Saskatchewan Roughriders fans are ecstatic about defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21-13 in the Labour Day rematch. However, key team members are worried about Zach Collaros' health after he absorbed a crushing hit from strong-side linebacker C.J. Reavis which forced him from the game midway through the third quarter.
"It's heartbreaking, I pray that Zach's okay. I know early on in his career, he had quite a few of those," Trevor Harris said post-game referring to the hard hit he took from Reavis. "Across the league, I think everybody would probably join up in prayer for Zach. He's a close friend of mine, I came into the league with him, but I know he's a tough dude and he loves football."
"I know he'll find a way to bounce back, but I pray that he's OK. Hopefully, it's not what everybody thought it would be -- a concussion. You don't want that for anybody. We all have long lives. He's got three beautiful kids, an awesome wife, and hopefully, he can bounce back from this. You really want him to be out there and it's better for the CFL as a league."
Harris and Collaros were teammates when the two entered the CFL at the same time with the Toronto Argonauts in 2012 and played together through 2013. The Argos won the 100th Grey Cup in 2012 with Ricky Ray as the starting QB while Harris and Collaros were his understudies.
Chris Streveler entered the game for Collaros with five minutes and nine seconds left in the third frame. The 37-year-old Collaros left after completing 9-of-15 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while rushing one time for 11 yards. Streveler finished the game completing 5-of-9 passes for 39 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing two times for nine yards.
"Zach is Zach -- he's an unbelievable football player. Streveler, he's had some burn this year as well and was able to win a couple of games for them," head coach Corey Mace said post-game. "He poses a couple of different challenges for us defensively. But Zach's their guy for a reason and I hope he's OK. Honestly, I have a lot of respect for that guy."
The Green and White swept the Labour Day Classic and rematch game in Winnipeg which gives the Riders the season series advantage over the Blue Bombers. The 39-year-old Harris knows that will help Saskatchewan in the West Division standings in the team's effort to host the West Final at Mosaic Stadium.
"We've now won the season series against Winnipeg, so it comes down to the end of the season where they get hot and if we stumble at all, you've got similar records, the tiebreaker is a big deal because then we get to play the game at Mosaic instead of here," Harris said from Princess Auto Stadium.
"That's a big deal in itself. That team has been so good for so long and for us to be able to have that mental hurdle: 'We can win, we can beat this team.' I think a lot of teams across the league probably still feel Winnipeg is that and they have been because they made it to five straight Grey Cups. It's a good win for us to get that and be able to let us know that we belong up here with the big dogs like Winnipeg."
Saskatchewan returns home to host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates have the pre-game at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen or watch our detailed coverage on 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
