Saskatchewan was down two starting offensive linemen and two of its top receivers heading into Thursday night, and it didn’t matter one bit. The Roughriders scored four straight touchdowns in the second half to bury Ottawa 42-20, and the story afterward wasn’t about who was missing — it was about who showed up.

Dylan Djete got his first CFL start and delivered a moment he’ll never forget: a touchdown on a catch-and-run where he broke a tackle and turned it into six. “It means everything,” Djete said of getting the start. “I’ve been going through a lot with the injury, but mentally I was there. And when my opportunity came, I just had to do what I had to do.”

He even tried the Lambeau Leap afterward. Quarterback Trevor Harris got a kick out of that one. “He tried to do like the Lambeau Leap, but I think it was just a little too high,” Harris said, laughing. “Just seeing the smile on the young guys’ faces when they score that first touchdown is just so cool, man.”

Harris Hits a Milestone, Deflects the Credit

Harris threw for over 400 yards with his top two receivers out of the lineup, and somewhere in there he quietly became just the 12th quarterback in league history to reach 40,000 career passing yards. Head coach Corey Mace made sure it didn’t get glossed over — he had to talk Harris out of giving away his offensive player of the game ball.

“In true Trevor fashion, he took that football and was looking to give away Offensive Player of the Game ball. I said, no, buddy, that’s your ball,” Mace said. “Nobody got more cheers than when he got that ball. Because that’s incredible, man.”

Harris, for his part, kept it grounded. “I’m not usually into the numbers thing, but for me to just brush it off would be, I think, would be rude,” he said. “I’m thankful that Jesus has set me on the path that I’ve been on and all the ups and downs and ebbs and flows. To be able to do that on a professional level is something that just blows my mind.”

The Depth Chart Delivers

With Sam Schaef, AJ and Kawali all out along the offensive line, and two starting receivers down, Saskatchewan leaned hard into its depth — and it held up. Eric Anderson stepped in at left guard on short notice and didn’t blink. Mace pointed back to draft day.

“We look back as a staff, and when we selected him in the draft 2 years ago, some of the best O-line tape in U Sports, I mean, that we’ve seen. And you’re seeing that, man.” — Corey Mace

Johnny Johnson put up a 100-yard game, and Harris raved about his development. “He’s a stud, man,” Harris said. “It’s just a matter of time before this happens… He’s a dynamic receiver and he’s somebody that he knows we’re going to be leaning on him.”

Deshaun Mims made a couple of clutch grabs too, including a big pickup on second-and-14 in the third quarter. “It was one of my favorite throws of the night,” Harris said of the play. “I kind of tried to layer the ball between the DBs and underneath the safety. And he was on the same page.”

Edouard Finally Gets His Pick

Defensive back Jonathan Edouard had been the answer to a running joke around the building — a guy without an interception all year, despite being one of the team’s most consistent performers. That changed Thursday, and it came against his old head coach, Rob Dewey.

“It felt great to get it for Coach Bell and Coach Mays, being the first DB to get one and going against my old head coach Rob Dewey. So it’s a privilege.” — Jonathan Edouard

Edouard has been cut before in this league, and he didn’t hide how much this opportunity means to him. “It means the world to come in here and they trust me… I know all the guys, and I love these guys. They’re like my brothers, so it’s a privilege.” Mace backed that up postgame, handing him the defensive game ball. “On a personal level, so happy for this guy, man. Great, great dude. Just works… he was on the couch at some point this year and then, you know, this day one was just welcomed with open arms here.”

Special Teams Trickery and Tommy Stevens’ Donuts

Instead of a 49-yard field goal try, Mace dialed up an onside punt — and it worked. “I thought the way that our defense was playing at that point in time, it allows us to flip the field and pin them,” Mace explained. “The special teams unit executed the play.”

And of course, Tommy Stevens rumbled for more rushing scores, which means more donuts for the offensive line — a running tradition Mace confirmed is alive and well. “There’s never any leftovers. So I’m okay. They can eat up,” Mace said. “He’s kind of going to become a local folk hero or something like that.”

What It Means

Saskatchewan turned a 14-13 nail-biter into a laugher by scoring 22 unanswered points, and Harris credited in-game adjustments for the shift. “They mixed up their zones… but once we were able to kind of make our subtle adjustments and get a good beat on what they were doing, we were able to move the football.” With the win, the Riders show they can survive losing key pieces up front and at receiver — which, in a long CFL season, might matter more than the box score from any single night.

Watch the Full Videos

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Dylan Djete | August 7th Post-game

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Jonathan Edouard | August 7th Post-game

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Trevor Harris | August 7th Post-game

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Corey Mace | August 7th Post-game