Stampeders 39 Roughriders 12
REGINA — Bo Levi Mitchell hooked up with Kamar Jorden for a 40-yard touchdown pass as the Calgary Stampeders rolled over the Saskatchewan Roughriders 39-12 Friday in the final exhibition game for both teams.
Nick Arbuckle relieved the starting Mitchell and threw a 14-yard touchdown strike to Nick Truesdell for his first of two TD receptions on the night.
Terry Williams, also in the first half, had an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown as Calgary led 23-3 at the break.
Tyler Crapigna’s field goal was the lone scoring play for the Riders in the game’s opening half, which extended the team’s pre-season touchdown drought to six quarters. They managed four field goals a week previous in a loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Riders finally crossed the goal line early in the fourth quarter when third-string quarterback David Watford found receiver Caleb Holley on a 33-yard pass for a touchdown.
Calgary was 1-1 in exhibition play. Saskatchewan was 0-2 in the pre-season.
The Riders will open the regular season at home on Friday against the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts. Calgary will host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday.
In limited time, Mitchell completed 4-of-8 pass attempts for 59 yards. Arbuckle was 8-for-14 for 89 yards.
Saskatchewan’s quarterback duo of Zach Collaros and Brandon Bridge struggled to get on track. Collaros started the game and finished 6-for-16 for 41 yards before he left with an apparent injury.
The former Tiger-Cats star left the game in the third quarter after he was nailed on a pass attempt by a pair of Stampeders rushers.
Bridge also was ineffective. He completed 2-of-5 pass attempts for 21 yards.
Jordan Williams-Lambert was Saskatchewan’s leading receiver with three catches for 57 yards.
Jorden led Calgary with three receptions for 62 yards. Williams had 145 total return yards on special teams.