Saskatchewan Roughriders vs Toronto Argonauts Match Player Stats On Jul 05, 2014

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jul 5, 2014

Argonauts 48, Roughriders 15: Ricky Ray was 29-of-37 for 407 passing yards and three touchdowns as host Toronto thrashed the defending Grey Cup champions for its first victory of 2014.

Ray found Chad Owens, Jason Barnes and Mike Bradwell for touchdowns for the Argonauts (1-1), who rebounded from a poor road performance in Winnipeg in the season opener. Curtis Steele rushed for a pair of touchdowns while Owens led all receivers with 159 receiving yards and added 89 more on punt returns.

Darian Durant was sacked four times and completed 17-of-29 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Saskatchewan (1-1), which struggled to establish its running game and could not slow down Toronto’s offence like it did to Hamilton in Week 1. Anthony Allen and Taj Smith caught touchdown passes in the loss.

Ray used short passes and draw plays to effectively counter a Roughriders defence that recorded 10 sacks to open the season. Steele began the scoring 5:29 into the contest and Owens caught a 14-yard touchdown toss to give Toronto a 17-1 lead at halftime.

Saskatchewan showed some life in the third quarter, with Durant finding Smith and Allen for touchdowns 2:53 apart, but Ray connected with Bradwell for a 5-yard score in the fourth quarter and Steele’s 17-yard rush with 4:05 remaining re-established the Argonauts’ big lead. Antwaun Molden intercepted Durant in the end zone and returned it 108 yards to seal the victory with 2:47 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Molden caught both interceptions for Toronto in his first career CFL appearance. … Saskatchewan SB Chris Getzlaf did not play due to injuries. … DB Jalil Carter recorded two sacks for the Argonauts - the first multi-sack performance of his three-year CFL career.