Riders pounce on Ticat miscues

Darian Durant threw his second touchdown pass of the game to Rob Bagg in the fourth quarter as the Saskatchewan Roughriders rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday.

Durant also threw a key touchdown pass to Wes Dressler just before the first half of the 32-25 road victory and finished with 418 yards passing.

"We've been down before," Durant said. "We were down by 11 in the fourth quarter last week [against Calgary]. So we know what type of team we have. We just made plays when we needed to."

Hamilton led 15-0 before a second-quarter funk. Receiver Arland Bruce went over 1,000 yards receiving for the sixth time in his CFL career, but he dropped a catchable pass to give Saskatchewan some life.

Ticats running back DeAndra' Cobb rushed for a season-high 166 yards, but Saskatchewan defenders stripped him of the ball twice, with the Riders offence scoring a TD on each ensuing drive.

"A couple of plays there we shot ourselves in the foot and I was the one holding the gun," said Cobb.

Saskatchewan turned the ball over twice, including a Durant fumble in the last minute of the game, but Hamilton wasn't as opportunistic as its opponent.

'A couple of plays there we shot ourselves in the foot and I was the one holding the gun.' —Hamilton's DeAndra' Cobb

Kevin Glenn's pass into the end zone was picked off by James Patrick, his CFL-high eighth interception of the season. It was Hamilton's sixth turnover of the game.

"If only we didn't have some of the turnovers we had down in the score zone," said Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille. "If we didn't allow them to capitalize and go back down the field and score. If we didn't have those big swings, what I call 14-point swings. We had two 14-point swings.

"That's what I'll labour over tonight."

Riders close gap

The Roughriders are 8-4 and just one game behind Calgary in the CFL West. After a home-and-home set against Toronto, Saskatchewan and the Stampeders will square off in a key game on Oct. 17.

The Ticats (6-6) could drop to third place in the CFL East if Toronto beats Edmonton on Sunday afternoon in Moncton, N.B.

Hamilton took just two plays to cover 50 yards on the opening touchdown drive, set up by a 28-yard Marcus Thigpen kickoff return.

Glenn connected with Dave Stala for 41 yards on a pass play and had an easy nine-yard TD pass to Matt Carter.

The Tiger-Cats went 79 yards for the major on their next drive, capped off by reserve quarterback Quinton Porter's one-yard  touchdown run.

The Ticats gave the Riders a glimmer of hope when they left at least two more points on the board late in the first.

Bruce, for all his skill, showed his propensity for dropping catchable passes, a play that  preceded Sandro DeAngelis scoring just one point on a 41-yard field-goal miss.

Saskatchewan seized the opportunity, spurred by a pair of runs over 20 yards from Wes Cates. The running back then finished what he started, plunging in on third-and-goal for the touchdown and a 15-7 score.

The Riders defence has been opportunistic with turnovers this season, and that was illustrated in the second quarter.

Sean Lucas stripped Cobb of the ball deep in Saskatchwan territory, recovered by Shomari Williams.

The turnover was followed six plays later by Durant finding a wide-open Bagg near the sidelines for a 70-yard scoring pass. The receiver was left alone to run the final 40 yards to paydirt.

DeAngelis widened the lead to 18-14 with a Hamilton field goal, but Durant and Dressler hooked up on an incredible 43-yard touchdown on the penultimate play of the first half.

Dressler extended for a great diving catch and then got up before Hamilton could mark him down, making the score 21-18 for the Riders at the break.

"The men just really battled," said Riders coach Ken Miller. "We got behind and dug ourselves in a hole again and we just came roaring back.

"Hamilton made some big plays on us and moved the ball really well, but our defence got some big turnovers and got stops when they needed to. And Darian was just phenomenal at getting the ball to our receivers."

Hamilton re-emerged midway through the third, with Glenn and Marquay McDaniel establishing chemistry. Their 30-yard hookup was followed in short order by a 10-yard scoring play.

Glenn had the Ticats driving later in the quarter but threw a pass that veteran Lance Frazier intercepted and returned 28 yards.

Tied at 25

The turnover set up a Luca Congi field goal for the Roughriders that tied the game at 25.

Each team committed turnovers early in the fourth, but it was the visitors who took advantage again. Former Rider Stevie Baggs sacked Durant for a fumble, but on the ensuing Hamilton drive Cobb coughed up the ball two yards shy of Saskatchewan's goal line due to an Omarr Morgan hit.

Durant connected on passes to Dressler, Andy Fantuz and Bagg, the final one a 19-yard major.

"They tell me all week, 'Just give `em a chance and they'll make the plays,'" said Durant. "They did a great job of that tonight."

Durant appeared to have Saskatchewan on course in the final minute to running out the clock, but he fumbled the ball just before his knee made contact with the ground. Garrett McIntyre forced the turnover, and Geoff Tisdale recovered.

Glenn drove the Ticats 47 yards, but could not get the last 13 needed to send the game into overtime.