![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWe want to know what we look like when we face adversity \u2014 it\u2019s inevitable. I thought we responded very well,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
The Riders\u2019 offence was clicking early in the game as the first two drives of the season both ended with Harris connecting with Emilus for a touchdown.<\/p>\n
But Saskatchewan wouldn\u2019t be able to find the end zone for a while as they settled for three field goals from Alex Hale as well as a missed one that was conceded for a rouge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we executed well. Just little things \u2014 shooting ourselves in the foot, and we all took our turns. It will be good film to watch. The team we are right now versus the team we will be towards the end of the year will be much improved,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to win in this league, especially against everyone\u2019s pick to win the Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that belief in itself and the ability to bounce back that has become the trademark of this team since Mace has taken over.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s who we are \u2014 we are building something special and we never flinched. Last year, we felt like it was our time and I don\u2019t think anyone in that locker room thinks it\u2019s not (our time),\u201d Harris said. \u201cThe best thing to do is spot the ball and go play \u2014 check the ball and go play ball. No matter what happens, make sure we\u2019re ready to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n
After falling behind early, the Lions and quarterback Nathan Rourke eventually got their offence rolling after a slow start that only saw them have six offensive plays in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Rourke finished the game with 330 yards through the air as well as 59 yards and a touchdown on the ground.Justin McInnis led the way for the Lions with eight catches for 129 yards.<\/p>\n
Lions rusher James Butler also found pay dirt for the Lions as the rusher scored two touchdowns to go along with 35 rushing yards.<\/p>\n
But it was Saskatchewan who got the knockout punch in late in the fourth as Emilus recorded his third touchdown of the evening with just 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
It was a big day for the Riders\u2019 offence as Kian Schaffer-Baker (165 yards) and KeeSean Johnson (131 yards) both crossed the century mark as Harris threw for 417 yards.<\/p>\n
Both new additions to the Riders\u2019 defensive line got sacks as veteran James Vaughrers and CFL rookie Desmond Evans both recorded sacks on the league\u2019s reigning Most Outstanding Player.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt pretty good. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve always wished for \u2014 coming here and getting my first sack in the first game. It\u2019s accomplished and have that in the books,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n
Linebacker Antoine Brooks Jr. had a big game for the group, as he led the way with 13 defensive tackles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just play for my team and just try to make every tackle I can,\u201d Brooks Jr. said. \u201cIt meant a lot (to win the game). We just held down, trusted each other and that\u2019s where the play happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan played the entire second half without star defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., who left the game with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n
Mace said he didn\u2019t know how long Milligan will be out for.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might be tough next week. We have confidence in the guys who have to step up and make some plays. It\u2019s a team game. If we do have to go into a game without (Milligan), no one in this province would be excited about that,\u201d Mace said. \u201cHe\u2019s a heck of a player and we love him to death, but while he may not be out there making plays, Rolan Milligan will be affecting a game he is not playing during a week of practice, getting someone else prepared to make some plays if he can\u2019t do it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Riders were also able to hold off Lions defensive end Mathieu Betts, who is the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player after 15 sacks last season. Betts only had a single sack in the game \u2014 the only time Harris was taken down.<\/p>\n
\u201cShout out to the receivers and Trevor \u2014 definitely could have been more,\u201d offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick said. \u201cI always lose sleep playing against anyone in this league, but lose more sleep playing against Betts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the game, the Riders officially unveiled the 2025 championship banner to commemorate winning the fifth Grey Cup in franchise history last season.<\/p>\n
But Hardrick admitted he hadn\u2019t seen the banner yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it when they were putting it up but I didn\u2019t look at it \u2014 I looked at the screen and just tried to focus back in. I\u2019ve been at a couple of celebration things and you can get punched in the mouth if you\u2019re staring at that,\u201d Hardrick said. \u201cI\u2019m going to go check it out now, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan (1-0) will take on the Calgary Stampeders (0-1) on Saturday at McMahon Stadium. The Riders didn\u2019t beat the Stamps last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe want to know what we look like when we face adversity \u2014 it\u2019s inevitable. I thought we…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-737300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}