It was a game of firsts.

Hergy Mayala caught his first career TD in the first half, hauling in an eight-yard strike from Bo Levi Mitchell.

He added another for good measure in the second half.

Earlier in the tilt,defensive back Jamari Gilbert grabbed a muffed punt at a full gallop at the 28-yard line and ran it in for his first career touchdown.

That all helped the Stampeders to a 30-28 victory over the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a crowd of 30,210 at McMahon Stadium.

The result led to the most important first of the night – the Red & White taking over the top spot in the CFL’s West Division from those Green Riders.

On a crisp night at McMahon Stadium, Mitchell went 23-of-29 passing for 298 yards, and two majors.

On the opening kickoff of the game, Marcus Thigpen fumbled the ball but then picked it up and got the edge, running for 38 yards before being pushed out of bounds.

After a pair of eight-yard rushes on their first two plays, Cody Fajardo unloaded a deep bomb for Shaq Evans, who was wide open after Tre Roberson fell while running with him in coverage.

Roberson tried to recover and catch Evans but took a knee after the play and stayed there for awhile before slowly walking off the field. He did not return.

Saskatchewan settled for a single point after a 57-yard punt from Jon Ryan.

However, the ball went off Evans fingertips as he tried to catch it at the one-year line on what looked like surefire TD.

The Stamps got three points on their opening drive, Rene Paredes booting a 47-yarder to get the homeside on the board.

Things went much worse for Thigpen on his next attempt at catching a punt, as he reached out and got a hand on a bouncing ball after a high, short kick from Rob Maver, Gilbert recovering for his major.

The Roughriders narrowed the gap after when Nick Marshall picked off a Mitchell pass that was intended for Richie Sindani at the Saskatchewan 48-yard line, legging it untouched 62 yards for the Pick 6.

The Stamps then picked up another three points thanks to a 45-yard field-goal by Paredes.

On the eight-play drive that led to that, Eric Rogers caught a 19-yard pass but appeared to fumble the ball as he was tackled, Micah Teitz picking up the ball and running it into Calgary territory. However, the play was reviewed by the CFL command centre and Rogers was ruled down by contact.

The Roughriders took their second lead of the game with less than four minutes to play in the half, when William Powell punched in a three-yard TD run to cap 15-play, 91-yard drive.

On Saskatchewan’s next drive after the go-ahead Mayala major, Royce Metchie picked off Fajardo giving the Stamps the ball at their own 35-yard line but they weren’t able to get any points out of it.

The Roughriders got another three points on their final drive of the half.

Mayala’s second TD of the night capped off a nine-play, 75-yard drive in the third quarter to put the Stamps up 27-18.

Brett Lauther looked to bring his team three points closer with a 48-yard kick with 48 second left in the third but clanged it off the upright.

Later at the midway point of the fourth quarter, he did nail a 42-yarder to make it 27-21.

Paredes answered back on the Stamps next possession with a 41-yard kick.

With 2:19 to play, the Riders made it interesting again, Fajardo hooking up with a wide-open Powell on a 34-yard toss.