ROBSERVATIONS: Big game today … two talented tailbacks … small world … cutting-edge players … non-cutting-edge humour
I remember waking up in a deluxe, plumbing-optional Toronto hotel room on the morning of Nov. 26, 1989 and being filled with excitement and dread.
It occurred to me at the outset of the day that an extreme emotion would dictate my (mis)behaviour by the time Nov. 27 dawned.
Ideally, I would be giddy over a Saskatchewan Roughriders victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 79th Grey Cup Game.
Alternatively, the 25-year-old version of myself — who had travelled to Toronto strictly as a fan — would be inconsolable and unapproachable until, say, age 28.
There wasn’t any prospect of a middle ground.
That thought reoccurred to me earlier this week as I pondered the looming CFL Western Semi-Final between the Roughriders and B.C. Lions (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium; tickets are available HERE).
If I feel personally invested from the standpoint of an observer, what is it like for one of the actual participants to wake up on game day during the playoffs?
“It’s maybe a little easier to wake up,” Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris said as his ninth CFL post-season start approached. “You don’t have the temptation to hit the Snooze button when it’s playoff time.
“At the same time, everybody’s like, ‘Playoff time. What do you do now?’ It’s still 12-on-12, right? There’s still three downs and still special teams.
“I think people who ramp up their intensity or start trying harder … you weren’t trying hard to begin with?
“It’s maybe a little more intense and a little more intent in focus but, shoot, it’s the same football and we’ll go out and tee it up this week.”
A business-as-usual approach is best, even at a time of year when a game the following weekend is not a certainty. Only a win can extend the season.
“I think sometimes people can have a tendency to overprepare or try harder,” Harris said. “You grip the bat tighter and you start to maybe have a little bit of nerves or whatever.
“To me, it’s just about trusting the preparation that I’ve done all year, trusting in our plan, and going out there with unwavering belief and not flinching.
“I feel like we’re building something special so, to me, it’s just about trusting the plan and going out there and playing some ball.”
That approach served him exceedingly well when the Ottawa REDBLACKS played host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2018 Eastern Final.
Harris passed for six touchdowns — the most ever by an individual in a CFL playoff game — as Ottawa secured a Grey Cup berth by winning 46-27.
“On the first play of the game, actually, I read the wrong side of the field,” Harris recounted with a laugh. “I was hot and didn’t throw hot. I threw it to the wrong part of the read on that side of the field and it was completed.
“I remember I took a hit for it and I was like, ‘I deserved that.’ But the pass was completed and I thought, ‘The fact that just happened, it’s going to be a good day.’
“It was just one of those days when it was happening for us and we got off on the right foot. That’s really what it’s about. It’s about momentum, belief, executing one play at a time and not getting too high or too low.”
What, I wondered, was it like to wake up on the morning of that game? Did intuition tell him that a record-breaking game was imminent?
“Like Baker Mayfield says, ‘I woke up feeling dangerous,’ ” Harris quipped. “I didn’t have that feeling, but I woke up excited about the plan.
“It’s the same feeling I have this week. I’m excited about our plan. I’m excited about who we’re playing and who we’re playing in front of.”
The West Division’s newly crowned All-Star quarterback is also excited to be playing, period, after missing the final 13 games of the 2023 campaign due to a tibial plateau fracture of his right knee.
“Last year around this time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to play again,” Harris said. “Here I am, healthy and ready to rock.”
CARRYING THE ROCK
The Roughriders’ depth chart, released Friday, includes two talented American tailbacks — A.J. Ouellette (who is listed as the starter) and Ryquell Armstead (designated American).
Having two ball-carriers of that calibre on the active roster at the same time does whet the appetite for tomorrow.
Now, how will they be deployed? Let’s wait and see.
You have to go back to 2014 to find a time when the Roughriders were sold on a 1A-1B concept with American tailbacks.
During the first half of that season, Will Ford and Anthony Allen alternated quite effectively. In fact, the rotation often extended to 1C when Messam, a Canadian, became part of the picture.
To the best of my recollection, the Roughriders last started two American tailback types in 1984, when Craig Ellis and Michael Washington both lined up in the backfield.
(Saskatchewan also had two American ball-carriers for the first half of the 1996 season, but one of them — Peter Tuipulotu — was a fullback.)
There once was a time, however, when two import running backs (or a U.S.-born tailback-fullback duo) was commonplace.
Cookie Gilchrist and Mike Hagler both had banner seasons in 1958.
Ed Buchanan and George Reed both exceeded 1,000 yards in 1964.
Over an illustrious career, Reed lined up beside an assortment of gifted American halfbacks — such as Buchanan, Bill Gray, Paul Dudley, Silas McKinnie, Bobby Thompson and Peter Watson.
The 1977 Roughriders used Molly McGee alongside fellow tailbacks Fred Williams, Tommy Reamon and, in his second stint with Saskatchewan, Thompson.
Diminutive Mike Strickland, who rushed for a league-high 1,306 yards in 1978, was complemented by McGee and, for a short time, Ron Jamerson.
