“We really did something together”: Celebrating 10th anniversary of Roughriders’ home-field Grey Cup win
Precisely 10 years later, it feels like 10 minutes have elapsed since the Saskatchewan Roughriders engineered their greatest of all home-field victories.
A 45-23 conquest of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats produced the Roughriders’ fourth championship season, which concluded at historic Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 24, 2013.
Still vivid is the iconic image of quarterback Darian Durant lifting the coveted trophy over his head as green and white confetti flew on a Sunday evening.
“It was the best moment of my career, by far,” Durant says.
“It was just a relief, honestly. I took a lot of criticism, as we all know, and I began questioning myself a little bit, wondering if it was even in the cards for me to be a Grey Cup champion.
“Finally being able to hoist the trophy, it was the best feeling in the world.”
Durant had also quarterbacked the Green and White in the 2009 and 2010 Grey Cup Games, both of which went down to the wire before the Montreal Alouettes prevailed.
There was more heartbreak in 2012, when the Roughriders lost 36-30 to the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division semi-final.
Saskatchewan had assumed a 30-29 lead after Durant threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day — a 24-yarder to Greg Carr — with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
Calgary quickly countered with a 68-yard, game-winning touchdown pass from Drew Tate to Romby Bryant, who crossed the goal line at McMahon Stadium with 20 seconds left.
The Roughriders made amends, and then some, a year later when they won 35-13 in Calgary to secure a berth in the 2013 Grey Cup Game.
The arch-rival Stampeders were also on the losing side when Saskatchewan had advanced to its previous two league finals.
“I look at 2009 and 2010, as much as I remember the championship games, I also remember those Calgary games,” says Rob Bagg, a receiver for the Roughriders from 2008 to 2017.
“Calgary had our number for a few games during the regular season, but we felt like the group of guys that we had and the toughness that we had was going to be our edge in the bigger-moment games.
“I think history showed that was true. We just found a way to make plays when they needed to be made.”
That was certainly the storyline on Nov. 10, 2013, when the visiting B.C. Lions led Saskatchewan 25-16 after three quarters in the West semi-final.
Saskatchewan proceeded to score all 13 fourth-quarter points en route to a 29-25 victory.
Over the final 15 minutes, Durant rushed for 76 of his game-high 97 yards in addition to throwing a touchdown pass — his second of the day to Weston Dressler.
Durant followed up a week later by completing 24 of 30 passes for 280 yards in the West final. He threw TD passes to Bagg, Dressler and Chris Getzlaf to help Saskatchewan assume a 22-6 lead by halftime.
The Roughriders had finished second in the West with an 11-7 record, but nonetheless dominated the 14-4 Stampeders on their own turf.
Saskatchewan therefore earned the right to play in the third and final Grey Cup Game that was held at old Taylor Field, which was demolished in 2017.
“A lady came up to me and said, ‘Do you understand that there will never be a Grey Cup played in that stadium again?’ ” Kory Sheets remembers. “It made me sit back and think, ‘Wait a minute … that’s crazy.’ ”
That description could also apply to the stats Sheets amassed in 2013.
He rushed for 1,598 yards — the second-best total in franchise history — despite missing three regular-season games and most of a fourth.
After slicing through the Stampeders for 177 yards in the West final, Sheets improved upon that already impressive total with a championship at stake.
He rushed for a Grey Cup-record 197 yards and scored two touchdowns to help Saskatchewan win by a 22-point margin for the second week in succession.
Sheets could have eclipsed 200 yards for what would have been the only time in his professional career had he not been removed from the game in the latter stages once the outcome was no longer in doubt.
He was replaced by former Thom Trojans and Regina Rams running back Neal Hughes, who was then completing his 10th season with the Roughriders.
“That moment made me understand why it was so important for Hughsie to get a few carries at the end of the game,” Sheets says.
“He grew up watching the games in that stadium and wanting to play on the team and wanting to win the Grey Cup. Then we did it and he actually got carries — and, shoot, they were great carries!”
Those three robust rushes produced 32 yards, including a gain of 16, as the Roughriders exhausted most of the time that remained on the clock.
“We all came together at the right time to do the next to impossible — winning the Grey Cup at home,” Hughes reflects.
“It doesn’t happen very often in professional sports that you get to win a championship at home. To be a part of that team was a dream come true for me, being a Regina boy.”
The game ended, appropriately enough, with Durant kneeling down. An extended, historic celebration ensued.
“After the game, we had more than 40,000 people there, and nobody left their seats,” placekicker Chris Milo says. “It was amazing. It was really one of the nights that we’ll never forget.”
It was one of those events that still resonates with everyone who was there.
“It was a special moment,” Sheets concludes. “It was great and something you can’t change.
“I still think about it today and go, ‘Wow! We really did something together.’ ”
