Riders ready for 'absolutely electric' Labour Day clash with Blue Bombers
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There will be plenty at stake when the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers clash at Mosaic Stadium for the Labour Day Classic on Sunday.
Top spot in the West Division is up for grabs with the Blue Bombers and BC Lions sitting a game back of the Roughriders.
The Roughriders are coming off a heartbreaking 20-19 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday. Saskatchewan held a three-point lead with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter before the Argos tied the game on Lirim Hajrullahu’s fourth field goal of the game.
After the Roughriders failed to break the tie in their final possession of the quarter, Hajrullahu stole the victory for the Argos by scoring a rouge with no time left on the clock.
“We got to be better, but, as the football gods continue to do, they leave us with the keys in our hands to really drive this thing," Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said on Tuesday. So learn, push forward. It’s Labour Day, so everybody’s gassed up. If it comes down to the wire, we gotta be on it, because [the Bombers] are ready to go.”
Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris threw for 190 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss, while running back Frankie Hickson had 79 rushing yards.
Harris knows the atmosphere on Sunday will be special, which is only going to pump him and the rest of the Roughriders up as they take on their West Division rival.
“The atmosphere is going to be absolutely electric,” said Harris on Tuesday. “We couldn’t be more excited about it as a team. But to me, there’s nothing really better than these type of games once you get to this time of year.”
Winnipeg is coming of a dramatic victory after they defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 26-23 for their third straight win.
After the Blue Bombers took at 16-3 lead after the first half, the Tiger-Cats woke up and outscored Winnipeg 17-3 in the third quarter to take the lead.
Hamilton had a 23-19 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before Blue Bombers pivot Zach Collaros found Kenny Lawler for a 10-yard touchdown to claim victory.
“It’s our job to go out and execute and make sure that we can keep them off balance,” said Harris. “Whatever we decide in terms of the way we want to attack them, we want to make sure that we’re pushing the envelope.”
This is Harris’ first matchup against the Blue Bombers this season after missing their 19-9 Week 7 victory in July due to injury. Backup pivot Shea Patterson threw for 261 yards with a touchdown, while wide receiver Ajou Ajou had 110 receiving yards.
The two teams will face off against each other for a final time this season in the Banjo Bowl from Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sept. 7.