Brett Lauther’s third Labour Day Classic was also his first.
Lauther — the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ placekicker since 2018 — was a member of the team’s practice roster for parts of the 2015 and 2017 CFL seasons.
Both of those short stints fortuitously coincided with a September long-weekend visit by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who are to provide the opposition once again on Sunday (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
In the first instance, Lauther was added to the practice roster on Sept. 3, 2015 — a mere three days before Saskatchewan downed Winnipeg 37-19. He was released on Oct. 8 of that year.
Lauther’s second go-round with the Roughriders lasted from Aug. 29 to Sept. 12, 2017. During that brief time, he was able to watch from the sideline once more as Saskatchewan downed Winnipeg 38-24.
It wasn’t until Sept. 2, 2018 that Lauther made his first official appearance as a Roughrider in a Labour Day Classic. He was 5-for-5, hitting one field goal and four converts, as Saskatchewan won 31-23.
“It’s pretty crazy when you look back on it,” he reflects.
The situation in 2015 was most unconventional. After releasing Chris Milo early in the season, the Roughriders turned to 45-year-old Paul McCallum, who flew back and forth from his home in Vancouver to perform the placekicking duties on game days.
“It was cool to have Paul there to pick his brain a little bit,” Lauther says, appreciatively.
By then, he knew the view from the sideline at historic Mosaic Stadium.
On Nov. 24, 2013, Lauther stood alongside members of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as they faced the host Roughriders in the 101st Grey Cup game.
He had been selected by Hamilton in the seventh round (53rd overall) of the 2013 CFL Draft out of Halifax-based Saint Mary’s University.
During the 2013 regular season, Lauther appeared in his first four games of professional football. Ultimately, ex-Roughrider Luca Congi handled the placements for the Henry Burris-quarterbacked Tiger-Cats as they fell 45-23 to Saskatchewan.
“I remember those ‘Henry!’ chants and how loud the Rider Nation was,” Lauther recalls. “I was hoping someday that I would get a chance to kick for this team.
“Ten years later, it’s pretty surreal to be standing here and talking to you and thinking that it actually happened.
“Some of those memories from when I wasn’t playing, I tried to keep them in my head when I was practising and everything else, because one day I wanted to be the guy who’s out there trying to win it for this team.”
Lauther became that guy in 2018, after Tyler Crapigna was sidelined for the season by an injury to his right (kicking) leg.
Presented with a long-awaited opportunity, Lauther connected on 54 of 60 field-goal attempts in his first full season of active duty as a CFLer en route to being named a West Division All-Star.
Before becoming an All-Star, he was all over the place.
Lauther spent the entire 2014 season on Hamilton’s practice roster. With the ever-reliable Justin Medlock having secured the Tiger-Cats’ kicking job, Lauther declined the team’s offer of a contract for 2015.
Later that year, his 35-day stay in Saskatchewan was followed by a five-day stint with the Toronto Argonauts.
It was back to Saskatchewan for a look-see in 2017. Thirteen days after parting company with the Roughriders for the second time, he landed a practice-roster spot in Edmonton.
“Between ’15 and ’17, I went to six teams,” says Lauther, who hails from Truro, N.S. “It was seldom for more than a week or two, or for a workout sometimes.
“I was flying out one day and getting picked up by my dad at the airport the next.”
The third time turned out to be the charm for Lauther, who once again signed with Saskatchewan on March 19, 2018.
Since then, he has connected on 190 of 225 field-goal attempts — an accuracy rate of 84.4 per cent.
Taking into account everyone who has tried at least 100 field goals in green and white, Lauther sports the highest percentage in franchise history. And that is saying something.
He ranks ahead of Milo (79.1%; 110-for-139), Congi (79.0%; 166-for-210), Dave Ridgway (78.0%; 574-for-736) and McCallum (76.7%; 368-for-480), the latter two being Canadian Football Hall of Famers.
Of Lauther’s 190 three-pointers, one of the most rudimentary is also an easy choice when some of the Roughriders’ top Labour Day Classic moments are recounted by creaky historians such as yours truly.
On Sept. 1, 2019, Lauther’s 26-yarder provided Saskatchewan with a 19-17 walk-off victory over Winnipeg.
To punctuate the game-winner, Lauther and holder Jon Ryan sprinted the virtual length of the field before diving into Pil Country.
“It was a pretty short field goal, so I kind of had to put it through, or else I probably wouldn’t still be here,” recalls Lauther, who delivered after the offence moved the ball 87 yards in 11 plays after being backed up to the five-yard line.
“It was more the team that game, starting in our own end and driving the whole field after a penalty.
“A 26-yarder, I kind of had to put it through, so I get a lot more credit than I probably deserve for that game, but it’s something that I’ll never forget.
“It was actually the first chance I had to do a walk-off field goal, from high school to college or anything.”
