"We've just got to get it together": Roughriders lose third in a row
Rob Vanstone
Needing a victory in friendly confines to secure a CFL playoff berth, the Saskatchewan Roughriders lost 37-31 to the Calgary Stampeders before 29,412 spectators at Mosaic Stadium on Friday night.
A fifth defeat in a span of seven games left the defending Grey Cup champions with an 8-7 record.
“We’ve just got to get it together,” Roughriders defensive halfback DaMarcus Fields said. “We’ve got to find our way to get back to being us.
“We haven’t been playing to our standard.”
Saskatchewan, Calgary (8-8) and the B.C. Lions (8-6) all have eight wins in a congested West Division. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-7) are also in contention for a playoff spot in a division that is paced by the Edmonton Elks (11-4).
At 6-2 and 8-4, the Roughriders were in the driver’s seat in terms of earning a home playoff game for the third consecutive season. Three successive losses have altered the equation, prompting one reporter to ask the Head Coach “where do you go from here?”
To which Corey Mace responded: “There’s only one way to go, man.”
Over the last three games, the Roughriders have lost their season series against Winnipeg, B.C and, now, Calgary, meaning that any of those three teams would win a tiebreaker against Saskatchewan.
“We’ve had three games here versus opponents where there was a lot at stake and we have haven’t really developed that killer instinct for ourselves to go ahead and put our foot down, so to speak,” Mace said.
Saskatchewan’s final three regular-season games are against the CFL’s division leaders. The Roughriders face the 11-3 Montreal Alouettes on the road (Oct. 12) and at home (Oct. 17) before playing host to Edmonton on Oct. 24.
“This is an opportunity for us to find the fixes — first as a coaching staff, then as players — and attack these three weeks to build momentum, hopefully pushing ourselves into the playoff race by beating some quality teams,” Mace said.
Calgary put forth a quality performance on Friday, getting four touchdown passes from Vernon Adams Jr.
Calgary opened the scoring 3:24 into the game when Adams Jr. hit Clark Barnes with a 13-yard touchdown pass. Rene Paredes added the convert.
Saskatchewan quickly answered with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris to Kian Schaffer-Baker, who scored at 6:28 of the first quarter. Dawson Hodge added the convert.
Schaffer-Baker had three catches for 64 yards on that possession, including a 32-yarder on Harris’s first pass of the game.
Calgary stormed back with a 48-yard touchdown pass from Adams Jr. to Damien Alford, who put the Stampeders ahead at 9:03 of the first quarter. Parades’ convert made it 14-7.
Hodge’s 38-yard field goal reduced Calgary’s lead to 14-10 with 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
Paredes’ 51-yard field goal, at 2:46 of the second frame, put the Stampeders up 17-10.
Hodge’s 44-yard field goal made it 17-13, Calgary, at 4:59 of the third frame.
It was Paredes’ turn to make another three-pointer at 10:04 of the third quarter, restoring the Stampeders’ seven-point lead with a 45-yarder.
Calgary broke open the game at 9:13 of the third quarter when Adams Jr. threw a 25-yard TD pass to Tevin Jones at 5:47 of the fourth quarter, completing a 13-play, 93-yard drive that consumed 8:10. Paredes’ convert gave Calgary a 27-13 lead.
“We couldn’t get off the field,” Mace lamented.
Adams Jr. subsequently threw his fourth TD pass of the night — a four-yarder to Jalen Philpot at 9:41 of the final frame. Paredes’ extra point fattened the Stampeders’ lead to 34-13.
Harris found Daniel Wiebe for a 13-yard TD with 2:42 left.
A 42-yarder by Parades put Calgary up 37-19 with 2:06 on the clock.
Harris threw two more TD passes in the final 1:04, hitting Dhel Duncan-Busby and Johnny Johnson III for majors.
“I was proud of our guys for fighting to the end, but it’s definitely a crappy feeling,” Harris said.
Harris finished with 36 completions in 50 attempts for 453 yards, with four TDs and one interception.
Adams Jr. was 22-for 29 for 242 yards. He added 21 yards on two rushes.
“He did what he always does,” Fields said of Adams Jr. “He extends the play a little bit and he’s always able to get it to his guys. He did a better job today (than the Roughriders’ defence) and he obviously left with a win.”
Adams Jr. has thrown for 2,827 yards and 20 TDs over his last nine games against the Roughriders, including time spent with B.C. (2023-24) and Calgary (2025-present).
TREVOR’S TOTALS
With 29 touchdown passes, Harris sports the sixth-best single-season total in Roughriders history.
Kent Austin threw a Club-record 35 TD passes in 1992. He connected for 31 scores in 1991 and 1993. Darian Durant threw for 31 TDs in 2013. Henry Burris produced 30 aerial majors in 2000.
Harris’s total of 4,874 yards is the Roughriders’ fourth-best, behind Austin (6,225 in 1992; 5,754 in 1993) and Durant (5,542 in 2010).
With 50 attempts on Friday, Harris registered the Roughriders’ highest total since Durant threw 52 passes versus the visiting Lions on Sept. 22, 2013. A Roughriders QB has now attempted 50 or more passes 26 times.
Harris tied his Roughriders high in completions (36). He was 36-for-44 against Calgary on July 12, 2025 at Mosaic Stadium. Friday’s performance put him in a five-way tie for the fifth-most completions by a Roughrider in a game.
As well, Harris set a personal best for passing yards as a Roughrider (453). That is the 19th-best single-game total in team history.
A CFLer since 2012, Harris increased his career completions total to 4,902. He moved past Doug Flutie (4,854) into 11th on the league’s All-Time list. Forty-one more attempts will tie Harris with Tracy Ham for 10th.
Harris is eighth All-Time in completions (3,478), 33 behind Bo Levi Mitchell.
KeeSEAN QUESTIONS
Roughriders receiver KeeSean Johnson left the game due to injury with 3:36 left in the third quarter. He caught six passes for 65 yards before being sidelined.
“It didn’t seem like it was anything crazy,” said Mace, who had yet to consult with the medical staff when he met with reporters after the game.
“Hopefully it’s nothing long-term.”
Johnson became the fastest receiver in franchise history to reach 100 receptions, hitting the milestone in the team’s 15th game.
He has 101 catches for 1,243 yards this season.
Only four other Roughriders players have reached 100 catches in a season — Don Narcisse (123 in 1995), Joey Walters (102 in 1982), Craig Ellis (102 in 1985) and Curtis Marsh (102 in 2000).
EXTRA POINTS
• Schaffer-Baker had nine receptions for 120 yards. He is 115 yards shy of reaching 1,000 for the first time in six CFL seasons. That milestone is approaching even though he missed six games with a knee injury. He is averaging 98.3 receiving yards per game.
• Saskatchewan had a clear advantage in first downs (30-21), passing yards (453-242) and net offence (452-326).
• Saskatchewan was unsuccessful on its two-point convert attempts following the fourth-quarter TDs by Wiebe (at 12:18), Duncan-Busby (13:56) and Johnson III (15:00).
• The teams combined for only six punts, including two by Saskatchewan.