Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive linemen have combined for six touchdowns and one splashdown.
Two of those TDs belong to Dan Clark, who joins Paul McCallum and Rob Bagg as this year’s SaskTel Plaza of Honour inductees.
McCallum and Bagg were eyewitnesses when Clark established a potentially unbreakable franchise record — for career touchdowns by an offensive lineman — on Aug. 24, 2014.
Clark’s Joey Walters-like leaping catch of a Tino Sunseri toss produced a one-yard major against the host B.C. Lions in a game Saskatchewan ultimately won 20-16. Bagg, wearing No. 6 for the visitors, caught two passes for 55 yards. McCallum, with three field goals and a convert, accounted for 10 of the Lions’ 16 points.
Bagg and Clark had combined for three of Darian Durant’s four touchdown passes on July 21, 2013 against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
After having back-to-back seasons virtually wiped out by knee injuries, Bagg returned to top form by catching five passes for 125 yards in a 37-0 rout of Hamilton. He caught scoring passes of 60 and 28 yards.
Clark added an eight-yard major after lining up as an extra offensive lineman and finding himself wide open in Taylor Field’s north end zone.
The nine-play, 85-yard march included a 32-yard reception by Geroy Simon on second-and-16. Durant then found Weston Dressler for 12 yards, giving Saskatchewan a first down on Hamilton’s eight.
With everyone in the park expecting a run, the Roughriders sold the Tiger-Cats on two possible handoffs — to receiver Taj Smith, moving from right to left behind the line of scrimmage, and running back Kory Sheets — while Clark slipped into six-point territory, undetected.
Just like that, Clark was in a five-way tie for most touchdowns by a Roughriders offensive lineman.
Jim Marshall was the first to accomplish the feat, catching an eight-yard touchdown pass from Don Allard against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Aug. 29, 1959.
(Also noteworthy on Aug. 29, 1959: Ray Elgaard was born.)
Marshall, a two-way tackle with the Roughriders, began his NFL career the following year as a member of the Cleveland Browns. He spent the next 18 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
For the final 13 years of Marshall’s tenure with the Vikings, the team’s head coach was Bud Grant. The very same Bud Grant was the visiting team’s field boss when Marshall caught the aforementioned TD pass against Winnipeg.
The Roughriders’ second touchdown by an offensive lineman was by Sam Holden, who fell on a loose football — and into a puddle — at Vancouver’s Empire Stadium for a score in a 15-9 victory over B.C. on Sept. 9, 1978.
Holden didn’t score while the Roughriders were on offence, mind you. He was the beneficiary of a fumbled punt return by the Lions.
(FAST FACT: On that rainy night, Saskatchewan’s Randy Hall also scored his only TD as a professional football player. He returned an interception 68 yards for a major.)
Holden’s NFL experience consisted of nine games with the 1971 New Orleans Saints. One of those contests was against Minnesota. Holden and Marshall were the teams’ respective No. 70s.
The Roughriders were in a holdin’ pattern after Holden’s soggy six-pointer.
A Saskatchewan offensive lineman did not reach the end zone again until Nov. 5, 1999, when Jeremy O’Day caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Steve Sarkisian in Vancouver.
It was the second CFL touchdown for the Roughriders’ current Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager. As a rookie with the Toronto Argonauts, O’Day had snared a five-yard Doug Flutie aerial for six points during a 66-25 victory in Winnipeg.
(That score again: Argonauts 66, Blue Bombers 25.)
(In case you missed it: Toronto 66, Winnipeg 25.)
(ODDITY: Toronto erupted for 66 points despite going scoreless in the second quarter.)
O’Day was on the field when Saskatchewan registered the fourth offensive line TD in franchise history — and the last, to this point, before Clark began monopolizing scores by 300-pounders.
With slightly more than three minutes remaining in O’Day’s playing career, he snapped the ball to Durant late in the fourth quarter of the 98th Grey Cup Game. After faking a handoff to Wes Cates, Durant flipped a one-yard TD pass to offensive lineman Marc Parenteau, who had lined up as a tight end.
Since then, Clark has produced half of the six receptions that have been credited to a Saskatchewan offensive lineman over the past 15 seasons.
July 21, 2013: Clark — eight-yard TD versus Hamilton.
Nov. 2, 2013: Clark — 12-yard pass from Drew Willy on second-and-three at Edmonton.
Aug. 24, 2014: Clark — one-yard TD at B.C.
Sept. 21, 2014: Corey Watman — from Sunseri, for a loss of 10 against the visiting Ottawa REDBLACKS.
Nov. 8, 2015: Jermarcus Hardrick — 10 yards at Montreal. Brett Smith threw an incompletion on the next play before spotting Dressler for a nine-yard TD.
Aug. 21, 2021: Logan Ferland — four yards versus Ottawa REDBLACKS. Cody Fajardo’s pass was deflected to Ferland by Ottawa defensive lineman Avery Ellis.
Ferland notched his four-yard reception 1,708 days ago.
The Roughriders’ next catch by a 300-pounder will be well worth the weight.
McCALLUM LEADS THE LIST
McCallum is the only five-time Roughrider in franchise history.
The criteria is this: Each period of time away from the team must have included a stint with another organization. Otherwise, the page does not turn for the purposes of this earth-shaking statistical category.
