Durant, Roughriders open up season at home against Argonauts

It wasn't the home opener the Toronto Argonauts were hoping for when they lost 42-20 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at new home BMO Field.

Now, the Argonauts look to spoil the Saskatchewan Roughriders' home opener when they meet up Thursday evening.

Quarterback Ricky Ray despite completing 26-of-35 for 282 yards and two touchdowns, never got comfortable in the pocket as he was sacked five times, fumbled the ball once and added one pick.

While Toronto's pass-catchers were up to the task, led by Kenny Shaw, who had 109 yards receiving, the ground game was ignored and struggled when called upon, finishing with one yard on the night.

The Roughriders hope their signal-caller Darian Durant has better luck than Ray in his return. Durant missed the entire 2015 season when he tore his Achilles tendon in the opening game last year.

Durant, entering his 11th season, will have a much different looking offence. Both Ryan Smith and Weston Dressler are in Winnipeg, while Chris Getzlaf signed with Edmonton in the offseason.

The Argonauts beat the Roughriders in both meetings last season. Thursday's game gets underway at 10 p.m. ET at Mosaic Stadium.