• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Roughriders down Argonauts

Jul 12, 2013 - 5:00 AM Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Darian Durant threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, two going to Taj Smith as the Saskatchewan Roughriders stayed undefeated with a 39-28 victory over the Toronto Argonauts at Rogers Centre.

Smith caught three passes for 141 yards while Kory Sheets broke the 100-yard rushing mark for the third straight week, totaling 178 with two touchdowns on 26 carries for the Roughriders (3-0) -- the lone unbeaten team in the CFL.

"We had a couple of guys go down, and they had a couple guys go down. it was a physical football game," said head coach Corey Chamblin.

Ricky Ray passed for 329 yards and two scores on 26-of-36 efficiency, and Chad Kackert compiled 99 yards from scrimmage and caught a touchdown for Toronto (1-2), which has dropped two in a row since winning its season opener against Hamilton.

"They jumped out to a two-touchdown lead and grinded it out. We did everything to get back in it, but didn't come away with the win tonight," said Argos head coach Scott Milanovich.

A 44-yard field goal and a single by Noel Prefontaine gave Toronto a 4-0 lead, before Durant rolled out to his right on a play-action fake and found Rob Bagg for a 12-yard score at the pylon with 2:40 remaining the opening quarter.

Toronto's Andre Durie took a screen pass 10 yards and into the end zone on the final play of the stanza, but Saskatchewan took control with back-to-back scores in the second.

Sheets went in from two yards out early on and Smith hauled in a deep pass from Durant and took it into the end zone for a 61-yard TD in the final minute of the half.

Prefontaine tacked on another 44-yarder just before the break to cut the Argonauts' deficit to 21-14, but a single by Ricky Schmitt and Smith's second TD catch -- this time a 70-yarder after getting away with a push-off -- extended the Roughriders' cushion midway through the third.

Chris Milo made it 32-14 with a 21-yard field goal 2:14 into the fourth, and Sheets countered Kackert's 48-yard TD catch with a 37-yard jaunt to the end zone.

Zach Collaros' 2-yard plunge in the closing seconds made the final score appear closer than it was.

Game Notes

Ray completed his first 12 passes ... Durant completed 14-of-19 passes ... Bagg's touchdown was his first since the 2010 season ... Durie led Toronto with 100 receiving yards on seven catches, while his teammate, Chas Owens, caught eight passes for 85 yards ... The Roughriders have averaged 38 points over their first three games ... Saskatchewan hosts Toronto on Sept. 14.