The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers have had many a close battle in the Labour Day Classic over the years, but the 61st version of the contest was something else indeed.
The Bombers scored the game-tying touchdown on the final play of regulation, but Riders quarterback Tommy Stevens scored his third major of the game in overtime to secure a 32-26 Saskatchewan victory in front of the largest crowd in Mosaic Stadium history.
“It's just been what it's been for a long time. Whenever these two teams play, we battle at it,” said Roughriders coach Corey Mace on the Rider Broadcast Network postgame show. “I thought we had all the momentum and then they scored with literally zeros on the clock to push us into the fifth quarter. Then we pieced it all together. That’s going to be crucial for us going forward as a football team.”
Both defences came to play early, with each team managing only a single touchdown in the first half as Winnipeg took a 13-12 lead into the break. The Bombers extended their lead to 16-13 heading into the fourth quarter, but that’s when Saskatchewan got things rolling — with Dhel Duncan-Busby especially coming up big.
A 22-yard pass to Duncan-Busby set up Stevens’ first touchdown of the game with 11:22 remaining in the game. He added 32- and 26-yard catches on Saskatchewan’s final drive of regulation, leading to Stevens' second major just before the three-minute warning.
Duncan-Busby caught 10 of the 11 passes thrown his way for 148 yards, his best game of the season. That drew praise from quarterback Trevor Harris, who threw for 362 yards on the night.
“It was awesome to have Dhel step up tonight in a big way, but we're going to make sure we stay on him.” Harris said. “This isn't the ceiling for him. He's just got to keep growing and developing.”
Harris remains impressed with what he’s seen from the injury-riddled receiving corps.
“The fact that we've got two of our three big guns down and we're able to kind of scrap and claw to these wins, it's incredible that these guys are stepping up and doing what they do,” he said. “It seems to be a different guy every week, you just never know. But each and every guy has the opportunity to do that.”
It was also another milestone night for the Riders veteran pivot, as he moved into 10th place all time in career passing yardage, passing the legendary Doug Flutie in the process.
“This is an incredible, incredible, incredible job,” Mace said. “We're talking the top 10 all time, surpassing obviously a legend in this league. I've been pounding on the table here for three years now that if this man doesn't have a freaking bust somewhere (in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame) whenever he chooses his career is over then I quit coaching football “
The Riders looked to have things in hand after their second touchdown of the final quarter. But Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros got the ball back with 39 seconds remaining and put together a stellar, penalty-aided drive that ended on the final play of regulation with a Dorian Singer touchdown.
Overtime saw KeeSean Johnson come up with a 13-yard catch to set the Riders up first and goal, and Stevens scored his third touchdown of the game to give Saskatchewan the lead.
The Riders defence went to work from there, with Jameer Thurman coming up with a big tackle on third down to secure the win.
It was a solid effort in general by the Saskatchewan defence, as they held Winnipeg to a total of 307 yards offence, including only 46 on the ground.
“You wait for these moments, especially when you've been in this program and you've been with these great linebackers,” said Riders linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr., who replaced Josh Woods at weakside linebacker. “Being behind those guys, seeing how they play and prepare for the game, you get all different types of flavours. It's nothing for me to be ready for my opportunity. I’m just grateful to be able to come out and play my game.”
Daniel Wiebe finished with 90 yards receiving, including a 72-yard catch in the second quarter. The Riders had 101 yards on the ground, led by Quali Conley with 14 carries for 59 yards. Conley also had his first receiving touchdown of his CFL career for Saskatchewan’s lone points of the second quarter.
Collaros finished with 279 yards passing, Brady Oliviera had 28 yards rushing, and Tim White picked up 63 yards receiving to lead Winnipeg.
The two teams will now turn their attention to the rematch in Winnipeg next weekend, which promises to be another intense contest.
“We have to make sure that we don't take this win for granted,” Miller said. “And of course we know we've got to focus on the next week, but, most of all, we'll treat this like any other game. To us, this is just another game that we have to have to go dominate and come out with a victory.”
