Congratulations to Trevor Harris for an especially notable completion … of a shopping excursion!
That was the reflexive reaction on Wednesday after the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ No. 1 quarterback told reporters of a recent visit to Costco.
Upon hearing this, I spluttered: “What’s it like to go to Costco? Can you get any shopping done?”
He chuckled.
“It’s more or less people mentioning that they’re excited about the season and how it’s going and they’re excited about the game this weekend,” Harris said heading into Sunday’s standing-room-only Labour Day Classic against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“They’ll stop you and say hi and ask for a picture or whatever. People are great.
“I love this town. Hopefully, whenever I do hang them up, I can sign a one-day contract and finish my career as a Rider.
“It’s a place that has been very special to me. I feel like it has brought a lot of joy back to playing the game.
“It has been such a great thing being here with (Head Coach Corey) Mace and (Offensive Co-ordinator Marc) Mueller and the guys they have brought into this locker room.”
Adding Harris to the equation has also helped the team progress to the point where this season’s edition boasts a CFL-best 8-2 record.
Harris, who was signed as a free agent by Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager on Feb. 14, 2023, was a divisional All-CFL selection last season.
This year, he has thrown for 2,695 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine starts. His quarterback-efficiency rating (118.5) leads the league by nearly 10 points.
Dating back to last year, Harris has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 13 consecutive regular-season or playoff games. The team record of 15 is shared by Ron Lancaster (1976-77) and Kent Austin (all in 1993).
Austin and Harris are tied for 15th on the CFL’s All-Time touchdown passes list. Two more TD tosses will enable Harris to hit a career milestone of 200.
Moreover, he is just 30 completions shy of reaching 2,976, overtaking Doug Flutie, and ascending to 10th All-Time.
Not that individual numbers are of the slightest concern to Harris.
The only stat that matters to him: Wins.
Saskatchewan carries a league-best 8-2 record into an annual late-summer home-and-home set.
“Back-to-back against Winnipeg, it will be a big two-game stretch in our season,” Harris said.
“We always talk about that once you get to Labour Day, the real football begins, so we’ve got to start becoming the team that’s going to be able to contend for that Grey Cup.”
The Blue Bombers carry a 6-4 record into the 60th Labour Day Classic.
This sets up only the ninth LDC in which both teams have had at least two more victories than losses. Sunday’s showdown will be the 12th between clubs that both boast winning records.
Adding to the intrigue, the Roughriders and Zach Collaros-quarterbacked Blue Bombers have collided in three of the past five Western Finals.
“They’ve really been the class of the CFL the last five years,” Harris said of the Bombers. “They’ve been to five straight Grey Cups. Ever since Zach has been there, they’ve only been to Grey Cups.
“They’re kind of the top dog right now until proven otherwise. I think people need to prove in November that they can beat Winnipeg. For us to do that, we’ve got to become a better team every day this week and be ready to execute the best we can on Sunday.”
Anticipation is already building.
“I was at Costco (on Tuesday) and I think six or seven people stopped me and said, ‘Hey … big game this weekend … we’ve got eight wins, but we need nine,’ ” Harris said. “There were quite a few people stopping and talking to you.
“You kind of feel the game in the air and people talking about cooking out and what they’re going to be doing for the Labour Day game. My landlord was telling me about her plans for that game.
“I was thinking, ‘Man, this is big-time,’ so it’s pretty exciting. We’re really fired up about this one.”
That is the focus, in adherence to Head Coach Corey Mace’s mindset of “we want to go 1-and-0 this week.”
In a larger context, Harris did muse about eventually signing a one-day contract and thereby retiring as a member of the Green and White.
“I don’t know if I’d get that opportunity, but I feel like a Roughrider,” said Harris, 39, a proud product of tiny Waldo, Ohio.
“I feel like I fit into the type of people who are here — blue collar and hard workers … small town. I feel like I kind of fit into that mold. I’m very, very thankful.
“Like I always talk about, I never take a day for granted. I never take for granted that I get to wake up and be the quarterback here.
“I work my tail off to bring this city what they deserve to have here.”