Harris injured as Riders rumble to win home opener over Ti-Cats

The Saskatchewan Roughriders handled business at Mosaic Stadium but now the health of Trevor Harris is up in the air.

The 38-year-old veteran quarterback left near the end of the second quarter after being hit and coming up clutching his left knee. He missed most of last season after suffering a tibial plateau fracture in his right knee last season.

But the Riders held on as Saskatchewan beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-20 in front of a paid attendance of 24, 875 to move to 3-0 in the 2024 CFL season.

After the game, head coach Corey Mace was optimistic Harris would be good to go for their next game after the bye week.

“I talked to him at halftime and (Harris) was in pretty good spirits and in the second half he was in my ear saying, ‘Hey coach, I can go,’ but we just wanted to play it just a little bit safe.

“The way he was acting, it sounded like he was ready to go.”

Mace said they didn’t see a reason to risk any more of an injury to Harris.

“I didn’t see any point to letting Trevor back in the game.”

Before he left the game, Harris had thrown for 177 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

Riders receiver Ajou Ajou caught his first CFL career touchdown on a 40-yard strike from Harris. Sam Emilus caught his first touchdown of the year on the team’s opening drive.

Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Ajou Ajou catches his first CFL touchdown pass at Mosaic Stadium on June 23, 2024. (Saskatchewan Roughriders)

“It felt amazing. It was a great pass from Trevor,” Ajou said. “We’re 3-0. We’re lit.”

Shea Patterson came in for relief of Harris, finishing the game with 41 yards on four completions in 10 pass attempts. Patterson is the team’s short-yardage quarterback and scored on a sneak play late in the fourth quarter.

“I’m prepared for the moment. I’m prepared for any time I have to step out on the field,” Patterson said. “Trevor has been a role model to me and I’ve got to learn from him for the last three years. If he’s not going, I’ll be ready.”

After Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 380 yards in the Riders’ 33-30 win last week, the defence clamped down on the veteran pivot.

“That first game, there was a lot of blown coverages and we harped on that all week that we weren’t just going to give them anything,” said linebacker Jameer Thurman.

The Riders’ defence picked off Mitchell three times — including a pick-six by Thurman — and got a strip-sack as well.

“We talked about it all week that someone was going to get one. Last game they didn’t throw a lot of the middle and we knew they were going to have to change that going back-to-back,” Thurman said. “I saw (linebacker C.J. Avery) tip it and I knew I had to get in the end zone.”

Mitchell finished the game with 284 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Hamilton fullback Ante Milanovic-Litre scored a rushing touchdown for the team.

The Riders also once again bottled up Hamilton running back James Butler. After holding him to 27 yards last week, Butler only had 10 in this game.

Meanwhile, the Riders’ got good production from their running back AJ Ouellette for the first time this season. Ouellette had 98 yards on 20 carries and 47 yards on four catches — leading the team in both those categories.

“The last two weeks it felt like I wasn’t contributing to the team so it feels good to help the guys get the win,” Ouellette said. “Whatever it takes to win. I was feeling good and our guys were making plays out there and putting their bodies on the line.

“You have to feed off that and contribute to it.”

Another area the Riders’ saw improvement in was in penalties. The team committed 8 infractions for 78 yards with two 15-yard roughing the passer calls going against Saskatchewan late in the game. The Riders came into the game leading the CFL with 18 infractions for 199 yards.

Coming into the game, Mace challenged his team to show who they could be without the mistakes the squad has made in the previous two weeks.

“I don’t think we took a return penalty in the return game and I don’t think there were any extra (unnecessary roughness) calls so that was good,” Mace said. “At halftime we spoke about it — this is uncharted waters for us. We’re at halftime with the lead — what are we going to do with that?

“Really proud of how these guys came out. I thought we started fast, I thought we attacked the ball, I thought we relied on each other when people went down and someone had to step up.”

Riders kicker Brett Lauther connected on two of three field goal attempts. Saskatchewan Punter Adam Korsak also had a rouge in the game.

Saskatchewan is on a bye week before preparing for a July 4 showdown against the undefeated Toronto Argonauts.