REGINA — When the Saskatchewan Roughriders called on Ajou Ajou against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, the rookie receiver answered the call.
After an injury to Kian Schaffer-Baker, Ajou, a 6-foot-2, 211-pound receiver from Brooks, Alta., took a spot with the Saskatchewan offence in the second half. He responded with four catches for 110 yards as the Riders defeated the Bombers 19-9 to improve to 5-1.
In four games this season, Ajou had six catches for 81 yards. On Friday, he contributed two big plays that helped Saskatchewan end Winnipeg’s two-game winning streak, dropping the Bombers to 2-5.
With the Riders holding a 13-9 lead in the third quarter, Ajou caught the attention of the 29,649 fans in attendance with a 34-yard catch and run. The impressive part was after Ajou caught a short pass in the flat from quarterback Shea Patterson, he turned the corner and broke the tackle of Winnipeg middle linebacker Adam Bighill.
After escaping from Bighill, a three-time Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, Ajou escaped down the sideline to complete the big gain.
It might be expected that a rookie playing in his fifth CFL game would be intimidated when confronted by a legendary defender like Bighill. Ajou had a simple explanation why he wasn’t.
"Because I'm that man, too. You’ve got to know that when you step on the field. It's all confidence. I don't want to come off arrogant or ignorant or anything like that, but I'm a good football player too, so you better bring your A game because I'm going to bring mine. I say that humbly with respect to him because he’s a great player,” said Ajou.
With the Riders holding a 16-9 lead, Ajou helped ice the game with his fourth catch, grabbing a short crossing route and running 46 yards to the Winnipeg 32-yard line. The play set up Brett Lauther’s fourth field goal of the game that put the Riders ahead 19-9.
The Riders' defence is earning a reputation as ballhawks by forcing turnovers. Friday was no exception and linebacker Jameer Thurman kept the best effort for a crucial time late in the game. With the Bombers moving the ball and only trailing by seven points, Thurman forced a fumble that sealed the victory for the Riders.
Bombers receiver Nik Demski caught a 20-yard pass at the Saskatchewan 25-yard line but Thurman caught up to him and punched the ball loose with the home team taking over on its 29-yard line.
“I saw a chance to punch it out. I was watching on film, and I thought there might be an opportunity this week and it came my way. I know the magnitude of the play but we as a defence talk about turnovers. It was going to be big for us to take the game over so we could win, and I was just fortunate enough to be in the position to make the play,” said Thurman.
The Riders scored the game’s only touchdown midway through the third quarter when Patterson engineered a six-play, 83-yard drive. He was four-for-four passing for 62 yards on the drive, which ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to running back Clint Ratkovich. It was the first CFL touchdown for the 26-year-old rookie and it gave the Riders a 13-6 lead.
Ratkovich managed to slip out of the backfield and ran uncovered into the end zone where he hauled in Patterson’s pass.
“In practice, (that play) comes up in a lot. He was wide open and couldn't miss him,” said Patterson, who finished the game 17 of 25 passing for 261 yards and one touchdown.
Coming off a 35-20 defeat at the hands of the host B.C. Lions on July 13, the Riders stressed the importance of getting back into the win column on Friday.
“We preach bounceback or bounce backwards. We had a rough one last week. I'm happy with the way we responded tonight,” said head coach Corey Mace.
Patterson said the effort spoke volumes about the Riders and what kind of team they are.
“That's our character. I remember saying it right after the B.C. game that it would be all about how we would respond this week coming off a short week. Right off the plane, the very, very, very next morning, some guys came out and got to work. We put in the work to play like we did tonight,” said Patterson.
There was a minor melee at the end of the game after Bighill tackled Patterson who was trying to run out the clock. The Riders took exception to the hit, which was right in front of their bench, and confronted Bighill. The Bombers then ran onto the field as well.
Both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half with the only scoring coming from the kickers. Castillo was successful from 35 and 56 yards, while Lauther hit from 28 and 41 yards. Castillo was short on a 61-yard field goal attempt late in the second quarter.
A.J. Ouellette had a strong game for the Riders, carrying the ball 17 times for 88 yards.
Zach Collaros finished 20 of 31 passing for 266 yards and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira, who was coming of consecutive 100-yard games, was held to 49 yards on nine carries.
UP NEXT
Blue Bombers: Visit the Toronto Argonauts (3-2) on Saturday, July 27.
Roughriders: Visit the Montreal Alouettes (5-1) on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2024.
Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press
