The Canadian Press
REGINA — Zach Collaros took a few drives to get settled into the offence of his new team and once he did, he led the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a win over the Toronto Argonauts to start their season 1-0.
“When I didn’t get a ball knocked down at the line of scrimmage,” Collaros told TSN’s Sara Orlesky after the game, explaining when he started to feel comfortable on Friday night.
“I’ve got to do a better job of getting the ball around those guys. The receivers did a great job all night for me. (They) made some unbelievable catches in traffic and I can’t say enough about those guys in front of me (on the offensive line). Starting with Dan (Clark), getting us in the right protections. (Jerome) Messam sealing the deal there at the end. Tre (Mason) did a great job for us as well. It was a total team effort.”
The 27-19 win snapped a personal 12-game losing skid for Collaros, as the 29-year-old threw for 203 yards and connected 18 of 25 passes en route to victory.
“It just felt good,” he said. “To win a home opener in front of these fans, I’m just really happy for our team. We worked out butts off in training camp and got the results we wanted.”
Collaros found a groove with his receivers at Mosaic Stadium in Week 1 of the CFL’s regular season, utilizing nine different pass-catchers, including running backs Jerome Messam and Tre Mason. Caleb Holley led all Riders receivers with 47 receiving yards on two catches, including a 34-yard catch on a third down gamble that led to Naaman Roosevelt’s major score.
Saskatchewan’s pivot also spread the ball around to Duron Carter, Joshua Stanford, Jordan Williams-Lambert, Spencer Moore and Devon Bailey as he started gaining familiarity with his new offence.
Now the Riders head to the nation’s capital to take on the Ottawa REDBLACKS and Collaros hopes to take momentum with them for their first road game of the 2018 season.
“It’s a good thing to get the ball rolling, I guess,” said Collaros. “It’s a very long season and we’ve just got to focus on the next game and I’m excited to go to Ottawa.”
