Photo: Gideon Mojica/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl enflame what is generally considered the CFL’s most intense rivalry but the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers were on the same side after Saturday’s game in support of injured quarterback Zach Collaros.

“(Collaros) is a tough dude and he loves football and I know he’ll find a way to bounce back. I pray that he’s OK and 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,” said Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris.

“I went out there and took a knee and prayed for him just because that’s my guy, he’s a good buddy of mine. Competition — you really want him to be out there and it’s better for the CFL as a league when you’ve got a multiple-time M.O.P. and multiple-time Grey Cup champion as a starter. Hopefully, he’s OK.”

The injury occurred in the third quarter when Saskatchewan blitzed seven defenders against six Winnipeg blockers. Collaros was seen surveying the field to his left when strong-side linebacker C.J. Reavis rushed untouched from his right and laid a hellacious hit for the sack. After laying on the field for some time, Collaros was able to jog off the field and straight into the locker room.

Following a challenge from Winnipeg, it was determined that Reavis made head-to-head contact and was charged with roughing the passer.

“Zach is Zach — he’s an unbelievable football player,” said Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace. “I hope he’s OK, honestly. I got a lot of respect for that guy.”

This marked the third time that Collaros has been forced to leave a game due to injury this season. He was injured in Winnipeg’s loss to Calgary in Week 7 when Clarence Hicks delivered a clean hit that caused the quarterback’s helmet to bounce off the turf. The Blue Bombers officially termed it a neck injury and Collaros played Week 8 against Toronto.

The 37-year-old didn’t finish the game at BMO Field, however, as he watched the second half from the sidelines. Though it wasn’t clear when exactly the injury occurred, the team listed him as having a neck injury on their subsequent injury report and Collaros didn’t play the Week 9 rematch against the Argonauts.

“It’s brutal again. He’s a guy who does everything right, puts in preparation to the max. The guy is here super early and here super late,” said teammate Brady Oliveira. “Zach is the leader of this team, the leader of this locker room. To see him go down just sucks. You hate for when it’s guys like that who do the right thing all the time.”

Collaros has well-documented history of concussions and this latest injury has led some pundits to suggest he retire immediately.

The veteran passer has now thrown for 2,297 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions over 10 games this season, posting a 4-6 record as a starter. Despite his recent inability to finish games, Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea made it clear that he’s not worried about Collaros as a player, but Collaros as a person.

“It’s not the games that are concerning, it’s Zach that I’m concerned about. I care about the guy. These guys aren’t just football players in here, so you don’t like to see that,” said O’Shea. “I’m not worried about his ability to consistently be on the field, I’m worried about Zach (as a person).”

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) will visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-5) on Friday, September 12 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Blue Bombers are coming off a 21-13 loss to Saskatchewan in the Banjo Bowl, while the Tiger-Cats went on the road to beat Montreal 26-9.

The weather forecast in Hamilton calls for a high of 22 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud and a 30 percent chance of showers. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and the Ticats Audio Network in Hamilton.