The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the British Columbia Lions 28-19 on Saturday in their first Canadian Football League playoff game at home since 2021.
The Riders will now head to Winnipeg to face the Blue Bombers in the Western final on November 9. The winner will have the chance to win the Gray Cup on November 17 in Vancouver.
With a 20-19 lead in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders took a nine-point lead when Jerreth Sterns caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris with 3:30 remaining. Harris then connected with KeeSean Johnson for a two-point convert.
The Saskatchewan team confirmed its victory with interceptions during the last two sequences in the Lions’ attack.
Nelson Lokombo made his first CFL interception with four minutes left and Rolan Milligan Jr. ended the Lions’ hopes with an interception in the end zone with 47 seconds left on the board.
A 17-yard field goal from Sean Whyte just a minute into the fourth quarter cut the Riders’ lead to 20-19.
Whyte had earlier cut the lead to 20-16 in the third quarter with a 36-yard field goal and had the opportunity to make it 20-19 for the first time a few minutes later, but missed a 38-yard attempt.
This failure came at a very bad time for the man who had made 47 consecutive field goals in the regular season.
AJ Ouellette gave the Roughriders a 20-13 lead in the third quarter with his second touchdown of the game.
“It’s nice to finally be healthy at the right time for the playoffs. And I knew I had to prepare every week like I was going to play (when I was sidelined with injury),” said Ouellette, a member of the Cup-winning Argonauts team. Gray in 2022.
“I asked him before the last game how he felt and he said, ‘They didn’t pay me to come here and race in June and July. They made it so I could race in October and November, so let’s do it!’ It gave me chills,” Harris added of Ouellette.
The Lions started the contest well with a touchdown on their first possession. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed four of five passes for 85 yards and it ended with a 56-yard touchdown run from Jevon Cottoy.
Whyte, who had made 36 of his 38 converts this season, missed this one.
The Roughriders then took a 13-6 lead thanks to two field goals from Brett Lauther and a one-yard touchdown from Ouellette.
Adams finished the game completing 20 of 33 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He was also intercepted three times.
“They’re a good team on the other end. They didn’t do anything new, and I was just trying to make plays. On the interception at the end of the game, I was just trying to make something happen. On the second interception, I moved in the pocket and saw my guy too late and, again, I was just trying to make things happen,” Adams explained.
With Nathan Rourke returning to Vancouver, this was likely Adams’ last game in a Lions uniform.
“It was difficult for me in the locker room. It was perhaps my last match as a Lions player. We all worked very hard and had to deal with the ups and downs throughout the year. It was difficult. I love these guys, they gave it their all. We missed too many chances in attack, and that’s it. We didn’t make enough plays,” Adams concluded.
