Harris was hurt near the end of the first half but Saskatchewan was still able to prevail over the 36-20 Tiger-Cats for their third straight win
The Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-20 on Sunday night to improve to 3-0 on the season, but the victory was overshadowed with concern over quarterback Trevor Harris.
The 38-year-old veteran pivot was injured near the end of the first half in Saskatchewan’s Week 3 CFL matchup on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium and didn’t return to action for the second half.
Given that the Riders had the lead when Harris was hurt and with a bye week upcoming, Riders’ head coach Corey Mace didn’t see any reason to risk putting Harris back into the game in the second half.
“Why risk it,” Mace posed to reporters after the game. “I talked to him at half time and he was in pretty good spirits.
“In the second half, he was in my ear saying ‘Coach, I can go!’ But we wanted to play it just a little bit safe.”
Mace didn’t provide an exact diagnosis on the injury but the head coach doesn’t expect it to keep him out long term. It also gave the Riders a chance to see the backup Patterson run the offence while carrying a lead.
“We’re confident with what Shea has provided for us to this point and certainly we were still able to maintain the lead and move the field and execute the offence,” said Mace. “I just didn’t see any point to letting Trev go back in the game.”
With the victory, the Riders remain the only unbeaten team in the CFL’s West Division, while the Tiger-Cats fell to 0-3 and remain the only winless team in the East Division.
As for the game, for the first time in three games the Riders didn’t need a fourth quarter comeback like they put together in Week 1 against Edmonton and last week against the Tiger-Cats.
On Sunday, the Riders built up a 17-0 lead through the first quarter and carried a 25-7 lead through three quarters before ultimately securing the victory in the fourth.
“Really proud of how these guys came out,” said Mace. “I thought we started fast, I thought we attacked the ball, I thought we took advantage of our opportunities.
“I thought we relied on each other when people went down and people had to step up.
“This is closer to the ID of what we expect to be.”
With :44 seconds left in the first half, Harris took a hit after releasing a pass and fell awkwardly before he got up holding his left leg.
The 38-year-old veteran QB tried to walk it off but had a noticeable limp. Trainers attended to Harris and helped him walk off the field under his own power before the pivot headed to the locker room.
Patterson took over at quarterback for Harris, who returned to the sideline midway through the third quarter with a brace on his left knee. He threw passes on the sideline but didn’t re-enter the game.
Patterson finished the game having completed 4-of-10 passes for 41 yards, while also rushing for three yards and a score.
“I’m prepared for the moment,” Patterson said after the game. “I’m prepared any time I have to step onto the field.
“Our defence and our special teams played unbelievable tonight and put us in good situations all game.”
Last season, Harris missed the final 13 games of the season with a tibial plateau fracture in his right knee. He was hurt in Saskatchewan’s Week 6 matchup against the Calgary Stampeders on July 15.
With 9:55 left in the fourth quarter, Riders’ defensive back Marcus Sayles threw a hit on Ti-Cats’ receiver Kiondre Smith but Sayles got the worst of it as remained down for several moments.
The stadium fell silent as trainers attended to Sayles before the defensive back walked off under his own power.
Safety Nelson Lokombo moved over to cornerback for the remainder of the game while Jayden Dalke took over at safety.
The 5-foot-9, 210-pounder was also Saskatchewan’s leading receiver with four catches for 47 yards.
“The last two weeks I felt like I wasn’t contributing to the team,” said Ouellette. “So, it feels good to get out there and help the guys get the win.”
“Things started to click for us,” said Mace. “We challenged the offence and the offensive line and the running game this week in the meetings and these guys took, they heat to it.”
Not only did the Riders defensive line hold Hamilton running back James Butler to just 10 yards on five carries, but Saskatchewan was able to sack Bo Levi Mitchell twice.
And the man behind both of those sacks was Canadian defensive tackle Charbel Dabire.
“Just capitalizing on opportunities,” said Dabire, who had a career-high two sacks in 2023. “Working hard as a whole defence and being able to be up there when my time was called.
“It felt awesome because this was the year I wanted to upgrade myself and just play harder and move better and this was the first step to heading that way.”
