlasted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28-23 at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday night. KeeSean Johnson’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter put the Riders up for good and they held on for their second straight victory.

Trevor Harris led his team to victory with 295 passing yards on 26 completions. His sole touchdown went the way of Johnson. He also had one interception in the first quarter.

Back as a starter after being forced to exit from his team’s Week 1 win, AJ Ouellette shined in the road win, rolling for a 47-yard touchdown to give the Riders their first score of the game. He finished the night with 96 yards rushing on 13 attempts. Backfield mate Ka’Deem Carey had 26 yards rushing on four runs in his Roughriders debut.

Bo Levi Mitchell completed his first 12 passes for 139 yards before throwing his first incompletion late in the second quarter. He finished the game with one touchdown and one interception, completing 26 of his 40 pass attempts for 336 yards.

The Tiger-Cats defence created an early turnover to get the crowd into it at Hamilton Stadium. Harris’ pass intended for Samuel Emilus was deflected by Stavros Katsantonis and intercepted by Jonathan Moxey for the defensive back’s second pick in as many weeks to start the season.

Looking for points off the turnover, Lawler made a 27-yard pickup down the left sideline, leaping up to make a nice catch. A couple plays later, the Tabbies closed out the 11-play drive with a touchdown as Mitchell found a wide-open Tim White in the back of the end zone. That would be the lone score of the opening quarter, putting the hosts up 7-0 after 15 minutes.

The Riders held on for a lengthy possession of their own in the early minutes of the second quarter. The visitors went 64 yards over 13 plays and a pass knockdown by Kyle Wilson resulted in the visiting Riders attempting a 51-yard kick. The lengthy drive would be for naught, with Brett Lauther‘s 51-yard kick missing the uprights and instead sailing wide into the grateful arms of Isaiah Wooden Sr.

Return specialist Mario Alford popped up with a 23-yard return late in the first half to help his team en route to their first score of the evening. From the Hamilton 47, Ouellette would do the rest. He broke free for a 47-yard score, his first of the season, to put the Roughriders on the board with 3:38 to go in the half. Lauther missed the extra point try to leave the scoreline at 7-6. The half was closed out with four consecutive scoreless drives, which included another missed field goal from Lauther. The Ticats went into the dressing room holding a one-point lead.

On their first offensive play of the second half, Rolan Milligan Jr. intercepted Mitchell across the middle of the field when the Hamilton pivot was looking to connect with Tim White. Milligan evaded a number of black and gold jerseys to take the pick to the house. Dhel Duncan-Busby caught Saskatchewan’s two-point try to make it 14-7 Riders early in the third.

On their follow up possession, the Ticats were stopped by another big defensive play by the Riders. This time it was C.J. Reavis stepping up with a sack to push the Tabbies eight yards back. The Black and Gold defence would respond with a big time sack of their own however, with Mario Kendricks dragging Harris down for a loss of 13. Starting their next drive at the Saskatchewan 37, Marc Liegghio knocked in a 38-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to four.

A 19-yard completion from Harris to Duncan-Busby was the highlight of Saskatchewan’s follow-up possession. The Riders went 53 yards across 10 plays, with Lauther making up for his earlier miscues with a 25-yard field goal. His kick put the away team up 17-10 at the end of the third quarter.

Looking to respond, the Ticats got a crucial first down through Kiondre Smith as he made a 16-yard catch over the middle. On the next play, the first of the final frame, Lawler stepped up with an even bigger play down the right sideline, coming down with a 39-yard reception just outside the end zone. Ante Minalovic Litre finished off the drive with a one-yard rush and Liegghio’s extra point tied things up at 17-17 with 14:08 to go.

Back-to-back gains of 18 and 22 yards off catches by Emilus and then Dohnte Meyers pushed the Riders downfield quickly, bringing them to the Hamilton 32-yard line after just three plays. Destin Talbert came up with a clutch knockdown in the end zone to prevent a score and then Katsantonis followed up his teammate’s defensive play with a knockdown on Mitchell Picton. The Riders would have to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Lauther to get back into a three-point lead with 12:18 on the clock.

On the ensuing drive, Lawler made his biggest play of the day on the next drive, finding himself in acres of space to make a 42-yard play off of Mitchell’s throw. A Liegghio field goal knotted things up once more with time winding down in the fourth.

The flurry of big plays continued on the next drive, with KeeSean Johnson going for a 28-yard catch and run. He made his third catch of the drive to give his side a big touchdown with 7:22 to go, just about breaking the plane on a 15-yard catch. Lauther’s extra point put the Riders up by seven with seven minutes remaining.

After Liegghio put up a 40-yard field goal to bring the Ticats within four, Lauther missed his third field goal of the evening to open the door for the hosts with 50 seconds to go but the Hamilton offence couldn’t find a last-second score, making it 28-23 the final.

The Roughriders have another Ontario road game next week when they face the Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field on Friday, June 20. The Tiger-Cats get their first bye of the season in Week 3 and will return to action on Friday, June 27 to host the Montreal Alouettes.