Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca
EDMONTON — Trevor Harris‘ debut with the Saskatchewan Roughriders would’ve been a lot less sweet if it were not for the efforts on the other side of the ball.
Holding on to a four-point lead in a back-and-fourth game – that had four lead changes – with under four minutes to go, the Elks held the ball at the Riders’ two-yard line with a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown.
The Elks then called three straight quarterback sneaks with backup Kai Locksley, but all three times the Riders defence pushed through to tackle Edmonton’s pivot just shy of the end zone and stop any hopes of a comeback.
“They were amazing all night,” told Harris to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. “They won this game for us.”
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Saskatchewan’s defence made life difficult for Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius all evening, sacking him five times and intercepting two of his passes, including one by Jayden Dalke. The defensive back was flying all over the field at Commonwealth Stadium and finished with five tackles to go along his forced turnover.
All five sacks came by defensive line players, as the Riders won the battle in the trenches against the Elks’ O-line.
Offensively, the Riders were on-and-off throughout the evening, and Harris took accountability for some of the plays that didn’t go according to plan.
“I played poorly in the first half and I had one big mistake in the second half. I can’t do that, can’t put the team in that position,” added the veteran. “Defence bailed us out.”
The offence did put together a game-icing drive after the defence stopped the Elks on third down, burning the clock with running back duo Jamal Morrow and Frankie Hickson.
All the lead changes and defensive plays made by both sides made it a game that required maturity and resilience according to Harris.
“I was proud of our offence for staying on the field to finish that game. It was a great job by the offensive line holding up and converting second downs.
“Guys kept believing. We knew that we were just a couple plays away from busting this thing open and getting some good yardage and being able to put some scoring plays together.”
After the hard-fought battle, the Riders now head back home in Week 2 to host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 16 in Regina.
