The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the 112th Grey Cup champions — but in perhaps fitting fashion, they sure didn’t make it easy on themselves.
Through just about three quarters, it felt like the Riders were in the driver’s seat only to have their offence once again get stuck in neutral, allowing the Alouettes to hang around and scratch and claw their way back into the game.
As they’ve done time and time again this season, they found a way to hang on for the 25-17 win over the Montreal Alouettes and, for the fifth time in team history, a new banner will hang at Mosaic Stadium.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the dumb of the Riders’ Grey Cup victory at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
The Good
When the lights shined the brightest, the Saskatchewan Roughriders had perhaps their best performance of the season.
Outside of the first few minutes, the Riders saved their best for the biggest game of the year. Trevor Harris was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after throwing for 302 yards. Though he didn’t find the end zone, Harris was efficient and kept the ball moving downfield setting up running back A.J. Ouellette and short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens for all three of his team’s touchdowns. Ouellette capped off his bounce back season with 83 yards on 17 carries.
After missing much of the season due to injury, it was Canadian receiver Samel Emilus who had the biggest night of all, hauling in 10 catches (two shy of tying a Grey Cup record) for 108 yards, including a circus 31-yard catch along the sideline in the later stages of the game. Without their leading receiver KeeSean Johnson, the Riders needed someone else to step up and this week it was Emilus who led the charge.
The defence did its job, too, making life miserable enough for Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander, who once again re-aggravated his hamstring injury that has been an issue for him much of the season. He threw three interceptions but it was defensive back Tevaughn Campbell who made the play that may have saved Saskatchewan’s season when he forced a late fumble from Alouettes’ short-yardage quarterback Shea Patterson at the one-yard line, giving the Riders the ball back at their own 20.
It was a total team effort from the Green and White in Winnipeg and that’s why they’re headed home with the trophy.
The Bad
When I first came up with this format for my column a few years ago, there was one flaw that I didn’t consider: how do I realistically write about things that don’t go well in a Grey Cup victory? Or, for that matter, the good in a Grey Cup loss?
Could I write about how the team allowed the Alouettes to hang around, making what looked like a sure thing far more interesting than it needed to be? Sure.
Could I write about how Trevor Harris got away with a potential game-changing interception? Was the offence a little slow out of the gate?
Or perhaps that outside of his interception and forced fumble, it was also a rough night for defensive back Tevaughn Campbell at times?
Brett Lauther, the team’s kicker, also missed a field goal that would have iced the game far earlier.
These are all things we could talk about.
I could probably even talk about how I think Ouellette should have been named the game’s MVP instead of Trevor Harris.
But when you win a championship, it doesn’t really matter. The final game is the ultimate results-over-process game. The Riders won the ring and that’s all that matters.
The Dumb
A nice feature in the press box at Princess Auto Stadium is a live feed of head referee Andre Proulx’s microphone. Of course, the main purpose of the feed is to allow the media to hear the calls in what’s generally a rocking stadium.
However, on Sunday evening we were treated to two different versions of the national anthem before the game. As local Métis country singer Catie St. Germain performed O Canada, Proulx’s mic was mistakenly on and the sound of his singing filled the press box. This was clearly not supposed to happen, but it was still great nonetheless.
As for the performance itself? Well, let’s just say that Proulx is a much better official than he is a singer.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg by a score of 25-17.
Trevor Harris was named Most Valuable Player after he completed 23-of-27 pass attempts for 302 yards, winning his first Grey Cup as a starter. Samuel Emilus was named Most Valuable Canadian after he made 10 catches for 108 yards, finishing only two receptions shy of tying the Grey Cup record.
