Timothy Atticus/CFL.ca
EDMONTON — Corey Mace’s Saskatchewan Roughriders have showed they are willing to fight for it until the end.
The Green and White were trailing by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter before scoring 21 unanswered points in the eventual 29-21 win over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.
Quarterback Trevor Harris had ups and downs throughout the game but ultimately put together a superb fourth-quarter effort to finish with three touchdown passes – all to receiver Shawn Bane Jr. – to help his team jump to a 1-0 record.
Here are three key stats from Saskatchewan’s Week 1 win over Hamilton.
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21 – FOURTH-QUARTER POINTS
It looked like the Elks were going to celebrate the opening of their 75th season in Club history with a win, but the Riders had different plans. After Edmontons’ kicker Boris Bede converted a 30-yard field goal to make it 21-8, Harris and the Riders went on to score 21 unanswered points to walk away with the win. The pivot found Bane Jr. twice in the fourth quarter for touchdowns of 40 and 33 yards and AJ Ouellette added a one-yard major in a scoring blitz for the Riders.
3 – BANE JR. TOUCHDOWNS
It’s impossible not to highlight a special afternoon for Saskatchewan’s star wide receiver. With his team needing his talents the most, Bane Jr. broke open down the field twice, scoring a couple of long touchdowns in the final quarter that ended up being the difference for the Green and White.
The pass-catcher finished with five catches for 125 yards with three touchdowns while his pivot completed 22 of 31 passes for 305 yards, three majors and two picks.
39 – RUSHING YARDS FOR EDMONTON
The Elks were the most efficient running team of 2023, but were unable to establish their ground game against a fierce Roughriders defence on Saturday. Running back Kevin Brown had only 23 yards on seven runs, giving Saskatchewan a chance to stay within striking distance before eventually completing the comeback.
