REGINA - Rookie wide receiver Adarius Bowman caught a 46-yard touchdown pass and Luca Congi kicked three field goals as the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the British Columbia Lions 33-13 in CFL exhibition action Friday before a sold-out crowd of 28,800 at Mosaic Stadium.
The win came in Ken Miller's first game as head coach with the Green and White. Miller replaces Kent Austin, who led Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup championship last season.
Rookie defensive back Denatay Heard contributed two interceptions to the Riders' cause while sophomore John Chick and Tristan Clovis each recorded a sack.
Joining Bowman, who scored on a strike from Darian Durant, in the touchdown ledger were Rob Bagg and quarterback Steven Jyles, who carried one in himself in the fourth quarter. Jyles was the pivot responsible for Bagg's catch as well, at 3:57.
The lone Lions touchdown came courtesy of safety Tad Crawford who returned a Jyles interception 23 yards at 10:45 of the third quarter.
Whyte gave up a safety and kicked a convert in addition to his field goals of 33 and 34 yards, and Luca Congi added a single and two converts. A Jeff Bolen convert for Saskatchewan rounded out the scoring.
Both teams used four quarterbacks in the game. Jarious Jackson, Buck Pierce, Gino Guidugli, and Zac Champion shared the duties for B.C., while Marcus Crandell, Darian Durant, Steven Jyles, and Teale Orban played for Saskatchewan.
Crandell completed 6-of-8 before being replaced by Durant, who went 4-of-5.
Jyles threw two interceptions before his pair of majors. Orban played only the last five minutes of the game but earned the biggest crowd reaction of the night, playing in front of his hometown fans.