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The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been finding ways to win with players stepping up when it matters — against Toronto, that player turned out to be Mario Alford.
After the Toronto Argonauts marched down the field following a missed Brett Lauther field goal to tie the game, the Riders’ kick returner brought back the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for the game-winning score with just nine seconds left.
“(Alford) has been outstanding this entire season,” head coach Corey Mace said. “How dialed in those players are in the special teams meetings, it is showing out there on the field. Above anything else, just happy for those guys to share that kind of moment for us.”
The win improves the Riders to 3-0 early in the 2025 CFL season with the 39-32 victory as the Argos dropped to 0-3.
Penalties were an issue for both teams in this game. The Riders committed 18 infractions for 178 yards while Toronto took 11 penalties for 129 yards.
“To this point, I was championing the guys, and it’s unfortunate because we spoke about it at halftime, because Week 1, I think we have five penalties, and in Week 2, we had three, so we were on a good trajectory. I don’t know the exact number (of penalty yards tonight), but I think it was north of 200,” Mace said. “It was a disaster. That will show you. It will make it tough to win if you’re giving away free yards.
“We have to get better at that but to be able to come out here against the defending Grey Cup champions and Grey Cup MVP and walk out of here with a win on a short week, we will feel good about that.”
Dohnte Meyers led the way for the Riders on offence, with the second-year receiver hauling in four passes for 125 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders emerged from Toronto with a win over the Argonauts on June 20, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker)
Trevor Harris didn’t have to throw the ball a lot in the game, with the 39-year-old only needing 13 completions for the win. He had 234 yards but also threw an interception the play after Riders’ defensive back Tevaughn Campbell came down with an interception from Argos quarterback Nick Arbuckle.
“You don’t want to take any credit away from them, but I put the ball in harm’s way on the interception. I can’t do that,” Harris said. “Certainly, little things execution-wise, we can be better at offensively, and we’ve just got to make sure we get better. Penalties hurt us. Lessons learned, but great teams are going to learn the lessons and apply them moving forward.”
That interception, plus a piling-on penalty by Jacob Brammer, set up the Argos at the one-yard line. Jarret Doege then rushed it in the next play.
Arbuckle finished the game with 259 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. A part of why the Riders were able to keep the Toronto offence contained for the most part was the pressure the team got on the pivot. The Riders recorded four sacks — defensive tackle Mike Rose, defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado, defensive lineman Micah Johnson and linebacker A.J. Allen all recorded a sack.
That was the first sack in Allen’s career.
“I’ve been looking for it and I have been waiting for it,” Allen said. “It feels so good.”
However, Arbuckle looked more like the Grey Cup MVP on the final drive for the Argos, as he marched the team 55 yards in 2:01 to tie the game.
“We always have confidence when we’re out there. We always have confidence when we are out there, we are able to make plays and do what we are supposed to do and get off the field,” Allen said. “We had the confidence; they just put a good drive together and made some good throws and good plays after the catch, and unfortunately, got into the end zone.
“It’s on us to play better and take away some of those options for sure.”
Running back AJ Ouellette played in Toronto for the first time since he left the Argos in the 2024 offseason. Ouellette was injured in the Riders’ game in Toronto last season.
In this game, Ouellette had 91 yards and a touchdown in the contest.
Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens showed why the Riders invested in him in the offseason. He had six rushes for 30 yards and also added a touchdown for the team.
Lauther was good on one of two field goal attempts in the game and hit on all five of his convert attempts. He added a single point when his missed field goal went through the end zone. Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu was good on all three of his field goal attempts.
The Riders will take on the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium on June 28.
