REGINA — The Calgary Stampeders picked up their first road victory of the season Saturday, beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 27-12 in the final regular season game of the year.

The Stampeders, who finish the CFL season last in the West Division with a 5-12-1 record, added some salt to Saskatchewan’s already disappointing day.

The Riders entered the game with an outside chance of finishing first in the West. Saskatchewan needed the Montreal Alouettes to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers early in the game, which would give the Riders the opportunity to take first place by beating the Stampeders.

Winnipeg beat Montreal 28-27 to clinch first place. The Bombers will host the West Division final on November 9, while the 9-8-1 Riders will host the BC Lions on November 2 in the West semi-final.

With Winnipeg’s victory, the Riders made a number of changes to their roster, removing defensive back Rolan Milligan, running back AJ Ouellette and receivers KeeSean Johnson and Samuel Emilus. They also chose to start Shea Patterson at quarterback in place of veteran center Trevor Harris.

Patterson played most of the first half and struggled, completing just six of 13 passes for 62 yards. The Riders were held to 104 total offensive yards in the first half. Rookie Jack Coan replaced Patterson for the final possession of the first half and played the rest of the game for the Riders.

Calgary quarterback Jake Maier got off to a slow start, completing just one of his first seven passes. He got into rhythm late in the first quarter, connecting with Clark Barnes on passes of 40 and 33 yards, respectively. Barnes’ second reception resulted in a touchdown to give the Stampeders a 7-3 lead.

The Stampeders increased their lead to 14-3 midway through the third quarter when Maier hit Cam Echols on a nine-yard touchdown run.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Marken Michel hauled in a 67-yard touchdown pass from Maier, making the score 24-6.

In the fourth quarter, Coan threw his first CFL touchdown by hitting Jerreth Sterns on a 19-yard pass. A failed two-point conversion left the score at 24-12.

Maier completed 19 of 26 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns. Dedrick Mills totaled 128 rushing yards on 20 carries for the Stampeders.

René Paredes made two field goals for the Stampeders while Brett Lauther made two field goals for the Riders.

Demerio Houston, Julian Howsare and Justin Sambu each had a sack for Calgary. Jayden Dalke and Benoit Marion had sacks for Saskatchewan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 26, 2024.

Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press