The Roughriders kicked off to begin the game, but Ti-Cats returner Lawrence Woods took a hit from Saskatchewan’s Thomas Bertrand-Hudon on the return and fumbled the ball, which was recovered Saskatchewan’s Christian Albright.
Two plays later, Harris threw a strike to Samuel Emilus in the end zone to make it 7-0 for Saskatchewan just 1:05 into the game.
Later in the first quarter, the Riders added to their lead as Harris threw a 40-yard bomb to Ajou Ajou for the rookie receiver’s first career touchdown to put Saskatchewan up 14-0.
“It felt amazing,” said Ajou. “It was a great pass by Trevor; shout-out to my dog.”
Before the first quarter was up, Riders’ kicker Brett Lauther made a 34-yard field goal to give the Riders a 17-0 lead.
Early in the second, the Riders scored a single point to make it 18-0 on a conceded punt.
With 2:01 left in the half, Mitchell connected with Shemar Bridges for a 41-yard touchdown pass to make it 18-7.
In the second half, Hamilton marched down to Saskatchewan’s six-yard line before Mitchell was sacked by Dabire. The ball popped loose and was recovered by linebacker Jameer Thurman.
While the Riders didn’t turn that turnover into points, they did on their next takeaway.
Near the end of the third quarter with Hamilton in the shadow of their goalposts, Saskatchewan linebacker C.J. Avery tipped Mitchell’s pass and it was caught by Thurman, who rumbled 28 yards into the end zone to put Saskatchewan on top 25-7 with the convert.
“We talked about it all week that somebody was going to get one,” said Thurman, who also added six tackles. “I just saw the ball when he tipped it and I knew I had to get into the end zone.”
On Hamilton’s next possession, the Riders forced another turnover as Sayles tipped the ball into the hands of teammate DaMarcus Fields as Saskatchewan took possession near midfield.
Patterson and Ouellette helped Saskatchewan get down to the seven-yard line before Lauther came in to kick a 21-yard field goal to make it 28-7.
With 6:30 left in the fourth quarter, Hamilton marched down the field before running back Ante Litre plunged in from one-yard out to make it 28-14 with the convert.
After an unsuccessful onside kick, the Riders got the ball at Hamilton’s 35-yard line and marched it down to the one-yard line before Patterson plunged into the end zone to put Saskatchewan up 35-14 with the convert. Lauther added a single point on the kickoff to make it 36-14.
After the Tiger-Cats successfully recovered an on-side kick, Mitchell looked to put another scoring drive together but he was intercepted by Rolan Milligan Jr. with 1:06 to go.
The Ti-Cats had one final drive, but couldn’t put points on the board before time expired.
Saskatchewan heads into its first bye week of the season.
The Riders will be back at practice on June 30 ahead of their second straight home game on July 4 against the 2-0 Toronto Argonauts.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored to help the Washington Capitals end the Dallas Stars’ season-opening winning streak at four with a 3-2 victory Thursday night.
Wilson’s goal was his third in three games, Strome his second of the season and Raddysh his first since joining the team in free agency last summer. Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves as the Capitals wrapped up this early homestand with back-to-back wins.
The Stars fell from the ranks of the league’s unbeaten teams despite a short-handed goal by Colin Blackwell and one at even strength from Jason Robertson. Rookie Oskar Bäck set up Blackwell for his first NHL point.
Casey DeSmith was screened on two of the three goals he allowed on 26 shots.
LIGHTNING 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored the winning goal with less than a minute to play just 1:27 after Brandon Hagel had tied it and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Vegas.
Kucherov’s second goal of the game with 55 seconds left was his sixth of the season.
Janis Moser had a goal and two assists for the Lightning, who remain unbeaten. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves.
Brayden McNabb, Pavel Dorofeyev and Ivan Barbashev had goals for Vegas. Adin Hill turned aside 21 shots.
Jack Eichel, with two assists on Thursday, now has 10 points this season in five games and reached reached double-digit points faster than any other player in Vegas history. He is the 10th U.S.-born player to accomplish the feat.