All because he wouldn’t walk away from his dream of playing professional football, despite sundry setbacks.
Looking back on it now, it seems like he was almost destined to find a home in Saskatchewan, having visited Regina for one landmark Grey Cup game and two Labour Day Classics before even suiting up for the Roughriders in a game situation.
“When you think about it, I’ve seen a Sask Grey Cup that they’ve actually played in, along with a Labour Day game in the old stadium,” Lauther muses. “I remember thinking, ‘What is this? Is it like this every time these guys play?’
“As soon as I saw the 2013 Grey Cup, and then when I came back in 2015, I was like, ‘Man, I need to do everything to try to play here.’
“Honestly, every day it’s like a dream come true. I’m dead serious when I say that. It’s surreal that I get to be with these guys in the room.
“I don’t take anything for granted, because I was in and out of the league and bounced around.
“It’s not going to last forever, so I just appreciate it, along with all the support from the fans and everything. It’s the best.”
THE LABOUR DAY CLASSIC!
In this appraisal, the Roughriders/Blue Bombers matchup of Sept. 4, 1983 is highly unlikely to be topped when Labour Day Classics are ranked.
This is, of course, a subjective discussion. There is not a right or wrong answer.
Some people prefer steak. Others are partial to lobster. (Me? I’ll take wine gums.)
Two of the candidates for Best Labour Day Classic EVER are of a relatively recent vintage, when you consider that the Roughriders and Blue Bombers first collided on a September long weekend waaaaay back in 1939.
Sixteen years ago today, Kerry Joseph scored on a 27-yard quarterback draw with six seconds left in the fourth quarter to propel Saskatchewan to a 31-26 victory over Winnipeg.
That was Joseph’s signature play during a championship season — one in which he was also named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.
And then, as referenced and celebrated in the introductory item, there was the Pil Country pandemonium of four years ago.
As was the case in 2019, when Ryan accompanied Lauther on the beeline to Pil Country, the Roughriders’ punter was the principal player in the LDC thriller of 40 years ago.
Ridgway, the Roughriders’ placement specialist of the day, had been forced to leave the game with a concussion after a collision with Blue Bombers kick returner Nate Johnson.
So, naturally, it was left to the backup placekicker — punter Ken Clark — to attempt a go-ahead field goal with 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Clark, who had not attempted a three-pointer since 1976, proceeded to split the uprights from 41 yards away … into the wind!
The two-point lead held up as Saskatchewan won, 32-30.
Those are the nuts and bolts of the fantastic finish. Now for the rest of the story — the element of the tale that, in this view, vaults the 1983 LDC to uncontested best-ever status.
Leading up to Labour Day weekend, Clark had been away from the team at the bedside of his mother. Veronica Clark had passed away on a Friday in Toronto.
With the heaviest of hearts, Ken Clark flew back to Regina, landing in the Queen City only a few hours before the Roughriders squared off against the Blue Bombers on a Sunday.
“I knew that kick was going through,” Clark told me 10 years later. “I didn’t have any doubt. It was a special day. I had dedicated it to my mother.
“During the game, I felt that my mother was there for that amount of time — and gone as soon as the ball went through the uprights.”
In addition to kicking a most-improbable game-winning field goal against a heavily favoured opponent, Clark launched a 101-yard punt that was then the longest in franchise history.
Not long after that unforgettable game, Clark returned to Regina International Airport and flew back to Ontario for his mother’s funeral.
Sadly, Ken Clark — always a friendly and funny guy — passed away on Aug. 8, 2021. He was 73 years old.
While paying tribute to Clark on the pages of the Regina Leader-Post, I documented his lengthy list of accomplishments and accolades.
For example, he was a finalist in 1973 for the Hec Crighton Trophy, which is presented on an annual basis to the premier player in Canadian university football.
That very same year, Clark was the MVP and co-captain of a Vanier Cup winner — the Saint Mary’s Huskies.
In 2009, Clark was inducted into the Saint Mary’s Sport Hall of Fame.
One day, I am certain, he will be joined in that star-studded shrine by Brett Lauther.
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Ann Johnson, Anne Fuzesy, Tom Fuzesy, Bill Johnson, Lucas Barrett, Kim Bossenberry, Wanda Bossenberry, Drew Remenda, Frankie Hickson, Jake Wieneke, Deion Melvin, Kosi Onyeka, Sydney Matheson, Sam Berg, Darren Steinke, Kaia McKnight-Dyck, Amy Mohr, Theresa McKnight, Ryan Wheler, Emma Hill, Shannon Andreas, Addisen Nelson, Maureen MacLeod, Amber MacLeod, Heather Bury, Rhett Vavra, Owen Ricker, Darryl Ricker, Ethan Ricker, T.J. Brunson, Travis Stewart, Chris Colbow and Mark Rathwell.
