WINNIPEG -- With the way the kicking game had been going for the Saskatchewan Roughriders heading into the Labour Day Classic rematch with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, there was an ongoing narrative that it could eventually turn out to be the deciding factor in a close contest.
As fate would have it, that was exactly the case -- but not in the way many onlookers expected.
Riders' kicker Brett Lauther went a perfect five-for-five on field goals and ended up the Green and White’s key offensive performer as Saskatchewan won 21-13 in the Canadian Football League contest. It’s the first victory in the Labour Day Classic rematch for the Green and White since 2018, with Winnipeg having claimed victory in the previous nine contests in the Manitoba capital.
“A win's a win, that's all we care about, especially over here,” Lauther said on the Rider Broadcast Network post-game show. “That's still a great football team and a really tough place to play. It wasn't perfect by any means for me, but we found a way to win one and that's what we came to do.”
Lauther hit from 20 yards and 35 yards in the second quarter to send the Riders into halftime trailing 13-6 and then was lights out when the team needed him the most in the final 15 minutes. With Saskatchewan trailing 13-12, Lauther hit from 41 yards to give the Riders their first lead of the game, put through a 33-yarder to make it an 18-13 game with 5:01 to play and then gave his crew an eight-point lead on a 35-yarder with 14 seconds left.
There was a missed convert attempt, but for a player who has faced relentless calls to be replaced in recent weeks, the perfect string of field goals was major redemption.
“Yeah, it sucks having your name be the focus when there's so many good things in here. It's the last thing I want, but it's part of football,” Lauther said. “It's part of pro sports and sports is a crazy thing sometimes. It's one of those years for me, but everyone in that room still believes in me and that's what keeps me going is the guys in the room. This team's different, we're a family in there. Everyone's got each other's back, no one's turned it on me and I do the same to them.”
Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace was quick to praise Lauther for his performance, especially in light of all the chatter.
“There's so much going on with him and what he's been able to do, trying to lock in mentally,” he said. “He was arguably our best offensive weapon tonight, so hell of a job by him. I know he wants that extra point back and, yes, we've got to make those, but we’re really happy we had him today.”
The Riders didn’t have to completely rely on Lauther’s leg, as A.J. Ouellette ran for a crucial touchdown in the third quarter, not long after Damarcus Fields intercepted Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros to set the Riders up at the Bombers 26.
The Riders also had a crucial drive in the fourth quarter, where starting from their own one-yard line, Trevor Harrs found Joe Robustelli down the sideline for a 48-yard gain. Two plays later Ajou Ajou drew a pass interference penalty to get down to the Winnipeg 28 and just like that Saskatchewan was out of danger and in business.
It would all lead to Lauther’s third field goal, and Saskatchewan would hold on from there.
Mace offered kudos to offensive coordinator Marc Mueller for the call at that moment, especially with how it led to such a large momentum swing.
“You know, it's all easy when you're sitting on the couch and saying we should do this and do that. But when you're down, you're in Winnipeg and the crowd's going crazy, you're on the one-yard line, and to make a call like that, you have to have the most faith of everybody in the building. Just incredibly proud of Marc.”
Interestingly enough, the contest could have been quite a bit closer if not for a couple of long-range field goal misses by Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo in the third and fourth quarters. He would hit a pair, though, and Ontaria Wilson -- who had returned to the team earlier this week -- would add the Bombers’ lone major in the second quarter.
Winnipeg did a much better job protecting quarterback Zach Collaros compared to the Labour Day Classic, but that all changed on one play in the third quarter. Riders' linebacker C.J. Reavis got through untouched and hammered Collaros with a blind-side hit that left Winnipeg's pivot motionless on the turf, with Reavis taking a somewhat questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on the play. Collaros would leave the game and did not return.
Back-up quarterback Chris Streveler attempted to engineer a comeback and had things rolling late in the fourth, but for the second week in a row Tevaughn Campbell came up with a crucial interception, leading to Saskatchewan taking the clock down to the final seconds.
Saskatchewan improves to 10-2 on the season and hold down first place in the West Division and the entire CFL, with Lauther lauding the team’s work ethic as a key factor while vowing to be even better in the future.
“There isn't one person in this organization that doesn't work their butt off to try to win football games,” Lauther said. “Our record is reflective of that, but it's a lot of fun to play football, and even though I’m personally not having the best year, it's not about me. It's about the team winning football games and I'm trying to do everything I can to get this right.”
The Riders look to keep the wins coming on Saturday, September 13 when the team hosts the Montreal Alouettes. Game time is 5 p.m. from Mosaic Stadium and the Rider Broadcast Network starts the pre-game show at 2 p.m.
