Both coaches want to see better discipline on Sunday when the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 2 action.
The Roughriders (1-0) opened the season with a 29-21 victory against the Edmonton Elks on June 8 despite six penalties for 84 yards and two interceptions by quarterback Trevor Harris.
The CFL also issued fines to four Saskatchewan players for their actions in the game: offensive linemen Trevor Reid and Logan Ferland and defensive backs Rolan Milligan Jr. and C.J. Reavis.
“It’s B.S. — we have talked about it constantly and talked about it heavily,” Riders coach Corey Mace told CKOM radio this week regarding the disciplinary issues. “There’s consequences to that but it’s got to stop. We got lucky to win a game with things like that happening and the situations that they did. We don’t want to make the game harder than it is.”
Saskatchewan outscored Edmonton 21-3 in the fourth quarter to grab the win.
Shawn Bane Jr. helped offset the Riders’ miscues by catching all three of Harris’ touchdown passes during his 125-yard performance.
Unlike the Roughriders, the Tiger-Cats (0-1) were unable to overcome their missteps in a 32-24 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on June 7.
“Too many mistakes early in the game. We had to play catch-up in the second half,” said Hamilton coach Scott Milanovich, whose team trailed 19-7 at halftime.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 300 yards and one touchdown but also had an interception, misfired on some scoring chances and dealt with a few drops by his receivers.
“It’s something we’ll work on,” Mitchell said. “We watch the film and we get better.”
The Tiger-Cats rolled to a 38-13 win in last season’s meeting with the host Roughriders in Regina on Oct. 7, 2023.
Defensive back Rodney Clemons (Achilles) is out on Sunday for Saskatchewan. Hamilton will be without defensive lineman Luke Brubacher (hamstring), linebackers Carthell Flowers-Lloyd (hamstring) and Brendan O’Leary-Orange (hamstring), wide receiver Luther Hakunavanhu (ankle) and offensive lineman Jordan Murray (knee).