After Barbashev put Vegas up 3-2 early in the second, Hagel pulled Tampa Bay even at 3 with 2:22 remaining in the third.
BLUE JACKETS 6, SABRES 4
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kirill Marchenko and Mathieu Olivier each had a goal and an assist and Daniil Tarasov made 21 saves to help Columbus to a win over Buffalo.
Yegor Chinakhov, Adam Fantilli, Zachary Aston-Reese and Damon Severson also scored for Columbus, and Zach Werenski added two assists.
Ryan McLeod, Owen Power and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, and Jiri Kulich added his first NHL goal. Devon Lev stopped 19 shots for the Sabres (1-5-1), who have lost two straight road games and five of their first six overall.
CANUCKS 3, FLORIDA 2, OT
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — J.T. Miller scored 2:09 into overtime and Vancouver got their first win of the season, beating Florida.
Teddy Blueger and Quinn Hughes had goals for Vancouver, with Kevin Lankinen stopping 26 shots.
Anton Lundell got his fourth goal in the last three games for Florida and Jesper Boqvist also scored for the Panthers, who got 30 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky.
Florida remained without forwards Aleksander Barkov (lower body) and Matthew Tkachuk (illness).
DEVILS 3, SENATORS 1
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as New Jersey beat Ottawa.
Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.
The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.
Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.
Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.
Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.
RANGERS 5, RED WING 2
DETROIT (AP) — Artemi Panarin had his eighth career hat trick and New York rolled to a victory over Detroit.
Panarin became the first Rangers player to have multiple points in the first four games of a season. He scored twice on the power play. Vincent Trocheck also had a power- play goal and assisted on all of Panarin’s goals.
Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in his season debut. Victor Mancini also scored.
The Rangers have won the last five meetings, including twice this week. New York had a 4-1 home victory over Detroit on Monday night.
Moritz Seider and J.T. Compher scored for Detroit. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals.
KINGS 4, CANADIENS 1
MONTREAL (AP) — David Rittich made 26 saves a night after being benched in the second period in Toronto, helping road-weary Los Angeles snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal.
Los Angeles improved to 2-1-2 on a season-opening, seven-game trip necessitated by arena renovations.
Rittich rebounded after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Alex Laferriere, Mikey Anderson, Andreas Englund and Adrian Kempe scored.
Justin Barron scored for Montreal (2-3-0). Sam Montembeault stopped 28 shots. He made a save on Kevin Fiala on a penalty shot.
BLUES 1, ISLANDERS 0, OT
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Joel Hofer made 34 saves and assisted on Jake Neighbours’ goal at 2:04 of overtime in St. Louis victory over New York.
Hofer had his second career shutout in his and the team’s second overtime victory of the season.
Philip Broberg carried the puck into the New York zone and made a centering pass to Neighbours for the winner.
Islanders goalie Ilya Sorkin made 29 saves.
Blues defenseman Nick Leddy sat out because of a lower-body injury, the first game he has missed this season. Leddy played in all 82 games last season.
OILERS 4, PREDATORS 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brett Kulak scored twice and Connor McDavid added his first goal of the season to lead Edmonton to a victory over reeling Nashville.
Jeff Skinner also scored and Calvin Pickard made 25 saves for the defending Western Conference champion Oilers, who have won consecutive games after beginning the season with a three-game skid.
Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault scored and Juuse Saros made 32 saves for Nashville (0-4).
Forsberg’s goal midway through the first period gave Nashville its first lead of the season. That lasted less than six minutes before Kulak tied it.
Kulak sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute for the defenseman’s first career two-goal game.
BLACKHAWKS 4, SHARKS 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno each scored a power-play goal, and Chicago beat San Jose.
Taylor Hall and Jason Dickinson also scored for Chicago. Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen each had two assists.
Hall, who missed most of last season because of right knee surgery, put the Blackhawks in front 4:20 into the first period. It was Hall’s first goal since Nov. 5 and No. 267 for his career.
Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund scored for San Jose, which trailed 3-0 early in the second. William Eklund and Mikael Granlund had two assists each.
