Two late additions to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ roster this season came up huge on Friday night.

Trent Richardson and Chad Owens both topped 100 yards and found the end zone for the Riders in their 37-12 win over Darian Durant and the Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium.

The win improved the Riders’ record to 10-7 on the year.

“This has been a long time coming, this feels real good,” said Richardson after posting 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win.  “I’ve got to give all the thanks to God first and my offensive line and the offensive play-calling, (Offensive Coordinator Mike McAdoo) did a great job.  Chris Jones believed in me.”

Richardson allowed the Riders to grind out the victory after they jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.  Playing in his fourth CFL game, Richardson looked like he found a rhythm for the first time as he pounded forward for 20 carries during the game.

The former NFL top pick is starting to figure out the Canadian game and is turning into a key weapon for Saskatchewan late in the season.

“Just getting on the field has allowed me get to know the game even more,” said Richardson.  “Whatever it comes down to, I play, I want to do whatever, I just want to play football.”

Riders head coach Chris Jones said this was the Richardson that they hoped to see when they signed him just over a month ago, “Once he gets his shoulder pads turned north-and-south and doesn’t dance in the hole, he’s tough to do business with,” he said.

“He’s a great big strong guy and they don’t look forward to getting up in the morning and tackling a guy that big.”

Owens was signed during the offseason by the Riders, but has provided a big boost for Saskatchewan’s offence since coming off the injured list last week.

Owens posted a game-high nine catches for 114 yards receiving with a first quarter touchdown.  He added three carries for 22 yards early in the game as the Riders used Owens to keep Montreal’s defence off balance.

After missing the first 15 games of the season, Owens said he’s happy to be back on the field and contributing for the Riders.

“When something is taken from you, the next opportunity that you get to do it, you do it as if it’s your last time ever doing it and every play, that’s my mentality,” said Owens.

In two games this season, the former league MOP has racked up 14 catches for 192 yards and a touchdown.  Owens said he never doubted that he would be able to get back and help the Riders.

“Overcoming adversity is nothing new for me, you look back at my whole career, that’s what I’ve had to face and had to do, so this is just another chapter of the story,” he said.

The Riders used all three of their quarterbacks in the win with Kevin Glenn helping the team jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter before being replaced by Brandon Bridge.

Glenn came back to start the third quarter and hit Caleb Holley for a 49-yard touchdown on his second pass of the quarter.  He finished the game 7-of-14 for 104 yards with two touchdown passes.

Bridge was 10-of-15 for 124 yards with an interception, while Vernon Adams finished the game, but didn’t attempt a pass, rushing for 14 yards on two carries.

Jones said after the game that the plan was to use all three quarterbacks, “There was a lot of reasons, build depth for the future, build depth for the playoffs,” he said.

The Riders got out to the early lead and were able to hold off the Alouettes, who lost for a tenth straight game.

“We didn’t play very well in the first half and we did some things in the second half that didn’t just shut the door, we played good enough to win the game, but we’re still learning to win and shut the door on people,” said Jones.

Durant left the game in the second quarter with a lower body injury and didn’t return, making things tough on Montreal’s offence as they looked to come from behind.

Durant went 9-for-20 with 126 yards passing and one interception.  Matt Shiltz came in after the injury and went 5-of-13 for 47 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Samuel Giguere in the third quarter.

The Riders had a chance to go up big late in the first half when Bridge drove the offence into scoring territory. He found receiver Bakari Grant across the middle, the veteran receiver showboated before the goal line and had the ball knocked out for a fumble at the one-yard line.

“Nobody’s more disappointed in himself than Bakari,” said Jones.  “It left him a few yards short of 1,000 yards and he could have done it with a touchdown.  He’s a pro and he’ll bounce back.”

The Riders remain in the hunt for third place in the West Division.  A win this Saturday against Edmonton and a Winnipeg win on Friday night in Calgary would allow the Riders to move ahead of the Eskimos.

Winnipeg also locks up second place in the West with a win in Week 20.  Whichever team finishes fourth in the West will crossover to the East Division.