In a back-and-forth battle, the Saskatchewan Roughriders emerged as the victors in the rematch with the Edmonton Elks.<\/p>\n
While the offences exploded in the first meeting between the two last week<\/a>, big plays were hard to come by on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/p>\n Saskatchewan walked out of Edmonton with a 28-26 win.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very odd. The (lightning) delay there at halftime and getting the guys and keeping them locked in and keeping them engaged. The plus about that is you get to talk a bit more about game plan as you head into the second half,\u201d Riders head coach Corey Mace said.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately we knew it was going to come down to being a tight game. it probably will be when we see them again to end the year. They are a good team.\u201d<\/p>\n It was an important win for the Riders as it not only prevented the Elks from increasing their lead in the CFL West Division standings, but now the season series will need to be decided in the third meeting between these two clubs in the final week of the regular season.<\/p>\n Saskatchewan got a hat trick of touchdowns from short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens<\/a> in the game. Once again, he was also called upon late in the game to close it out and finished with 13 carries for 29 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s awesome. Any time I can have any sort of positive influence on the game, that\u2019s what I\u2019m striving for,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n The three touchdowns mean the offensive line will get their fill of sweets this week.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter every touchdown, (the group) gets a box of doughnuts so it\u2019s going to be an expensive trip to Tim Hortons this week,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n After surrendering 510 yards and four touchdowns to Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo in the first meeting, the Riders defence held him in check despite Rolan Milligan Jr.<\/a> missing this game after injuring his knee in practice. Fajardo had 286 yards and a touchdown in this game.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are a great team. It came down all the way to the end and we just found a way to put it all together,\u201d defensive back Marcus Sayles said.<\/p>\n Saskatchewan was once again able to bottle up running back Justin Rankin, who only had 29 rushing yards in the game. He did have 48 receiving yards in the game.<\/p>\n Running back Quali Conley started his third game of the season as A.J. Ouellette<\/a> (knee) was added to the six-game injured list. He had 61 yards on the ground and also showed off his athleticism with a backwards hurdle over a defender.<\/p>\n While it was an uncharacteristically quiet night for wide receiver KeeSean Johnson<\/a>, he scored an important touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Riders and then caught the ensuing two-point conversion.<\/p>\n With Sam Emilus<\/a> (foot) being ruled out just ahead of game time and Kian Schaffer-Baker<\/a> leaving in the third quarter, quarterback Trevor Harris still played an efficient game as he completed 19 of 24 passes for 239 yards, a touchdown and an interception.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just couldn\u2019t get into an offensive flow throughout the first half and even midway through the third quarter. The first drive of the second half, the interception is like a punt at that point,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we really responded towards the end of the game. When we needed drives, our receivers really stepped up in terms of Sam being down right before the game, (Schaffer-Baker) being down and Wiebe being kind of touch-and-go.\u201d<\/p>\n Dhel Duncan-Busby led the way for the team as he had four catches for 66 yards.<\/p>\n Kicker Alex Hale\u2019s struggles continued as he missed from 42 yards out on a field goal attempt. He is one-for-five on field goals over 40 yards. Hale did make both convert attempts.<\/p>\n Saskatchewan\u2019s defence recorded three sacks in the game, with Josh Woods, Caleb Sanders and Derick Roberson<\/a> taking Fajardo down. It was Roberson\u2019s first CFL game after signing with the Riders last week.<\/p>\n