WINNIPEG — Sam Emilus has dealt with this his ups and downs this year. Now the challenge of performing on the biggest stage awaits.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver has returned from two different injuries to play as well as he did when he posted more than 1,000 yards receiving in 2024. He is expected to be Saskatchewan’s ‘go-to guy’ in Sunday’s Grey Cup contest versus the Montreal Alouettes with leading receiver, KeeSean Johnson, ruled out due to injury.
“There’s been some ups and downs, especially for me, personally,” said Emilus, 28. “I was hurt early in the season (ankle), then being hurt again midseason (knee). It was a real challenging season, physically and mentally.”
The six-foot, 200-pound Montreal native still caught 37 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns in seven games.
“Going through the injuries he’s had this year and see him just keep pressing, keep pressing, and make good decisions about himself, and thinking about the team long term and sit with the coaches (to recuperate),” said Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris. “This guy’s a future hall-of-famer, man, and it’s an honour to suit up next to him.
“People don’t understand what he does — aside from what everybody seeing him catch passes and getting up field. He’s got some insane highlight reels — he’s got vice-grips for hands. But he blocks like an O-lineman, man. He’s an animal.”
Emilus, who led all pass catchers with nine catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns in Saskatchewan’s 24-21 victory over the B.C. Lions in the West Final, said the whole receiving corps has shared the wealth all year.
“Our receiver group is really unselfish and we all know that the ball’s gotta be shared,” he said. “The receiver room just wants to play good football and obviously show everyone what it can do.”
Emilus also credited Harris for the success he and his fellow pass catchers have achieved.
“He’s special,” he said. “People might think his age (39) is gonna slow him down but really, he always does something special, from his IQ or anything else. He puts the ball in the right place where it needs to be to make things happen.”
It will also be special to play against the Alouettes.
“It’s my hometown,” he said. “I grew up watching them when I was young. It’s the first Grey Cup I’m playing in, so obviously, that’s special. And I know what we’ve got to do in order to win this game.”
But it won’t be easy.
“It’s definitely going to be a clash,” Emilus said. “Both teams are playing great football right now. It’s the best team out of the East, it’s the best team out of the West. So, we’ll just have to lace them up and play a good game.”
The prospect of winning the Grey Cup on the home field of their hated rivals, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, adds to the intrigue.
“We know the rivalry between us and the Bombers and having the chance to win on their home turf is something that we have in mind, what we want to accomplish, and that’s definitely a motivation,” Emilus said.
While Emilus grew up in Montreal, Roughriders kick returner Mario Alford played for the Alouettes before they traded him to Saskatchewan in 2022 for a sixth-round pick in 2023.
But Alford tried to play down the revenge angle on the eve of the match.
“That ship’s been sailed,” he said. “But I’ve still got it in the back of my mind, if you know what I mean. So, they traded me away but whatever, I’m past that now. I just want to play to win.
“In a big game like this, it would be special to win, period. But against them, for sure. But no hard feelings. Just part of the business at the end of the day.”
Alford was limited 11 games due to injury (hip) this season, but still returned 44 punts for 476 yards (10.8-yard average) and 31 kickoff returns for 876 yards (28.3-yard average), including one 99-yard touchdown.
Alford, 34, has enjoyed a lot of success playing on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers turf, including one memorial one.
“I think it was the Banjo Bowl,” recalled the five-foot-eight, 177-pound Greenville, Ga., native. “I was sick, we were all sick with some kind of flu and I was sick as a dog that game. I came out here and ran one back and I was so sick that day.
“I always play well out here,” he said. “But we’re playing against Montreal. It’s a different team and it’s a big game, so they’re gonna come ready and we’re gonna come ready.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2025.
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press