The 1979 season brought us Strickland plus McGee and two future NFLers (Vickey Ray Anderson and Harlan Huckleby).
As the game changed, though, the Roughriders’ featured tailback was typically accompanied by a Canadian fullback.
Then came the one-back sets, which called for the fullback to be used situationally — even sporadically.
In terms of yards from scrimmage, the best post-Reed alternation was rolled out in 2004 and 2005, when Kenton Keith and Corey Holmes were a dominant duo.
They combined for 1,789 rushing yards in 2004 and 1,810 the following year, in addition to being gifted receivers out of the backfield.
And now, we are pleased to bring you Ouellette and Armstead.
Intriguing, indeed!
SMALL WORLD, CFL STYLE
The Roughriders and Lions first met in a CFL playoff game on Nov. 16, 1963, when the visitors won 19-7 at Taylor Field to open the best-of-three Western Semi-Final.
Saskatchewan’s lone touchdown was scored by Hugh Campbell, on an 18-yard pass from Ron Lancaster.
A mere 22,267 days later, we bring you the fast-approaching Roughriders-Lions Semi-Final matchup.
Lancaster’s grandson, Marc Mueller, is Saskatchewan’s offensive co-ordinator.
The Lions’ head coach, Rick Campbell, is Hugh’s son.
Ron Lancaster and Hugh Campbell were teammates of Alan Ford. His grandson, defensive back Jaxon Ford, is to suit up for Saskatchewan against the Lions today.
Honestly, what are the odds?
Now, figure out the likelihood of this happening — and, yes, it did happen!
On Oct. 29, 1978, Lancaster threw his final pass as a CFL quarterback. It was a 21-yarder to Brian O’Hara at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
Edmonton’s head coach at the time: Hugh Campbell, who had coached O’Hara at Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash.
Small world, this football universe.
SAYLES PITCH
The Roughriders signed cornerback Marcus Sayles on June 4 — only two days after he was surprisingly released by B.C.
He was named to the All-CFL Divisional team on Wednesday, leading up to a home playoff game against his previous team.
“I’ve been thinking about this all season,” Sayles said on Friday. “For me to be playing the team that actually let me go, it’s a little bit more fire for me.
“It just feels good for us to be chasing a championship. That’s our end goal — to be Grey Cup champions this year.”
Until Sayles arrived and tied a career high with four interceptions, the Roughriders have never fielded an all-star who had begun the season with another CFL team.
Three Roughriders players have been named all-stars after being released during the preceding off-season. This description fits linebackers Willie Pless (1999), Barrin Simpson (2010) and Solomon Elimimian (2019).
The following players received all-star distinction as a Roughrider after being released during the previous season or earlier: Ellis (1984), Messam (2015, sort of), Jack Gotta (1961), John Atamian (1968), Roger Goree (1976, 1977), Joey Walters (1981, 1982), Robert Mimbs (1996), Fred Perry (2006, 2007), Stevie Baggs (2009) and Brett Lauther (2018).
Messam spent most of the 2015 season with Saskatchewan before being traded to the Calgary Stampeders on Oct. 14 of that year. The Messam deal brought placekicker Tyler Crapigna to the Roughriders.
Crapigna hit 76 of his 88 field-goal attempts — an 86.4-per-cent accuracy rate — as a Roughrider before requiring surgery on his kicking leg. He was replaced by Lauther, who was well-travelled until becoming a mainstay with the Roughriders, in 2018.
(Thanks to Regina Leader-Post sports editor Taylor Shire for being the inspiration behind this item. He asked, so I looked it up.)
COAN … AND GROAN
Somehow, I am still employed after this one …
From the moment Jack Coan accepted his first snap in a CFL game — last Saturday against the visiting Stampeders — I sat in the Mosaic Stadium press box, salivating and ready to pounce.
Coan, for the uninitiated, started as a senior for the famed Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
One of the Roughriders’ starting receivers one week ago was Colton Hunchak.
So I kept waiting … and hoping … and annoying everybody else in the press box, until …
Finally, it happened. Oh, yes it did!
With barely a minute left in the game, Coan completed a pass to Hunchak for an 11-yard advance, whereupon I inflicted this tweet (or X) upon the flock of followers:
“Jack Coan, from Notre Dame, to Colton Hunchak for a completion. Ready for this one? HUNCHAK FROM NOTRE DAME!”
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Tom Harris, Suzanne Harris, Ron MacLean (Regina-born University of Alberta cross-country runner), Petra Mace, A.J. Allen, Marquay McDaniel, Harry Giesbrecht, Murray Mandryk, Gord Pritchard, Benny Walchuk, Hugh Campbell, Brian O’Hara, Mike O’Donnell, Trevor Harris, Jack Coan, Philip Blake, Colton Hunchak, Jermarcus Hardrick, Sam Maciag, Tony Schlotter, Nicole Schlotter, Cameron Schlotter, Parker Schlotter and anyone who survived the Hunchak/Notre Dame tweet.
