Offence dries up for Riders in low-scoring Banjo Bowl loss to Blue Bombers

Offensive production was a struggle all afternoon long for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers came out victorious in the 22nd edition of the Banjo Bowl.

The Roughriders failed to find the end zone against the Blue Bombers, with Winnipeg holding Trevor Harris and company in check to earn a 19-6 victory at Princess Auto Stadium.

Read more:

• Rookie Belsher breaks through to help Huskies to 44-24 victory in homecoming game
• ‘He loved the game’: Sask. hockey icon Melrose remembered by cousin, NHL great Clark
• Saskatchewan Rush to pick 10th in NLL dispersal draft after franchises fold

In his return from injury, Blue Bombers linebacker Redha Kramdi was all over the field as he caused a forced fumble, an interception and three tackles to silence Saskatchewan’s offence.

Harris and his unit struggled to move the ball down the field all day, with the veteran pivot limited to just 231 yards passing and an interception with 24 completions on 45 attempts.

Saskatchewan mustered only 283 yards of offence and turned over the ball five times on Saturday, with the Roughriders unable to score on their lone trip to the red zone.

After a scoreless opening quarter, former Roughriders receiver Tommy Nield scored the lone touchdown of the day in the second quarter to put Winnipeg ahead 7-0.

From there, the Blue Bombers got four field goals from Sergio Castillo while the defence stymied any long drives by the visitors.

A lone bright spot for Saskatchewan in the loss was the play of their defence, which pressured the Blue Bombers into five sacks, including four on Winnipeg starter Zach Collaros.

In the third quarter, Collaros left the game and did not return after attempting to make a tackle following an interception thrown to Saskatchewan’s Seyi Oladipo Jr.

Saskatchewan’s lone points of the afternoon came off the foot of rookie kicker Dawson Hodge, who went 2-for-2 in his CFL debut in place of Alex Hale with made field goals from 33 and 26 yards.

Linebacker Jameer Thurman led Saskatchewan defensively in the loss with eight tackles, including a first half play to register the 600th tackle of his CFL career.

The Roughriders dropped to an 8-5 record on the season with the loss and will now head into a bye week with their next game on Sept. 25 visiting the B.C. Lions.

More to come …

Read more:

• Rookie Belsher breaks through to help Huskies to 44-24 victory in homecoming game
• ‘He loved the game’: Sask. hockey icon Melrose remembered by cousin, NHL great Clark
• Saskatchewan Rush to pick 10th in NLL dispersal draft after franchises fold