‘Full circle moment’: Sexton scores punt return touchdown in Riders debut

Mathew Sexton provided quite the spark for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The first-year CFLer made his regular season debut for the team in their 27-22 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. Sexton contributed in a big way with a 101-yard punt return early in the third quarter that gave the Riders the lead for the first time in the contest.

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“It was a full circle moment. Just all credit to the guys on our punt return team – if you go back and watch it, there were some great blocks out there,” Sexton said. “One thing about a returner is you make sure you don’t get tackled by the punter and that was the biggest thing I did. He was either going to tackle me or we were going to run into each other real hard.”

Sexton’s football journey has taken him through a number of leagues and teams to eventually reach this point, including stops with five different NFL teams and stints in the XFL and UFL.

“A lot of hard work,” is how Sexton characterized his journey. “I’ve bounced around a lot so it feels really, really nice, just being able to go out there and showcase what I know I am capable of on a proper stage and stuff like that.”

The game also had the added element that it was the Redblacks team that brought Sexton to the CFL, but then cut him after rookie camp.

“I wasn’t thinking about that too much, to be honest,” Sexton said. “That (performance) is an expectation I have for myself and we have as a team, but it felt good.”

Riders head coach Corey Mace said what fans saw from Sexton is what has allowed him to stick around professional football for so long.

“Explosive guy, certainly we saw that in the returner position, but he’s a heck of a receiver, too,” Mace said. “Just a guy that brings us some juice and we certainly needed it last game.”

Sexton will get a prolonged look at the position, as James Letcher Jr. is on the six-game injured list with an elbow injury. Letcher joined the Riders after spending three seasons with the Montreal Alouettes.

“Just a day-by-day process. I am going to go out there and put my best foot forward and do what the team requires, whether that be running down on kickoff, kickoff return and punt return,” Sexton said. “I’m really an open book. I’ve always been told the more you know, the more you play, so I truly believe that and I live by that.”

The Riders were without defensive back Tevaughn Campbell for Thursday’s practice as he missed due to a personal reason. Mace said he will still be available for Sunday’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Defensive back Rolan Milligan (personal) is logging limited practice as he starts to ramp things up. He remains on the six-game injured list. With defensive back Nelson Lokombo (ankle) not being able to practice, Jonathan Edouard has been with the starters at the halfback spot.

Kickoff for Sunday’s game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.