Late Drama Sends a Packed Mosaic Stadium Home Happy
Saskatchewan needed an extra period to finish off its oldest rival, but the Roughriders rose to the moment and beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32-26 in a Labour Day Classic that lived up to the setting at Mosaic Stadium.
The crowd of 34,352 set a venue record and watched Winnipeg force overtime in the final seconds. Zach Collaros found Dorian Singer on a five-yard touchdown pass as regulation expired, tying the game with no time left.
Saskatchewan answered first after the break. Tommy Stevens powered in from one yard out for his third touchdown of the day and his 15th rushing score of the season, though the two-point try failed and left Winnipeg with one more chance.
The Roughriders defense ended that chance quickly. On third-and-six from the Saskatchewan 31, Winnipeg could not move the chains, and Jameer Thurman finished the play by bringing down the receiver behind the line to seal the win.
Trevor Harris handled most of the passing work for Saskatchewan, going 23 of 33 for 362 yards and one touchdown. He said the offense needed time to settle in before finding a better rhythm.
“It’s obviously huge. It’s important for us to get these wins at this point in the year,” Harris said. “We’re down some prominent guys, and so the fact that we’re able to kind of grind through it and get these wins is huge for us. We didn’t start out tremendous offensively but thought we really found a rhythm in the middle of the second quarter on.”
Injuries Opened the Door for New Playmakers
With Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker unavailable, Dhel Duncan-Busby stepped into a much larger role and made it count. The third-year receiver caught 10 passes for 140 yards, both career highs, and several of his grabs came on key downs in the fourth quarter. He now has 35 catches for 504 yards this season.
“I just knew that I had to be patient. Obviously, we have a great receiving corps. We’ve got a lot of different guys and, unfortunately, with all the injuries and stuff like that, people have had to step up, and I’m just glad that today was my time,” Duncan-Busby said.
The offense’s output gave Saskatchewan’s defense room to finish the job. First-time starting linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr. said the unit took its cue from the scoring drives in front of it.
“The offence set the tone. The offence did that. The offence got us going. They got in the end zone and put points on the board. Only thing we had to do is finish,” Miller said.
Miller joined Derick Roberson and Seyi Oladipo in recording sacks, and the group held Winnipeg star back Brady Oliveira to just 28 rushing yards on nine carries. Oliveira had entered the game with 956 rushing yards.
Harris Climbs the League Record Book
Harris also moved up the all-time CFL passing list during the victory. His 72-yard completion to Daniel Wiebe in the second quarter pushed him ahead of Doug Flutie and into 10th place on the league’s career passing yardage chart. Harris began the night 127 yards shy of Flutie’s total of 41,355.
Harris said the milestone felt especially meaningful because of the people around him.
“That’s honestly poetic because it’s the turtle on a fence post sort of a situation where if you see a turtle on a fence post, he didn’t get there on his own. Somebody placed him there, and it’s exactly what this is for me,” Harris said. “I’ve had teammates that have done nothing but support me and love me, and coaches that have done nothing but teach me the game and I’m really grateful for the opportunities that presented themselves.”
He now has 41,590 career passing yards, leaving him behind Matt Dunigan’s 43,857 for ninth place. Anthony Calvillo still leads all CFL passers with 79,816 yards.
KeeSean Johnson also reached a personal benchmark. He caught four passes for 32 yards, topping 1,000 receiving yards for the second straight season. Through this year, he has 81 receptions for 1,022 yards, which trails his 2025 total of 86 catches for 1,159 yards.
Key Numbers From the Game
Collaros finished 27 of 40 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, with scoring throws to Kevens Clercius and Singer. Quali Conley added a receiving touchdown for Saskatchewan, while Roberson also produced a safety.
Sergio Castillo made all four of his field goal attempts for Winnipeg, and Alex Hale connected on only one of three tries for Saskatchewan. The teams will meet again on Saturday, September 12, in Winnipeg.
