Saskatchewan Roughriders slotback Weston Dressler misses a pass during second half CFL football action against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Regina, Sask., Saturday, July 28, 2012. The Tiger-Cats defeated the Riders 35-34. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
July 28, 2012 - 9:24 PM
REGINA - Former Roughriders Andy Fantuz and Henry Burris led the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a dramatic 35-34 come-from-behind victory over Saskatchewan on Saturday on the strength of three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
The victory was Hamilton's third in a row and improved the Tiger-Cats record to 3-2. Saskatchewan has dropped to 3-2 with back-to-back losses.
Fantuz was limited to two receptions for 39 yards on Saturday, both in the first half, as the first two quarters were dominated by defence and special teams.
The offences finally shifted into gear in the second half.
Burris threw a total of four touchdowns for 355 yards for Hamilton. Receiver Chris Williams was the Ticats' favourite target, catching one TD on 101 yards. Onrea Jones caught two TDs for Hamilton, while Dave Stala also hauled one in.
Quarterback Darian Durant threw touchdown passes of 74 yards to wide receiver Taj Smith and 20 yards to Jock Sanders in the third quarter.
The Roughriders' third-quarter TDs were a timely response to the Tiger-Cats, who had tied the game 14-14 on a Burris touchdown strike of 21 yards to Williams.
Burris answered Durant in the fourth quarter with touchdown strikes of 10 yards to Jones and 16 yards to Stala, before hitting Jones again with the go-ahead touchdown on third-and-five with just under three minutes remaining.
The Roughriders opened the scoring on the game's first possession, with rookie tailback Kory Sheets finding the end zone on a third-down gamble from a yard out. The Tiger-Cats responded immediately with a 32-yard field goal by Luca Congi, another former Roughrider.
Following a 52-yard single by Hamilton punter Josh Bartel in the second quarter, Saskatchewan's Chris Milo and Congi exchanged field goals of 46 and 27 yards, respectively.
Late in the opening half, Milo added a second field goal for Saskatchewan, this one a chip shot of 13 yards, to give the Roughriders a 13-7 halftime lead.
Fantuz left Saskatchewan in the off-season and signed with Hamilton as a free agent.
Burris, who'd played four seasons with the Riders before moving to Calgary, also joined the Ticats in the off-season when the Stampeders traded him East.
Fantuz — as he'd predicted before the game — received a warm welcome from the sellout crowd of 32,898 . However, once play started the Roughriders fans booed him along with the rest of Hamilton's roster.
Saskatchewan's fans kept up the tradition of greeting Burris with the chant of "Hen-ry, Hen-ry, Hen-ry."
The sellout was Saskatchewan's first of the season. The Roughriders have played three home games.
Both teams now go into a bye week. The Tiger-Cats return to action on Aug. 9 in Hamilton against the Stamps while the next game for the Roughriders is Aug. 10 in Edmonton against the Eskimos.
Before signing with the Tiger-Cats as a free agent last winter, Fantuz spent six seasons with the Riders and was an integral part of Saskatchewan's Grey Cup championship in 2007, a game in which he was named Outstanding Canadian.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012