REGINA -- It isn't often that a single play in the second quarter of a Canadian Football League game makes a huge difference in the final result, but Saturday night’s contest between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions was one of those occasions.
With the Riders nursing a 9-7 lead late in the first half, Lions' quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had his team marching and in field goal range with the potential to take the lead. Instead, Saskatchewan defensive back Tevaughn Campbell would perfectly read a pass to the sideline and make the interception before taking the ball 89 yards for a touchdown.
Just like that, the Green and White had a 16-7 lead heading into the half, while B.C. would show flashes after the break, they’d never fully regain that momentum as the Roughriders went on to a 37-18 victory.
With the way the interception worked out, Campbell -- a former Regina Rams standout -- admitted he hesitated at first on the throw thinking it was going to another receiver, only to realize it was headed his way and he was in exactly the right position.
“All I was thinking was catch it, catch it, catch it, catch it,” Campbell said during the Rider Broadcast Network post-game show. “Then I was running, I saw Masoli run and I'm like: ‘Man, he might have an angle on me, I got to sprint for rea.l’ But it was all good.
“I'm thankful it was me, but I think anybody on the secondary was ready to make that play at any point in time in the game. It was definitely a momentum-changer, especially going into halftime.”
It certainly didn’t hurt Campbell’s chances that the Riders had put the defence in a good position to succeed after seeing B.C.come out with an empty backfield.
“Every team only has a short playlist out of the empty backfield set, so certainly there's some things that we saw on tape,” head coach Corey Mace explained. “But I don't want to take too much credit away from T.C. because ultimately, you've got to read a quarterback and make things work.”
The Roughriders defence ended up proving to be a menace all game. Rolan Milligan Jr. and Antoine Brooks Jr. also had interceptions, with Brooks Jr.’s pick his first with Saskatchewan and in his CFL career. Defensive lineman Lake Korte-Moore also got in the action with a fumble recovery after C.J. Reavis stripped the ball from James Butler, giving the Riders four takeaways.
“We were going crazy in the back end,” Campbell said. “I was happy for [Brooks], I was happy for Millie, happy for Reavis getting that punch out… Coach was talking about it all week, go out there, make plays, get the ball, force a fumble. It was seek the ball, go get it.”
While the defence was getting the job done on their side of the ball, running back A.J. Ouellette and the offence made sure to reward their efforts. Ouellette ended up having his best game as a member of the Roughriders, rushing 23 times for 139 yards and scoring what would stand as the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter. Ouellette’s rushing totals were his best as a Rider and the first time he broke 100 yards with the team. As one would expect, that drew praise from coach Mace and also a bit of surprise.
“It's crazy to say that because he's been outstanding,” Mace said when asked about Ouellette hitting 100 for the first time. “It's good to validate [when you] get that century mark, and not just A.J., but the offensive line, they did such a good job up front. They take such pride in that, being able to move the [line of scrimmage] and I think we won the battle of the trenches. So, happy for A.J., happy for the offensive line.”
For his part, Ouellette agreed with Mace’s offensive line assessment when told he was the Rider Broadcast Network offensive player of the game.
“It feels good, but I think there was an error there, I would say that the o-line are the offensive players of the game,” he said. “I mean, watching some of the plays on the iPad on the sideline, we left a lot of yards out there and they were pushing from behind on most of the runs, so credit to them big boys.”
A major question mark heading into the game was how Jake Maier would perform in his first start as a Roughrider and the answer was most certainly positive. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 170 yards including what amounted to a game-clinching 42-yard touchdown pass to Dhel Duncan-Busby in the fourth quarter.
“He did exactly what he was asked to do,” Ouellette said. “Every play that was called, whether it was reading the defence on the handoffs or scanning through progressions and throwing the ball where it needed to be.”
The Riders head into a bye week and are naturally happy with having a 4-0 record, even if they can still improve.
“There's so much stuff we want to be better at, but we're happy with the win, no doubt,” Mace said. “I thought there were some big highs in all three phases of the football game and I’m super proud of these guys. I know they're looking forward to getting a little bit of time here on the bye, so it’s a nice way to go into that.”
The Roughriders return to action in Week 6 when the team hosts the Calgary Stampeders on Friday, July 11. Game time will be 7 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.
You can check out all the stats from the game at www.cfl.ca and follow along with how things played out, including video highlights, on the SportsCage.com Live Blog.
