Roughriders defense crucial in 19-9 win over Blue Bombers

When the Saskatchewan Roughriders called upon Ajou Ajou on Friday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the rookie receiver answered the call.

After Kian Schaffer-Baker was injured, Ajou, a 6-foot-2, 211-pound receiver from Brooks, Alta., stepped into the Saskatchewan offense in the second half and responded with four catches for 110 yards, leading the Riders to a 19-9 win over the Bombers for a 5-1 lead.

In four games this season, Ajou has six catches for 81 yards. On Friday, he contributed two big plays that helped Saskatchewan end Winnipeg’s two-game winning streak, dropping the Bombers to 2-5.

With the Riders leading 13-9 in the third quarter, Ajou captured the attention of the 29,649 fans in attendance with a 34-yard catch and run. The impressive part came after Ajou caught a short pass in the flat from quarterback Shea Patterson, rounded the corner and broke the tackle of Winnipeg middle linebacker Adam Bighill.

After escaping Bighill, a three-time Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, Ajou escaped down the sideline to complete the big win.

You might think that a rookie playing in his fifth CFL game would be intimidated when facing a legendary defender like Bighill. Ajou had a simple explanation for why that wasn’t the case.

“Because I’m that guy too. You have to know that when you step on the pitch. It’s all about confidence. I don’t want to sound arrogant or ignorant or anything like that, but I’m a good footballer too, so you better play your best game because I’m going to play mine. I say that with humility and respect for him because he’s a great player,” Ajou said.

With the Riders leading 16-9, Ajou helped seal the game with his fourth catch, picking up a short crossing route and running 46 yards to the Winnipeg 32-yard line. The play led to Brett Lauther’s fourth field goal of the game, giving the Riders a 19-9 lead.

The Riders defense is gaining a reputation as ballhawks by forcing turnovers. Friday was no exception, with linebacker Jameer Thurman saving the best effort for a crucial moment late in the game. With the Bombers moving the ball and trailing by just seven points, Thurman forced a fumble that sealed the victory for the Riders.

Bombers receiver Nik Demski caught a pass 20 yards at the Saskatchewan 25-yard line, but Thurman caught up to him and knocked the ball loose, leaving the home team to take over at the 29-yard line.

“I saw an opportunity to knock it out. I looked at film and I thought there was going to be an opportunity this week and it came my way. I know how big the play is, but as a defense we talk about turnovers. It was going to be important for us to take over the game so we could win, and I was fortunate enough to be in a position to make the play,” Thurman said.

The Riders scored the game’s only touchdown midway through the third quarter when Patterson led a six-play, 83-yard drive. He completed four of four passes for 62 yards on the drive, which ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to running back Clint Ratkovich.

It was the 26-year-old rookie’s first CFL touchdown and gave the Riders a 13-6 lead.

Ratkovich managed to slip out of the backfield and ran unmarked into the end zone, where he collected Patterson’s pass.

“In practice, (that play) comes up a lot. He was wide open and couldn’t miss it,” said Patterson, who finished the game completing 17 of 25 passes for 261 yards and one touchdown.

After a 35-20 loss to home team BC Lions on July 13, the Riders stressed the importance of getting back to winning ways on Friday.

“We preach ‘bounceback’ or ‘bounce backwards.’ We struggled last week. I’m happy with the way we responded tonight,” said head coach Corey Mace.

According to Patterson, the performance says a lot about the Riders and what kind of team they are.

“That’s our nature. I remember saying right after the BC game that it was all going to be about how we responded this week after a short week. Right after the plane, the very, very, very next morning, a couple guys came out and got to work. We worked hard to play the way we did tonight,” Patterson said.

There was a bit of a melee late in the game after Bighill tackled Patterson who was trying to run out the clock. The Riders took offense to the hit, which was right in front of their bench, and confronted Bighill. The Bombers then also ran onto the field.

Both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half, with the only scoring coming from the kickers. Castillo was successful from 35 and 56 yards, while Lauther scored from 28 and 41 yards. Castillo came up short on a field goal attempt from 61 yards late in the second quarter.

AJ Ouellette had a strong game for the Riders, carrying the ball 17 times for 88 yards.
Zach Collaros completed 20 of 31 passes for 266 yards and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira, who was coming off consecutive 100-yard games, was held to 49 yards on nine carries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2024.

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