Strong second half spurs Stampeders to 32-15 win over Roughriders

A second-half surge in a 32-15 win over the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday kept the Calgary Stampeders in the hunt for first place in the CFL's West Division.

Trailing by a point at halftime, an 18-point burst aided by Calgary's defence that shut down Saskatchewan in the third and fourth quarters had the Stampeders' locker room buzzing after the game played in front of an announced 28,295 at McMahon Stadium.

"It means a lot, but we didn't win a Grey Cup today," Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. cautioned.

"I'm sure we're going to have to see them in the playoffs or Winnipeg or one of these other good teams."

But the Roughriders, 8-2-0 atop the division, dropped their second game to the Stampeders (7-3-0) who moved closer in Saskatchewan's rear-view mirror.

Calgary also won 24-10 in Regina on July 12.

"If we put ourselves in a situation to be able to play them again, you never [know] how that goes," Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace said. "That's a different ball game, right? So we've got two games of tape to look at and hopefully find an answer to that."

Jaylen Philpot, Daylen Baldwin and Erik Brooks each caught touchdown passes. Dedrick Mills contributed a rushing touchdown and Rene Paredes a 53-yard field goal to the victory.

Adams threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for a two-point conversion. He was intercepted twice.

Dohnte Meyers and Dhel Duncan-Busby caught touchdown passes for the Roughriders. Kicker Brett Lauther missed his lone field-goal attempt from 28 yards on the opening drive of the game to go 22 for 34 this season.

Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted twice.

"We've talked about our character all year and so it's time to put that on the table and show who we are and we will. We'll bounce back from this," Harris said. "We're pissed off. We're not happy about this. It sucks. It hurts. But to say the sky's falling or we've got to just revamp things, that's just not true."

The Roughriders recorded 16 sacks over their previous three games, but Calgary's offensive line kept Adams unscathed Saturday.

"They just reminded me whenever they give up zero sacks, I take them out to eat, so let me get my wallet ready," Adams said.

Harris was sacked four times — twice by Clarence Hicks — and was steamrolled by Shaun Peterson Jr. in the third quarter.

Harris continued to play, but was replaced late in the fourth quarter by backup Jake Maier.

"Trevor, he's just fine," Mace said. "We were down, I think 17, and we had 15 points on the night. They were getting to the quarterback early and often. It was just kind of a decision that I felt, 'let's get Jake in there. Let's get him some live reps."'

Mills compiled 105 all-purpose yards and Philpot 82 for Calgary. Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette totalled 90.

Calgary led 14-2 early in the second quarter, but the visitors countered with a pair of touchdowns inside the final three-and-a-half minutes of the first half.

After just 16 rushing yards in the loss in Regina, the Roughriders got their run game going in the second quarter for 68 on the ground by halftime when they led 15-14.

But Calgary's front seven curtailed carries in the second half while also keeping Harris off balance in the pocket.

"You've got to make sure he's out of rhythm. You can't be giving him a steady diet of any looks," Stampeder head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said. "You've got to make that guy uncomfortable, which we did and that was how it really changed the tide in the second half."

Calgary coming off a bye week provided extra time to prepare for the division leaders, the coach said.

"We were rested. Gave us coaches a long time to change things and look at things and work on things," Dickenson said. "We actually put an extra day in this week, too, because we knew it was going to be a big-time challenge. Listen, we were well prepared. The guys took the coaching and produced on the field."

Calgary-Saskatchewan games traditionally draw thousands of green-wearing Roughrider fans to McMahon. The trend of a red and green blend in the stands continued Saturday.

"We sat on the sideline [and] I said 'yeah, they're here. They're here. This is a rivalry,"' said Adams, who played his first home game against the 'Riders as a Stampeder.

UP NEXT:

Roughriders: Host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-4-0) on Aug. 31.

Stampeders: Host the Edmonton Elks (4-6-0) on Labour Day Monday.