CFL SIM: ROUGHRIDERS 8 ALOUETTES 3

SASKATCHEWAN – The virtual Roughriders weren’t able to score a touchdown in their 2020 CFL SIM season-opener, but they were able to hold off the Montreal Alouettes for an 8-3 victory Friday at Mosaic Stadium.

In a computer-simulated contest on Doug Flutie’s Maximum Football, Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther booted field goals of 35 and 41 yards to earn the deciding points in front of a sold-out crowd.

Over 9,000 viewers tuned in for the game on a Facebook Live broadcast.

The tech gods weren’t as favourable to Montreal kicker Tyler Crapigna who missed his two attempts. One went for a single point while rookie Alouettes punter Ryan Santoso nailed two punt single rouges to account for Montreal’s scoring. The Alouettes also conceded a safety which worked out in the Riders’ favour in the lowest-scoring game so far on the SIM schedule.

Rider starting QB Cody Fajardo went 17/36 for 156 yards. Jordan Williams-Lambert led the way in the receiving department with 61 yards on four grabs while teammate Shaq Evans contributed 48 yards in the air. Fajardo utilized seven different receivers on the night including Brayden Lenius, Kyran Moore, Carlos Henderson, Max Zimmerman and William Powell. Powell contributed 24 rushing yards.

Conservative play-calling by the Riders (they only attempted one pass over 20 yards) had some Rider fans questioning new Offensive Coordinator Jason Maas in the viewer chat section.

However defence was the order of the day for the Green & White with Cam Judge and Solomon Elimimian registering sacks while Nick Marshall notched his first interception of the year. The Alouettes also turned it over twice on downs.

Montreal QB Vernon Adams Jr. was 26/48 for 301 yards, utilizing WR Felix Faubert-Lussier on 10 occasions for 80 yards. In their return to Riderville, Spencer Moore caught two passes for 25 yards and Naaman Roosevelt had two for 41. Star Als running back James Wilder Jr. had 31 rushing yards on 15 carries.

The Roughriders (1-0) head to Hamilton in Week 3 of the CFL SIM schedule, taking on the Ticats on Thursday Night Football at Tim Hortons Field. The Alouettes (0-2) head into a bye week.

Week 2 of the SIM schedule features a doubleheader on Saturday with Hamilton at Toronto followed by Ottawa at Edmonton. You can watch the games at www.twitch.tv/nhacker49.