Get Set For The CFL Labour Day Classics

By Chris Lawton

The 112th Grey Cup is in the books and the Saskatchewan Roughriders have taken home the prize with a 25-17 win over the Montreal Alouettes. For Saskatchewan this is their fifth ever Grey Cup victory in the franchise’s 115-year history. Joining famous wins in 1966, 1989, 2007 & 2013. It is also the first time they have won a Grey Cup against Montreal, having previously lost to them in the big game in 2009 and 2010. Overall, the Riders are now 5-15 in Grey Cup appearances.

They got the win in Winnipeg on the field of their most heated rivals and that must have added yet another layer to their first Grey Cup win in over a decade.

After Saskatchewan’s Marcus Sayles picked off Davis Alexander and Montreal’s Kabion Ento oh- so-nearly picked off Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan were first on the board in the most Canadian way possible with a punt rouge for a single.

After a deep punt by Joseph Zema for the Als, Saskatchewan had to punt it away and Montreal made the most of their great field position. Alexander hit Tyson Philpot in stride for a 37-yard pass and then hit him for another 15 yards to put the ball on the one. Former Saskatchewan backup, QB Shea Patterson broke the plane of the goal to score the first touchdown of the night and give Montreal a 7-1 lead late in the first quarter.

The Roughriders responded with a long drive that was capped off by their own short yardage QB Tommy Stevens taking it in from the one for an 8-7 lead. Having then held the Als to a punt the Rider Offence went back to work on another accomplished drive, highlighted by Harris hitting a wide-open Ouellette in the flat for a 32-yard gain. Before finishing it all off with Ouellette breaking tackles on a 5-yard scoring run. That put them up 15-7 and although Montreal got some movement that was ended when Rolan Milligan Jr came up with an interception to end the half.

Saskatchewan flew out of the blocks for the second half as ‘Super’ Mario Anderson got a great return to give them fine field position in Montreal’s’ half of the field. Another quick first down pass was followed by Harris finding Tommy Nield on a 34-yard pass to put the ball on the one. Queue Tommy Stevens diving in for his second score of the game. Another Alexander interception led to three more Rider points as Brett Lauther hit from 48 yards out to put Saskatchewan ahead 25-7 in the third.

It would have been hard to imagine that Saskatchewan had finished scoring at this point, but Lauther missed another field goal attempt and that aside, the Als finally got on a roll. Some quick strikes from Alexander put the ball on the Saskatchewan 11-yard line and from there Stevie Scott III ran it in to make it 25-14.

After that the Alouettes D finally forced a 2 and out and with the momentum stormed down the field. A roughing the passer penalty against Saskatchewan moved the ball once again to the 11-yard line. This time though the Rider D held firm and Montreal had to settle for 3 points to make it 25-17 and stay within one score.

Harris led the team into scoring position only for Lauther to sail his kick wide. No doubt there were some nervous Rider fans at this point wondering if this was going to give Montreal the chance to finish the comeback. Especially as Alexander hit Snead with a pass that went for 51 yards to the Saskatchewan 24-yard line. Scott III added another first down on the ground after that, but Shea Patterson fumbled near the goal-line and Saskatchewan preserved their lead.

Montreal had one last chance to go for the tie with a little over a minute left in the game. They managed a couple of first downs but had to throw it deep at the end and as that fell incomplete the men in green and white could start celebrating.

Trevor Harris got the proverbial monkey of his back, winning his first Grey Cup as a starting QB (the one thing missing from his impressive CFL CV) with a high completion percentage performance going 23 of 27 for 302 yards and taking the game’s MVP award. Harris had two Grey Cup wins already, but as a backup, in 2012 with the Toronto Argonauts and 2016 with the Ottawa Redblacks. He lost his one previous start in a Grey Cup to the Calgary Stampeders in 2018. He threw three interceptions in that game but protected the ball better in this one and got that elusive win. It would be the fairytale ending to his career, although it appears the Saskatchewan brass are hoping that  doesn’t happen just yet.

Samuel Emilus was named the Most Valuable Canadian in the game, as he caught 10 passes for 108 yards. Including an impressive 31-yard sideline toe-tapper mid-way through the fourth quarter.

