Riders scratch past Tiger-Cats in opener

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders saved their best for last by scoring 18 fourth-quarter points en route to a 30-13 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday at Mosaic Stadium.

Since 2017, the Riders are 29-0 in regular-season CFL games when leading after three quarters. They led 12-6 heading into the fourth quarter and increased the lead to 15-6 three minutes into the stanza on Brett Lauther’s fifth field goal of the season opener for both teams.

Hamilton made things interesting on their next possession when Dane Evans connected with Steven Dunbar on a 71-yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap to 15-13. But the Riders responded with a pair of touchdowns as Cody Farjardo hit Kian Shaffer-Baker on a 20-yard scoring play and then followed up with a one-yard touchdown run on the next possession.

Fajardo, who finished the game 22 of 32 passing for 311 yards and one touchdown, was thrilled that the Riders' offence found an extra gear in the fourth quarter.

“The first half wasn't how we wanted to start, but to tell you the truth that one felt good because, if you look at our team last year, we always started fast and then slowed up toward the second half. It felt good tonight to finish,” said Fajardo.

“That was one of our big talks offensively and ‘finished’ was the word of the year for us. To have that come back full circle for our first game, it really shows the guys that it means a lot.”

Riders' head coach Craig Dickenson agreed with Fajardo’s assessment.

“The first half wasn’t as good as you’d like, but boy that fourth quarter was something else,” said Dickenson.

After Dunbar’s touchdown, the Riders responded with their best drive of the game, going 85 yards on seven plays. They completed the drive with