WINNIPEG -- Darian Durant threw two of his four touchdown passes to Chris Getzlaf on Sunday as the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 45-23.
The victory in front of a fourth-straight sellout crowd of 30,518 at Canad Inns Stadium boosted the Riders' record to 3-7 and gave the Bombers (7-3) their second straight loss.
It was Saskatchewan's second consecutive win under head coach Ken Miller, who returned to the sidelines after rookie head coach Greg Marshall and offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry were fired Aug. 19.
The game also marked the season debut of Rider slotback Andy Fantuz, who re-joined the team after a failed tryout with the NFL Chicago Bears.
Fantuz, last year's CFL outstanding Canadian and leading receiver, had two catches for 47 yards.
Winnipeg registered six turnovers -- five interceptions by quarterback Buck Pierce and a fumble by receiver Cory Watson -- and the Riders used the gifts to score 28 points.
Saskatchewan rookie safety Craig Butler, a native of London, Ont., made two of those interceptions, recovered the Watson fumble, had a quarterback sack and six tackles.
Durant completed 14-of-27 pass attempts for 230 yards, four TDs and one interception. Pierce was 21-of-33 for 287 yards, no TDs and the five picks.
Saskatchewan also got touchdowns from receiver Weston Dressler, running back Wes Cates, fullback Neil Hughes and defensive back Chris McKenzie, who returned a Pierce interception 42 yards for the major.
Rider kicker Chris Milo made one field from 12 yards out and missed from 35 yards.
Winnipeg's scoring came off touchdowns by running back Fred Reid and receiver Terrence Edwards. Justin Palardy was good on all three of his field-goal attempts from 18, 46 and 45 yards.
Edwards had six catches for a game-high 123 yards. Dressler led the Riders with four catches for 97 yards.
Winnipeg had a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, thanks in large part to Pierce completing 8-of-8 pass attempts for 140 yards in the opening quarter.
But Saskatchewan flipped the tables in the second quarter, scoring 24 points, including 17 unanswered points and two touchdowns off interceptions thrown by Pierce.
The game began on a high note for the Bombers, as they scored for the first time this season on their opening possession with Palardy's 18-yard field goal at 5:34.
Winnipeg went up 10-0 during a seven-play, 100 yard touchdown drive that included another punishing hit on Pierce.
Butler came off the end and drilled Pierce to the turf, sending his helmet flying into the air.
Pierce got up, put on his helmet and then chucked a 16-yard completion to Watson, which was followed by Reid's third TD of the season.
Saskatchewan's second-quarter surge coincided with the loss of Bomber linebacker Joe Lobendahn, who left the field on a cart. He was later seen watching the game with a brace on his right knee and crutches by his feet.
The Riders tied the game with their first two possessions of the second quarter, first with Getzlaf's 33-yard TD at 2:32 and then Milo's 12-yard field goal at 8:51.
Getzlaf scored his second TD of the game at 10:13 with a 13-yard reception that followed Butler's interception of a Pierce pass.
The Bombers finally scored again with Palardy's 46-yard field goal with 2:25 left, but the Riders weren't finished.
Pierce tossed a pass to Kito Poblah, but the ball bounced off his fingers into the hands of linebacker James Patrick.
The Riders took over at their own 47-yard line and drove to what looked like a Milo field-goal attempt, but a direct snap went to running back Cates and he ran 16 yards to Winnipeg's 27-yard line.
Durant then threw a TD pass to a wide-open Dressler in the end zone to make it 24-13 with four seconds left in the first half.
Pierce finished the first half completing 11-of-17 for 177 yards and the two interceptions. Durant was 9-of-16 for 144 yards.
Palardy was good on a 45-yard field goal at 1:57 of the third to make it 24-16 and then the turnovers started piling up.
It looked like the Riders would capitalize on Winnipeg's third turnover, a fumble by Watson after a catch that was recovered by Butler, but Milo went wide right on a 35-yard field-goal attempt and the Bombers ran it out.
The team's then traded turnovers that went for no points. Pierce was intercepted again by Butler and Durant was picked off in the end zone by Jovon Johnson on a pass intended for Fantuz.
The Bombers lost halfback Jonathan Hefney with just over a minute to play in the third quarter, when he limped off the field and didn't return.
The Riders finished the third with Durant's five-yard TD pass to Hughes with 21 seconds left that widened the gap 31-16.
Saskatchewan's two fourth-quarter TDs were scored off turnovers.
Pierce was intercepted by linebacker Jarrell Freeman, which led to Cates' three-yard TD run. McKenzie then picked off Pierce and he ran it in for a 42-yard major.
Pierce was replaced by Alex Brink with just over four minutes left in the game. Brink ended his team's miserable afternoon with a nine-yard TD pass to Edwards with 55 seconds left in the game.
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