It came down to the wire on Friday between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Toronto Argonauts. Fortunately for the green and white, they were the last ones to possess the football
Mario Alford returned a 99-yard kickoff for a touchdown with eight seconds remaining to give the Roughriders a 39-32 victory in Toronto.
Alford’s touchdown happened moments after the Argos tied the game with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion.
Saskatchewan took advantage of the numbers game on the touchdown as Toronto only had 11 players on the field during the kickoff.
In the first quarter, the Roughriders overcame a Toronto touchdown on their first possession as Dohnte Meyers and AJ Ouellette both found the end zone to give Saskatchewan the advantage in the first quarter.
The teams traded field goals in the second, as the Roughriders had a touchdown advantage as both teams headed into the locker room.
It was a quick start to the second half for the Roughriders as Meyers connected on a 70-yard touchdown with Trevor Harris, raising the lead to 14 points.
Toronto trimmed the advantage down to three points with a field goal and a touchdown.
Tommy Stevens opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a two-yard touchdown, that restored the Roughriders advantage to double digits.
Another field goal by the Argos Lirim Hajrullahu made it a one possession game again.
Saskatchewan had the chance to finish off the game with two minutes remaining, but Brett Lauther’s field goal attempt missed, giving the Argos a chance to tie the game up.
A final drive led by Nick Arbuckle was successful, as he found Kevin Mital for a eight-yard touchdown. The two-point convert was good. Setting up the late dramatics by Alford for the win.
Meyers emerged as the Roughriders top target for the day with four catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Ouellette had a strong game in his return to Toronto, with 91 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Harris was 13/17 with 234 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
The Roughriders defence had four sacks, and Tevaughn Campbell had an interception.
Saskatchewan will return home for their next matchup, their first divisional opponent in 2025 as they welcome the BC Lions on Saturday to Mosaic Stadium.