Former Roughriders receiver Justin McInnis had 243 receiving yards as Saskatchewan fell 35-20 to the Lions on Saturday night
Justin McInnis came back to haunt his former team on Saturday night in Vancouver.
The Riders — who lost their first game of the season to drop to 4-1 — couldn’t stop the aerial attack of the Lions, who improved to 5-1 to sit atop the West Division standings.
Lions’ quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 26-of-42 passes for 451 yards with the lone touchdown to McInnis. Adams also had four carries for 39 yards and a touchdown along the ground.
Meanwhile Saskatchewan’s offence — led by quarterback Shea Patterson who was making his second career CFL start in place of the injured Trevor Harris — put up 340 yards of net offence.
Patterson went 17-of-25 for 278 yards, with receiver Samuel Emilus catching 161 of those yards on eight receptions. Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette chipped in with 72 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns along the ground.
While Adams torched the Riders’ secondary, Saskatchewan was able to force two turnovers as Rolan Milligan Jr. and Deontai Williams both snagged interceptions. The Riders only gave up two touchdowns, but they did allow seven field goals in the loss.
B.C. took the lead on their first drive of the game as Sean Whyte kicked his first of seven field goals on the day to put the Lions up 3-0 early.
Later in the first quarter, Adams then connected with McInnis for a touchdown as B.C. led 10-0.
The Riders, who trailed 19-10 at halftime, made a game of it in the second half as they got to within two points in the fourth quarter, but the Lions never surrendered their lead.
While the Riders lost the game, they may have also lost a key offensive lineman as right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick went down with a left leg injury in the second half and had to be carted off the field. He was later seen on crutches on the sideline.
More to come…
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