Riders quarterback Tino Sunseri winds up to throw during the third quarter against Calgary on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. (Photo: Sask Roughriders)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders weren't interested in moral victories after Friday night's 31-24 loss to the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium.

The fact that the green and white were even that close could be considered a victory after they fell behind 24-0 late in the third quarter, but the team only saw it as a loss, their second straight in a tight West Division playoff race.

“We did some good things, I'm very encouraged by it, I did see some guys step up to the plate and do something, but there's somethings that we need to work on,” said head coach Corey Chamblin after the loss. “I'm encouraged that there's a chance we can get it going in the right direction.”

When Drew Tate ran in from 14 yards out with 4:23 to go in the third quarter, that put the Calgary Stampeders up 24-0 and meant that the Riders had been outscored 48-0 over the course of a game and three quarters.

After going 102:30 without a point, the Riders found some momentum late in the third and started the comeback. They would score 24 straight points of their own in the matter of nine minutes to tie the game at 24-24 with 8:53 to go.

However, they couldn't finish off the comeback.

With four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Riders had third-and-one from the Calgary 51 and decided to punt. That ended up being costly as Calgary drove down the field and scored on a one-yard run by Tate to give them the lead and moments later, the win.

“I'm still kicking myself right now about that, we should have went for it on third-and-one,” said Chamblin. “We've got to have confidence that we can get that yard. Out of everything out of that whole game, that's my biggest regret right there.”

Tino Sunseri orchestrated the comeback for the Riders as he relieved a struggling Seth Doege in the second quarter. Doege, who was making his first professional start, went 3-of-9 for 28 yards with three interceptions before being lifted.

Sunseri came in and looked sharp, going 16-of-19 for 289 yards and a touchdown. He also ran four times for 21 yards and a score.

“We fought and whenever you fight, it's hard,” said Sunseri on coming up short. “This one stings, but we have to make sure that tomorrow is a new day and get the most out of this game with the way that we prepare for this next upcoming week.”

Running back Jerome Messam had the other Riders' touchdown, scoring on a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

The Riders' defence held strong throughout much of the game. Running back Jon Cornish had 11 carries for 74 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with a leg injury.

The Stampeders built up a 9-0 lead at halftime, but left many points on the table with just seven points coming off of the three interceptions thrown by Doege.

“We definitely came back and played better in the second half, but it's tough at this point in the year when you've got a big game like this to take too many positives,” said defensive end Ricky Foley. “This really sucks right now. I'm proud of the guys on offence for coming back and battling back, but we've got to hold them on that last drive on defence.”

Dan DePalma had a big game for the Riders, finishing with three catches for 83 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown in the third quarter that sparked the Riders' comeback.

The Riders set a CFL record by converting three two-point conversions on their three second half touchdowns, which allowed them to tie the game at 24-24.

Despite the loss, the Riders will try to build off this game with a trip to Montreal on tap next week and a few days off before returning to practice on Tuesday.

“We're just going to keep on growing as a team,” said Sunseri. “It stings to lose two straight, but we understand that tomorrow is a new day, tomorrow is a day that we're going to grab and we're going to move forward and take everything we can from this tape and apply it to next week.”

GAME NOTES... The Maxtron video board at Mosaic Stadium caught fire following the pre-game introductions. The Regina Fire Department was called to the scene, but the fire didn't cause a delay in the game. The scoreboard went black for a short time during the first quarter.