The Sharks dropped to 0-2-2 under Ryan Warsofsky, who was promoted to head coach in June.
Petr Mrazek had 20 saves for Chicago, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 stops for San Jose.
KRAKEN 6, FLYERS 4
SEATTLE (AP) — Eeli Tolvanen, Jordan Eberle, and Shane Wright scored three goals in less than three minutes in the second period and Seattle held off a Philadelphia rally in a victory.
Tolvanen’s goal broke a 2-2 tie at the 14:57 mark. Eberle made it a two-goal game with a goal at 17:44. Eight seconds later, Wright scored to give Seattle a three-goal lead.
Jared McCann tied the game at 2-2 with the first of Seattle’s four second-period goals.
Cam York and Jamie Drysdale scored to pull Philadelphia within 5-4 in the third period, but Oliver Bjorkstrand responded with a goal to push Seattle’s lead to two with just over five minutes left in the game.
Scott Laughton scored twice for the Flyers in the first period, while Brandon Montour scored one in for the Kraken.
Chandler Stephenson had an assist in his 500th NHL game. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer had 21 saves.
OSAKA, Japan – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are out of the Japan Women’s Open tennis tournament.
Spain’s Cristina Bucsa and Romania’s Monica Niculescu advanced to the final on Thursday by way of walkover.
The fourth seeds were supposed to play the top-seeded Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.
Bucsa and Niculescu will next face third-seeded Ena Shibahara of Japan and Laura Siegemund of Germany in the final.
Dabrowski and Routliffe defeated Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday to advance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Thursday the forfeitures that volleyball teams are willing to take to avoid playing San Jose State is “not what we celebrate in college athletics” and that she is heartbroken over what has transpired this season surrounding the Spartans and their opponents.
Four teams have canceled games against San Jose State: Boise State, Southern Utah, Utah State and Wyoming, with none of the schools explicitly saying why they were forfeiting.
A group of Nevada players issued a statement saying they will not take the floor when the Wolf Pack are scheduled to host the Spartans on Oct. 26. They cited their “right to safety and fair competition,” though their school reaffirmed Thursday that the match is still planned and that state law bars forfeiture “for reasons related to gender identity or expression.”
All those schools, except Southern Utah, are in the Mountain West. New Mexico, also in the MWC, went ahead with its home match on Thursday night, which was won by the Spartans, 3-1, the team’s first victory since Sept. 24.
“It breaks my heart because they’re human beings, young people, student-athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention,” Nevarez said in an interview with The Associated Press at Mountain West basketball media days. “It just doesn’t feel right to me.”
Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the cancellations, citing a need for fairness in women’s sports. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee in this year’s presidential race, this week referenced an unidentified volleyball match when he was asked during a Fox News town hall about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head,” Trump replied before he was asked what can be done. “You just ban it. The president bans it. You just don’t let it happen.”
After Trump’s comment, San Diego State issued a statement that said “it has been incorrectly reported that an San Diego State University student-athlete was hit in the face with a volleyball during match play with San Jose State University. The ball bounced off the shoulder of the student-athlete, and the athlete was uninjured and did not miss a play.”
San Jose State has not made any direct comments about the politicians’ “fairness” references, and Nevarez did not go into details.
“I’m learning a lot about the issue,” Nevarez said. “I don’t know a lot of the language yet or the science or the understanding nationally of how this issue plays out. The external influences are so far on either side. We have an election year. It’s political, so, yeah, it feels like a no-win based on all the external pressure.”
The cancellations could mean some teams will not qualify for the conference tournament Nov. 27-30 in Las Vegas, where the top six schools are slated to compete for the league championship.
“The student-athlete (in question) meets the eligibility standard, so if a team does not play them, it’s a forfeit, meaning they take a loss,” Nevarez said.
Ahead of the Oct. 26 match in Reno. Nevada released a statement acknowledging that “a majority of the Wolf Pack women’s volleyball team” had decided to forfeit against San Jose State. The school said only the university can take that step but any player who decides not to play would face no punishment.
___
AP college sports:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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