The Labour Day Classic lived up to its long-standing nickname when the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers met on Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.
Winnipeg registered a down-to-the-wire, 35-33 CFL victory.
With 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Trevor Harris ran for a one-yard touchdown to reduce Winnipeg’s lead to two points. However, the attempt at a game-tying two-point convert was unsuccessful.
Saskatchewan then recovered an onside kickoff nine yards shy of midfield.
Winnipeg was flagged for pass interference on first down, giving the Roughriders possession on the Winnipeg 52-yard line.
On the final play, Brett Lauther’s desperation attempt at a game-winning, 60-yard field goal was short.
“It’s disheartening not to get this one, for sure,” Harris said after the Roughriders’ winless streak reached six games.
Saskatchewan (5-6-1) is third in the West Division, behind two 6-6-0 teams — Winnipeg and the B.C. Lions. The Roughriders and Bombers are to meet again on Saturday at Princess Auto Stadium.
“This team believes that we’re going to win games,” Harris said. “Why? Is it our leadership? Is it our DNA? Is it who we are?
“But we believe. I know that’s going to be powerful thing as we finish this season.”
Harris completed 30 of 49 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns.
Four Roughriders receivers caught at least five passes — Johnson (eight receptions for 84 yards), Samuel Emilus (six for 72), Dohnte Meyers (five for 86) and Kian Schaffer-Baker (five for 79).
Johnson, Meyers and Shawn Bane Jr. each caught a TD pass.
Johnson has made all three of his CFL touchdown receptions over the last three games.
Playing in his fourth CFL game, Meyers reached the end zone for the first time as a pro.
“The win is the most important thing,” a dejected Meyers said. “Whoever gets in the box, we know we’ve got to make plays as a receiving room. It’s nice to be a part of that.
“But it’s on to Winnipeg next week.”
The objective is to recapture the winning formula that allowed Saskatchewan to boast records of 4-0 and 5-1 earlier this season.
The Roughriders have been outscored by just six points over their last four games (0-3-1) — all of which have been decided on the final play.
“Luck’s on your side sometimes and sometimes it’s not,” Head Coach Corey Mace said.
“There were multiple things tonight that I thought we could have done better — things that we’ve been preaching — and we didn’t. That puts us in some tough situations.
“We’ve got cats stepping up and doing whatever the heck they can for this team and I applaud the hell out of that. But the standard is the standard. I will never step off that.
“We’ve got to capitalize on our plays and our opportunities. There were some out there we didn’t capitalize on, but I can’t stress enough how proud I am of the boys and how they played the second half.”
The game was a nailbiter even though Winnipeg led 29-14 at halftime.
“We were up 14-7 and, from then until halftime, it was just a lull in the game,” Harris said. “We didn’t make a couple of plays on offence to stay on the field. They made plays and we made mistakes and they capitalized.”
Over the final 30 minutes, the Roughriders outscored Winnipeg 19-6 and enjoyed a 274-73 advantage in net offence, only to come up agonizingly short.
“That kind of feels like the story right now,” veteran lineman Micah Johnson lamented. “It is what it is. That’s how it shakes out sometimes.
“I felt like the guys fought hard. It just feels like it has been the same thing every week — one or two plays here and there.
“In the CFL, it’s not easy to win. You win by small margins. One or two plays here are the difference-maker. We’ve just got to find a way to be more detailed-out and understand that those small details matter and add up in the biggest moments.”
Injuries added up along the offensive line to the point where Johnson moved from defensive tackle to right guard for the final 1½ quarters.
“The fact that Micah was able to step up — and he played a bunch of plays, too — was fantastic,” Harris said.
CROWD COUNT
Sunday’s crowd of 33,861 was the 13th-largest for a regular-season game in Roughriders history.
The Roughriders also set an attendance record at 33,350-seat Mosaic Stadium, which opened in 2017.
Standing-room tickets were made available for Sunday’s game after all the seats were sold.
The Roughriders also set a franchise record for a game that was not played with temporary seats (for a Grey Cup Game) being part of the equation.
The previous non-temporary-seating record of 33,427 was set 10 times at historic Mosaic Stadium.
The presumably unbreakable record of 55,438 was set on Oct. 14, 1995, when the Roughriders defeated the Calgary Stampeders 25-20 at Taylor Field.
THREE FOR TREVOR
Harris registered his third three-touchdown-pass game as a member of the Roughriders.
There are now 155 games in which a Roughrider has thrown for at least three TDs.
Harris has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five of the six games he has played this season.
BRETT’S BOMB
Lauther’s 55-yard field goal was the second-longest by a Roughrider in a Labour Day Classic.
Dave Ridgway kicked a 60-yarder, which was then a CFL record, on Sept. 6, 1987.
Sunday’s kick was the 17th field goal of 50-plus yards by Lauther and the 17th three-pointer of 55-plus in Roughriders history.
SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
Wpg — TD Streveler 3 run (Castillo convert) 7:57
Collaros to Wilson for 45 yards was the big play
Sask — Bane Jr. 12 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 14:32
11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive
SECOND QUARTER
Sask — TD Meyers 18 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 2:47
Sayles intercepted Collaros on Bombers’ 41
Wpg — TD Demski 44 pass from Collaros (Castillo convert) 7:14
Demski was open deep to complete seven-play, 81-yard march
Wpg — Single Castillo 99 7:31
Alford fielded Castillo’s kickoff deep in the end zone and conceded a single
Wpg — TD Ni. Hallett 0 fumble return (Castillo convert)
Nick Hallett recovered a fumbled punt return by Alford in the end zone.
Winnipeg — TD Streveler 1 run (Castillo convert) 13:44
Williams was flagged for pass interference (32 yards) on the previous play
THIRD QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 55 3:14
Harris to Schaffer-Baker for 27 was a key gain
Sask — FG Lauther 25 10:08
Roughriders drove 59 yards in nine plays
Wpg — FG Castillo 52 13:30
Milligan Jr. stopped Streveler on second-and-five to force a field-goal attempt
Sask — TD Johnson 6 pass from Harris (Lauther convert) 7:16
Harris completed five passes for 70 yards on the TD drive
Wpg — FG Castillo 56 18:25
Tied for longest field goal by a Blue Bomber in a Labour Day Classic (also: Troy Westwood, Aug. 31, 1997)
Sask — TD Harris 1 run (two-point convert failed) 14:46
Jones broke up two-point convert attempt
LARGEST CROWDS IN ROUGHRIDERS HISTORY
55,438 — Calgary 20 at Saskatchewan 25, Oct. 14, 1995
44,910 — Winnipeg 25 at Saskatchewan 48, Sept. 1, 2013
44,710 — Hamilton 23 at Saskatchewan 45, Nov. 24, 2013 (Grey Cup)
43,613 — Calgary 22 at Saskatchewan 24, Oct. 13, 2003
40,637 — Montreal 21 at Saskatchewan 24, Aug. 17, 2013
40,320 — Winnipeg 36 at Saskatchewan 18, Aug. 31, 2003
39,373 — B.C. 24 at Saskatchewan 22, Sept. 22, 2013
37,372 — Hamilton 0 at Saskatchewan 37, July 21, 2013
36,703 — Toronto 31 at Saskatchewan 29, Sept. 15, 2013
35,579 — Edmonton 9 at Saskatchewan 14, Oct. 12, 2013
35,296 — Calgary 21 at Saskatchewan 36, July 5, 2013
34,956 — B.C. 14 at Saskatchewan 35, Oct. 19, 2013
33,861 — Winnipeg 35 at Saskatchewan 33, Sept. 1, 2024