Suppose a player had been released by the Roughriders and re-signed a month later, for example. If he hadn’t joined another team during that hiatus, his return to Riderville would not count as a second stint.
The relevant details from McCallum’s timeline are as follows:
Oct. 14, 1995: Claimed off B.C.’s practice roster (Sasky Stint #1).
Dec. 1, 1995: Rights reclaimed by B.C.
Oct. 13, 1995: Released after spending most of the season on the Lions’ injured-reserve list.
Oct. 18, 1995: Signed by Roughriders (Sasky Stint #2).
Feb. 13, 1996: Granted permission by the Roughriders to play for the World League’s Scottish Claymores during the CFL off-season.
July 1, 1996: Signed new contract with Roughriders (Sasky Stint #3).
Jan. 5, 2001: Released by the Roughriders so he could play for the XFL’s Las Vegas Outlaws during the CFL off-season.
June 23, 2011: Signed new contract with Roughriders (Sasky Stint #4).
Feb. 16, 2006: Became a free agent.
Feb. 22, 2006: Signed by B.C.
June 6, 2015: Released by B.C.
July 1, 2015: Signed by Roughriders (Sasky Stint #5).
Back in 2011, McCallum had become the first four-time Roughrider.
The list of three-time Roughriders consists of quarterbacks Frank Tripucka and Kevin Glenn, defensive linemen Ron Cherkas and Micah Johnson, and fullback Shawn Daniels.
McCallum’s long list of accomplishments includes a 63-yard field goal he kicked for Saskatchewan against the visitors from Edmonton on Oct. 27, 2001. Winnipeg’s Sergio Castillo tied McCallum’s CFL distance record last season.
More dazzling distance data: McCallum had multiple field goals of 50-plus yards in three games as a Roughrider. Nobody else has accomplished that feat more than once.
Sept. 5, 1982: Dave Ridgway (53, 50) versus Winnipeg.
Oct. 17, 1999: McCallum (53, 51) versus Calgary Stampeders.
Sept. 28, 2002: McCallum (56, 52) versus Ottawa Renegades.
Sept. 24, 2006: Luca Congi (53, 53) versus B.C.
July 17, 2015: McCallum (50, 50) versus B.C. — at 45 years of age! Remarkable.
And there’s this …
Beginning in 2005 and continuing through the remainder of his playing days, the future Canadian Football Hall of Famer was 46-for-47 on post-season field-goal attempts as a Lion.
Accuracy rate: 97.9 per cent.
The lone miss, from 41 yards in the Lions’ 2011 Grey Cup win, hit an upright.
FITTING FAREWELL
Long-snapper Jorgen Hus, who on Thursday announced his retirement from football, has just become the fourth player in Roughriders history to step aside after a Grey Cup victory with at least 10 seasons of CFL experience to his good name.
Hus debuted with the Roughriders in 2015. His final game, as it turned out, was the team’s 25-17 Grey Cup win over Montreal on Nov. 16.
Effective Thursday, he joined a fraternity that also includes:
• Reg Whitehouse, who capped a 15-year career on the Roughriders’ offensive line when the Green and White won the 1966 Grey Cup.
• Linebacker/special teams standout Mike McCullough — a 2013 Grey Cup champion who first suited up for the team in 2003.
• Simon, whose 15th and final CFL season concluded when he caught two touchdown passes from Durant in the Roughriders’ 2013 Grey Cup win. Simon played for Winnipeg (1999 and 2000) and B.C. (2001 to 2012) before completing his Hall of Fame playing career with Saskatchewan.
Also worth noting is Yo Murphy — a starting receiver for the Roughriders in their 2007 Grey Cup win. Murphy began his pro football career as a receiver with B.C. in 1993. He played in the CFL (nine seasons), NFL (three), XFL, NFL Europe and World League of American Football.
ROB-(BAGG)-SERVATION!
My favourite Rob Bagg stat dates back to his time at Queen’s University, in his hometown of Kingston Ont.
On Oct. 20, 2007, he caught nine passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in a 54-24 victory over the host University of Toronto Varsity Blues. “Oddly,” Claude Scilley wrote in the Kingston Whig-Standard, “probably his best catch — a one-handed grab while he reached back early in the fourth quarter — was for no gain.”
That play was more than counteracted by touchdown receptions of 90, 89 and 70 yards.
“Let’s just say the middle of the field was fairly accessible to him,” Queen’s head coach Pat Sheahan commented after the game.
Another Queen’s game-breaker, James MacLean, set an enduring U Sports record for receiving yards in a game (377) on Sept. 15, 2001. He caught 12 passes, including three for TDs, in a 43-12 victory over the host Guelph Gryphons.
HELLO TO HANNAH
Hannah Rugg joined the Roughriders on Thursday as a Communications Intern. In that capacity, she will work closely with Director of Communications Arielle Zerr.
Hannah, a member of the University of Regina’s women’s curling team in 2025-26, also has experience in the roaring game at the Canadian under-18 championships (2022) and Canada Winter Games (2023).
With all that — and more — on Hannah’s resume, the Roughriders enjoy the distinction of employing an intern who can throw an out-turn.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Kent Paul, Terry-Lyn Paul, Ethan Paul, Owen Paul, Rob Bagg, Dan Clark, Paul McCallum, Sarah Oneschuk, Hannah Rugg, Arielle Zerr, Jeremy O’Day, Larry Dean, Yo Murphy and Madison Birns.