REGINA — With a sea of green cheering them on at Mosaic Stadium, the Saskatchewan Roughriders earned the right to play in the Western Final.
Saskatchewan defeated the BC Lions 28-19 in the Western Semi-Final on Saturday night and will move on to play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET with a trip to the 111th Grey Cup on the line.
AJ Ouellette scored twice in the contest; he had one major on a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line in the second quarter and the other a 30-yard scamper in the third frame. He finished with 14 carries on 70 yards and caught both passes thrown his way for 15 yards.
Receiver Jerreth Sterns also had a touchdown and Marcus Sayles, Rolan Milligan Jr., and Nelson Lokombo all had interceptions in the win while Samuel Emilus hauled in nine of 10 passes thrown his way for 106 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 26 of 33 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown.
Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 317 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and an interception in the loss. Justin McInnis and Jevon Cottoy were the touchdown scorers for the Lions. Ben Hladik led all defenders in the contest with 10 tackles.
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The Lions started on offence at their own 19 and Vernon Adams Jr. moved the chains down to midfield. With the home crowd roaring, the Lions pivot found Jevon Cottoy over the middle who outran defenders all the way to the end zone for the game’s opening score. Cottoy’s first touchdown of 2024 was a 56-yard strike and after Sean Whyte‘s missed on his convert attempt, the visitors took an early 6-0 lead.
Saskatchewan responded with a scoring drive of their own when they hit the field for the first time on Saturday night. Starting on their own 37 and on second down, Harris found Samuel Emilus for a 21-yard gain that moved the home team onto the Lions side of midfield. The Riders used both AJ Ouellette and Ryquell Armstead on the drive, as both were suited up at the same time for the first time this season, and got into field goal range. After a shot into the end zone for Kian Schaffer-Baker was incomplete, Brett Lauther connected on his 34-yard field goal to cut BC’s lead to 6-3 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Helped in large part by a big sack by Malik Carney on Adams Jr. on second and 10, the Roughriders defence forced the Lions to punt the ball away on their next possession. That brought Harris and co. back onto the field late in the opening frame.
Harris was methodical on the Riders next drive, connecting on all six of his passes, including an excellent throw to Jerreth Sterns for 25 yards. The home team moved down to the Lions 12-yard line and on third down, Corey Mace elected to kick another field goal instead of going for it. Brett Lauther was good on his 25-yard attempt, tying things 6-6 with 11 minutes left in the first half.
Saskatchewan continued to build on their regular season success with turnovers (they finished +26), with the former BC Lion Marcus Sayles picking off his former teammate Adams Jr., who was looking for Justin McInnis.
Still searching for their first touchdown of the game, Harris called his own number on second-and-four and ran for a first down to get to BC’s 50. The chains kept moving, including a 20-yard pickup from Schaffer-Baker, moving the team down to the Lions’ 19-yard line. Harris then looked for KeeSean Johnson in the end zone, who had the pass in his hands but didn’t survive contact after falling and dropped it in for the incompletion.
On second-and-10, Harris then found Emilus to bring the team to the seven-yard line. After an incompletion thrown outside the corner of the end zone, Ouellette took the hand off and muscled his way to the one-yard line. On third-and-one, Ouellette lined up in short yardage under centre and plunged into the end zone for the major score.
Saskatchewan’s first touchdown of the game, and Lauther’s completed convert, gave the home team their first lead of the night (13-6) with three minutes left in the first half.
With time ticking down in the first half, Adams Jr. and co. went to work looking to put points on the board before the half. McInnis had his first catch of the game on the drive, an 11-yard pick up, before BC went for it on third and two at the Riders’ 50-yard line. Adams Jr. punted the ball instead, a 44-yard boot, that pinned the Riders deep in their own end zone.
The Lions defence did their part, holding Harris and co. to two-and-out. After a no-yards penalty against Saskatchewan on the punt, Adams Jr. and co. started their next possession on the Riders 22-yard line. The Lions pivot tossed to Stanback who bobbled the ball over a defender’s head for the eight-yard completion. After a three-yard rush by Stanback on the next play, Adams Jr. connected with McInnis for six in the end zone. Whyte was good on his convert and the game was tied up at 13 with 38 seconds left.
That would be the final scoring play of the half as the teams headed to the locker rooms for the break.
After the Lions started the second half with a two-and-out, Harris and the Riders went back to work starting on their own 40. Saskatchewan started the drive with three-straight plays by Ouellette, a run of one-yard, then a catch out of the backfield for 11-yards followed by a yard gain. Following back-to-back penalties by BC, an offside against Pete Robertson and an unnecessary roughness penalty against Ace Eley, Saskatchewan set up at the Lions 30-yard line.
Harris handed off to Ouellette, who broke through contact and scampered into the end zone for his second score of the game. With Lauther’s completed convert, the Riders took a 20-13 lead with 9.21 left in the third frame.
BC started their ensuing drive on the ground with Stanback picking up four yards. Adams Jr. then looked to McInnis on second-and-long, connecting with the receiver for a 21-yard gain. Working from Saskatchewan’s 45. Hatcher looked to grab an Adams Jr. pass over the middle but he was hit hard and it was incomplete. There was an unnecessary roughness penalty on Saskatchewan’s Fields, however, moving the Lions down to the 29. BC had to settle for a field goal, however, with Sean Whyte booting a 36-yarder. That score cut the Riders lead to 20-16 with five and a half minutes on the clock.
The BC defence had a huge stop on the next series, keeping Shea Patterson, who was in on short yardage on third-and-one, from getting a fresh set of downs. That brought Adams Jr. and the Lions offence right back onto the field, getting to work starting on the Riders’ 50-yard line.
BC had to settle for a field goal after the turnover, but Whyte’s 38-yarder went off the upright to keep the score 20-16 with a minute left in the third quarter.
After a two-and-out by the Riders, Adams Jr. and co. had instant field position with the Riders taking a no-yards penalty on the punt, starting on Saskatchewan’s 48-yard line. The the final play of the third quarter was a big play by the Lions, a 35-yard catch by Ayden Eberhardt, bringing his team to the 13. Once again, the Lions had to settle for a field goal to finish the drive. Whyte was good on his 17-yard attempt, cutting the lead to 20-19.
When Harris and co. hit the field again, they connected on back-to-back big plays, first a 23-yard completion to Johnson and then Emilus hauled in a 31-yard gain. That brought the home team down to the Lions 16 and after a three-yard pickup by Ouellette, Harris found Sterns who was wide open and was able to run into the end zone for the major score. The Riders went for two and Harris found Johnson just outside of the end zone and he ran in for the completed convert to give Saskatchewan a 28-19 lead with 11 minutes left in the contest.
After a Riders two-and-out, Adams Jr. and the Lions hit the field trying to cut into Saskatchewan’s lead. The team converted on a third-and-two with less than five minutes left in the game, keeping the drive alive, trailing by nine. But the Riders defence had other plans. Nelson Lokombo picked off Adams Jr., who was looking for Hatcher running towards the end zone, for the Lions’ second turnover of the ball game.
Wth the clock ticking down, BC tried to start a comeback, moving into scoring range but once again, the Riders defence had other plans. This time it was Rolan Milligan Jr. getting the interception to seal the deal for Saskatchewan.