AJ Ouellette finished he game with 17 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well as 1 catch for 32 yards. Meanwhile short yardage specialist QB Tommy Stevens did exactly what he was brought in to do with 4 caries for 10 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stevens is arguably the best exponent of short yardage pickups in the CFL right now and he was invaluable her for the Roughriders in that capacity.

Jameer Thurman covered a lot of ground for the Riders with 11 tackles and Tevaughn Campbell had 3 tackles, 1 interception and a forced fumble in the game.

Riders Head Coach Corey Mace has gone 21-14-1 in his first two regular seasons at the helm and will now be looking to do something no other Saskatchewan sideline boss has ever done and lead the Riders to a second title.

Key Moments

Like all games there were key moments that either added momentum or took it away for the teams here. In a championship that is always accentuated and for me the following were the moments that eventually swung this game the way of the Riders.

The coin toss and deferral: Saskatchewan won the coin toss and deferred. Leading at the half they came out to a great return by Mario Alford, marched down the field and scored to extend their lead. That bit of strategy from Corey Mace worked to perfection.

Kabian Ento misses a potential pick-six: Early in the game Trevor Harris checked down and was throwing a sideways pressure relieving pass to running back AJ Ouellete. Ento was coming across and had a clear shot at the ball. If he caught it he had a clear field in front of him and a real chance at taking it all the way for a score. That would have set a completely different tone early on. Instead, Harris grew into the game, got in rhythm and set a new championship game record for completion percentage.  Harris, who is usually fast to release the ball, was forced into going through his reads a few times in this one, but this was the only chance he gave for Montreal to make something of it and Ento missed it.

The Goal-Line stand that wasn’t: At the beginning of the second quarter of the game it looked like the Als had held the Riders out on third and 2 as Kabion Ento knocked down a pass at the goal line. However, Saskatchewan successfully challenged for pass interference and got it overturned going on to score. It was a huge momentum swing at a key moment.   

Brett Lauther’s Field Goal: Brett Lauther has had an up and down season with Saskatchewan to say the least in 2025. 39 of 54 on field goals is not nearly accurate enough in the modern game and Sask’ fans were nervous he would cost them at a key time. He missed a field goal in this game late on that could have made Montreal’s comeback all but impossible. However, he also hit one from 48-yards out to make the score 25-7. That three-score cushion was just enough for the Riders to withstand the Als frantic late comeback attempt.

The Goal-line stand: In the fourth quarter, holding the lead but having given up a 51-yard chunk play from Davis Alexander to Tyler Snead, The Riders D found themselves backed against their own goal-line. Shea Patterson had opened the scoring in a similar scenario for the Als. They were rolling too having held the Riders scoreless and with a chance to go for a touchdown and two pointer to tie it with all the momentum. Instead, Tevaughn Campbell knocked a blocker back into Patterson and the ball popped out and Marcus Sayles dropped on it to preserve the eight-point cushion.  

The Turnovers: The Roughriders won the turnover battle 4-0, picking off Davis Alexander three times and knocking the ball out of Patterson’s hands on the goal-line stand. Alexander had been unbeaten as a starter for Montreal going into this one but was carrying a leg injury. The Als played that down but noticeably in the first half they kept Alexander in the pocket and by halftime he was 9 of 14 for 97 yards with zero majors and two picks. He was more like his usual self in the second half but by then the Riders had a cushion.

So, there we have it. Another CFL season in the books. We have seen ups and downs, incredible performances and the season ending the league’s biggest fan-base dreamt of from the second after Toronto won it all last year. All eyes will turn to the off-field news now, like what impact will the coming rule changes have? What do the negotiation lists look like? The new schedule, the Draft and more.

Nothing beats the games though. When the teams are lining up once again and CFL fans around the globe are cheering on their favourites.

I can already hear the cry – Is it June yet?

Grey Cup MVP: Trevor Harris QB, Saskatchewan Roughriders: 23 of 27 for 302 yards.

Grey Cup MOC: Samuel Emilus WR, Saskatchewan Roughriders: 10 catches on 10 targets for 108 yards.

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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