A picture says a thousand words, right!
Reader here, and I’m still riding high after the Saskatchewan Roughriders claimed their fifth Grey Cup championship, beating the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 last night in the 112th Grey Cup game, held at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
I don’t have cable at my house, or the TSN app, so I ended up grabbing some food, and making my way to the station, and watching the action on our big comfy couch in the staff lounge!
The Riders came out hot, with Marcus Sayles picking off Als’ QB Davis Alexander early, and the Green and White were off and running.
A.J. Ouellette was gaining big yardage on the ground, Trevor Harris was finding his receivers for big gains through the air, and short yardage QB Tommy Stevens punched in a couple of touchdowns from the one-yard-line.
A successful challenge for pass interference by Rider coach Corey Mace led to Stevens’ first TD in the second quarter, and Mario Alford’s big return on the second half kickoff, to kickstart the drive that led to Steven’s second score. And that TD loomed large, as the second half progressed, because the Alouettes started to draw closer.
And late in the fourth quarter, following a missed field goal attempt by Brett Lauther, the Als were driving, and had the ball deep in Rider territory, threatening to tie up the game.
BUT, that’s when the Rider defense came up HUGE to seal the deal.
Former Rider QB Shea Patterson was looking to gain a first down on 2nd and 2 at the Rider three-yard line, when Tevaughn Campbell forced a fumble, and Marcus Sayles recovered the ball in the endzone. Riders take over, and that pretty much sealed the deal.
Montreal did get one more crack at tying the game, but they couldn’t get it done… and victory was ours!
How great was it to see Trevor Harris, after all these years, finally get to hoist the Grey Cup for the first time as a starter? And to see Coach Mace earn his first GC as a coach?
Samuel Emilius had a huge game, racking up 10 catches for 108 yards, to capture Top Canadian honours, while Harris was named the game’s MVP after throwing for 302 yards in the win, while picking apart the Montreal secondary.
A.J. Ouellette had another big game on the ground, while Kian Schaeffer-Baker, Tommy Nield, and Dohnte Meyers all had big catches to help power the Rider offense.
On D, Marcus Sayles was a big factor, snagging the early interception, and making that massive fumble recovery, while Rolan Milligan Jr. and Campbell had the other INTs – the first time Davis Alexander has thrown that many picks in a CFL contest.
The Riders also dealt Alexander his first loss as a starter in the CFL, and what a perfect time to do it!
All in all, the Riders are such a close-knit team, with a fun cast of characters, and they were playing for each other and their province, and they did everyone proud!
Now, as far as the victory parade? That’ll be happening tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, as your Grey Cup Champion Roughriders will head up Regina’s Green Mile, with the parade getting underway at 2 p.m. at 13th Avenue, heading up Albert Street, to the Legislature, where a championship rally will be held.
You know there’ll be a huge crowd there!
And something else that is very cool? The Riders’ win sets the province up for a football championship trifecta.
On November 9th, the Saskatoon Hilltops won their 24th Canadian Junior Football League championship, beating the Okanagan Sun 21-18, in the Canadian Bowl in Saskatoon.
Then, of course the Riders got the job done in the Grey Cup last night, bringing the CFL championship back to the Land of Living Skies.
But, there’s one more championship game to be played.
This Saturday, at Mosaic Stadium, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies will square off against the Montreal Carabins (Montreal again?!?) in the Vanier Cup, to crown the Canadian University Football champ.
What a trifecta that would be! Go get ’em, Huskies!
In the meantime, let’s savour the Riders’ triumph. And who knows… maybe if they can keep the band together, they can make another run in 2026!
Dare to dream!
In the meantime, I think only one song will suffice today…
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