Ajou Ajou is a master of duplication.
He has turned his first catch of the game into a touchdown both times he has played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium.
In the pre-season opener on May 20, Ajou scored on a 38-yard connection with Shea Patterson to help Saskatchewan defeat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-12.
On Sunday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ajou scored his first CFL regular-season touchdown — the result of a 40-yard collaboration with Trevor Harris — as the Roughriders won their home opener, 36-20, and improved their overall record to 3-0.
Both of Ajou’s TDs, by the way, have been scored in the north end zone, to the left of the uprights.
Most recently, he ran a corner pattern and made an over-the-shoulder catch on the Tiger-Cats’ eight-yard line. From there, the 6-foot-2, 211-pounder used his strength and speed to reach the goal line.
What was he thinking when the ball was in the air?
“Don’t drop it! Don’t drop it!” he said with a laugh.
“Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Catch it. Look it all the way in.”
That being accomplished, how did it feel to cross the goal line?
“I heard the crowd roar,” Ajou said. “They roared when I caught it and it almost scared me.
“When I crossed the goal line, I thought, ‘Oh yeah. We’re really in here.’ ”
That is quite a feat for any rookie — especially someone who was drafted in the seventh round.
Ajou was chosen 59th overall in the 2024 CFL Draft. On Sunday, he became the first seventh-rounder in Roughriders history to score a TD.
“It means everything for the coaches to have that trust in me,” he said. “And even Trevor, the starting quarterback, and he’s a guy — a real-deal vet.
“For them to have trust in me, it means that I’ve got something that they like. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”
FULL NELSON
Nelson Lokombo enjoyed his best game as a CFLer, registering three pass knockdowns in Sunday’s victory.
The former University of Saskatchewan Huskies standout had one pass knockdown to show for his previous 25 games with the Roughriders.
“It’s good to be out there playing defence and helping out wherever I can,” Lokombo said.
“I’m enjoying it right now and enjoying helping the team.”
Lokombo was chosen in the first round (second overall) of the 2021 CFL Draft. He missed all of the season that followed after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in a pre-training-camp workout.
Over the next two seasons, he appeared in 23 games and started on one occasion — at safety in the Roughriders’ third game of 2023.
In 2024, he has been a first-teamer from the outset. He was the starting field-side cornerback for the season opener before taking over as the No. 1 safety.
He also played some cornerback on Sunday after Marcus Sayles was injured in the fourth quarter.
Lokombo’s first two pass breakups forced the Tiger-Cats to punt. The third knockdown was followed two plays later by a Rolan Milligan Jr. interception.
The next step for Lokombo is to register an interception of his own — his first in the CFL.
“Opportunities will keep coming in,” he said. “I definitely wish I had a couple of plays back so I could get my hands on one.
“But we got a win, so I’m happy about that.”
Lokombo’s three pass knockdowns were the most by a Roughrider since Amari Henderson had a hat trick against the host Edmonton Elks on June 11, 2023.
RUNNING TALLIES
On Sunday, the Roughriders’ A.J. Ouellette rushed for as many yards (98) as Saskatchewan has allowed over its first three games.
Hamilton managed only 29 yards on nine carries in the Green and White’s home opener.
“It’s a skewed stat, a little bit,” Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace said when asked about the three-game total. “I think that they weren’t really leaning on the run there (later) in the game, being down and trying to drive the ball through the air.
“If we do end up playing a team that wants to attack us on the ground, we’ve got to make sure that we’re ready for that. It’s another department where we’ll always look to try to be in the top of the league in that standpoint, when it comes to run defence.”
In the Roughriders’ season opener, the Edmonton Elks were held to 39 yards on 12 rushes. The Elks’ primary tailback, Kevin Brown, gained 27 yards on seven carries in a 29-21 Saskatchewan win.
Hamilton had 30 yards to show for 13 handoffs on June 16 at Tim Hortons Field. James Butler — like Brown, a returning 1,000-yard rusher — gained 27 yards on 12 carries.
Butler was limited to 10 yards on five rushes on Sunday night.
An overall total of 29 rushing yards put the Tiger-Cats in a three-way tie for the 38th-lowest by a Roughriders opponent.
The 98 rushing yards allowed are the fewest over the first three games in Roughriders history. The next-lowest totals are 131 (in 2022), 138 (1985), 141 (2021), 151 (2004) and 1959 (1996).
For the 14th time, Saskatchewan has held the opponent to a double-digit rushing-yardage total in each of the first three games. That feat has also been accomplished in 1966, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
ROUGE ALERT
While registering a 95-yard rouge late in the fourth quarter, Brett Lauther created a 20-way tie in one category — longest kickoff in Roughriders history. Here’s the full list:
95 — Dave Ridgway at Winnipeg, Aug. 2, 1989
95 — Paul McCallum vs. Calgary, Aug. 7, 1998
95 — Paul McCallum at Edmonton, Aug. 28, 1998
95 — Paul McCallum vs. Montreal, Oct. 3, 1999
95 — Paul McCallum vs. Ottawa, Sept. 28, 2002
95 — Paul McCallum vs. B.C., Sept. 6, 2003
95 — Paul McCallum vs. Montreal, Oct. 2, 2004
95 — Jamie Boreham vs. Edmonton, Oct. 25, 2008
95 — Jamie Boreham at Calgary, Aug. 1, 2009
95 — Jamie Boreham vs. Winnipeg, Sept. 6, 2009
95 — Jamie Boreham at Winnipeg, Sept. 13, 2009
95 — Jamie Boreham vs. Edmonton, Sept. 20, 2009
95 — Eddie Johnson vs. Calgary, Sept. 17, 2010
95 — Eddie Johnson vs. Calgary, July 30, 2011
95 — Ricky Schmitt vs. Edmonton, Oct. 12, 2013
95 — Ricky Schmitt vs. Hamilton, July 21, 2013
95 — Tyler Crapigna vs. Toronto, June 30, 2016
95 — Tyler Crapigna at Hamilton, Aug. 20, 2016
95 — Brett Lauther vs. Edmonton, July 6, 2023
95 — Brett Lauther vs. Hamilton, June 23, 2024
DOUBLE FOR DABIRE
On Sunday, Charbel Dabire became the first Canadian defensive lineman to register two sacks in a game for the Roughriders since Justin Capicciotti versus the visiting Ottawa REDBLACKS on July 22, 2016.
National safety Mike Edem had two sacks against the host B.C. Lions on Oct. 18, 2019.
Scott Schultz is the Roughriders’ All-Time leader in games with double-digit sacks by a Canadian (six). Ricky Foley and Rick Goltz are next in line with four, followed by Lyall Woznesensky and Keith Shologan with three each.
The CFL did not begin officially recording sacks until 1980. Therefore, totals for Canadian-born defensive linemen such as Ron Atchison, Bill Baker and Bill Clarke are unavailable.
