Rob Bresciani will watch Friday night’s CFL game from the comfort of Mosaic Stadium’s Alumni Lounge.
At some point in the proceedings, he could very well be reminded of Oct. 8, 1989 — when he helped the Saskatchewan Roughriders overcome injuries to two premier Canadian receivers.
Despite the absences of legendary pass-catchers Ray Elgaard and Jeff Fairholm, the Roughriders defeated the Calgary Stampeders 39-26 at McMahon Stadium.
The victorious quarterback, Kent Austin, threw for 492 yards. — 194 of which were amassed by Bresciani, who turned one of his six catches into a 59-yard touchdown.
Fast forward to Aug. 7, 2026. Once again, two top-tier national receivers are on the shelf. Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker were placed on the six-game injured list on Thursday, with Friday’s home date with the Ottawa REDBLACKS looming.
In another parallel to the aforementioned 1989 game, a Regina-born receiver has been promoted to a starting role to fill a significant void. Bresciani came through with a flourish nearly 37 years ago, increasing his career receptions total from eight to 12 during one memorable performance.
D’Sean Mimbs, also of Regina, hopes to emulate Bresciani by enjoying a breakout game. Mimbs, a second-year Roughrider, has four CFL receptions to his name as Friday’s game looms.
The 26-year-old son of former Roughriders running back Robert Mimbs joins KeeSean Johnson, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Johnny Johnson III and Dylan Djete to comprise the starting receiving corps. Johnson and Duncan-Busby are the only opening-day starters in the quintet.
One constant in the equation is Trevor Harris — the only Roughrider to throw a pass over the first seven games of this season. His rapport with Emilus and Schaffer-Baker is well-established. Now, how can chemistry be established with the newcomers?
“As a quarterback, that’s something I always try to pride myself in,” Harris said. “I watch the guys. What are they good at? How can I highlight their strengths? (Offensive Co-ordinator Marc) Mueller does the same thing. We’ve got to put these guys in situations to make plays.
“But this is just how KeeSean Johnson developed his name. How did Kian Schaffer-Baker develop a name? How did Sam Emilus develop a name? There’s Dohnte Meyers. Nobody was talking about him in the pre-season last year. Now he’s playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Opportunity gives windows for guys to flourish and I think that’s exactly what you’re going to see. We’ve been high on Johnny Johnson and Dhel all year. We’ve been high on Dylan. D’Sean Mimbs is somebody who I think people are going to start talking about soon.
“I’m excited that they get to play (tonight). It’s going to be a ton of fun. On top of that, we’ve got (Daniel) Wiebe, and you guys know how I feel about him.”
Wiebe, a former University of Saskatchewan Huskies game-breaker, made the Roughriders’ first reception in Saturday’s 28-26 road victory over the Edmonton Elks. He received his first CFL start after Emilus, a game-time decision, was scratched barely an hour before the opening kickoff.
Pressed into service because of injuries during a June 26 game against the Toronto Argonauts, Wiebe caught two passes for 48 yards — including a 17-yard touchdown. He thus became the first eighth-round draft choice to score a point for Saskatchewan.
On Friday, Wiebe will be the Roughriders’ sixth receiver. Djete began the Edmonton game in that role, only for Schaffer-Baker to suffer a knee injury with four minutes left in the third quarter.
He left the game with season totals of 45 catches (fourth in the league) and 704 receiving yards (third).
Schaffer-Baker and Emilus are now part of a star-studded six-game injury list that has swelled to 13 names. Also included are luminaries such as defensive halfback Rolan Milligan Jr., cornerback Tevaughn Campbell and running back A.J. Ouellette.
Milligan Jr., the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2024, has been an All-CFL selection in each of the past two seasons. Campbell also earned All-CFL honours in 2025. Ouellette rushed for 1,222 yards for last year’s Grey Cup champions.
“You never want a list to grow like that, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “None of those guys want to get hurt.
“Looking at it, are there a bunch of season-ending injuries? No, which is good in my opinion. But, in the meantime, whether we’re bringing different guys in or we’re relying heavily on the guys who we’ve got, ball games will be played and we want to win those.”
A comparable mindset applied in 1989. The Roughriders were undeterred by a steady stream of injuries that, come playoff time, forced the Roughriders to use a backup quarterback (Jeff Bentrim) as a starting slotback and a kickoff returner.
Once again, the understaffed Saskatchewan side came through in Calgary, defeating the Stampeders 33-26 in a first-round post-season game. Elgaard missed that game, during which a still-recovering Fairholm was used sparingly.
A week later, Elgaard made two TD catches and Fairholm caught a 47-yard scoring bomb as the Roughriders (9-9) upset Edmonton (16-2) in the Western Final.
The Roughriders’ resilience was again on display when Austin suffered a knee injury during the second quarter on Nov. 19, 1989 at Commonwealth Stadium. In came Tom Burgess, who threw two third-quarter TD passes for the Green and White.
A week later, the Roughriders were crowned champions.
GREEN SEES RED
Entering this week’s slate of games, the Roughriders are atop the CFL in second-down conversion rate (58.9 per cent).
Additionally, Saskatchewan has scored a touchdown 23 of the 30 times it has reached the red zone — the final 20 yards before the goal line.
“I think we’re pretty darned efficient in the pass game,” Harris said. “That has been our M.O. the last few years.
“The red zone has always been something I feel we can improve on. This year, I think we’re close to the top. It makes such a big difference.
“I watched a couple of games this year where the score was something like 21-10. One team had converted all three in the red zone. The other one had a turnover in the red zone, a touchdown and a field goal. It was an 11-point game. So the red zone is a huge area.”
Calgary is a league-best 27-for-35 (77.1 per cent) in the red zone, marginally ahead of Saskatchewan (76.7%).
Last year, Saskatchewan was fifth in red-zone percentage (62.5) en route to winning the fifth Grey Cup championship in franchise history.
The 2025 Roughriders were No. 2 in second-down conversions (51.1%) last season, just behind the B.C. Lions (52.6%). Saskatchewan not been held below 52 per cent over its first seven games this season.
“We have to make sure that we’re winning on first down,” Harris said. “When you’re doing that, it allows you to get better positioning.
“It also opens up the playbook a little bit more on second down, where you can use the entirety of the field and dwindle down the certain coverages that they play. You’re able to use the run game and be physical in that situation.
“Winning first down, converting second down, and finishing in the zone is always going to be what we want to be great at.”
TREVOR TRIVIA
• Harris needs only 49 yards to become the 12th CFL quarterback to reach a career milestone of 40,000. As well, Harris is 583 yards away from tying Tracy Ham for 11th on the All-Time list. Ham, who threw for 40,534 yards, was the starting quarterback for Edmonton in the 1989 Western Final loss to Saskatchewan.
• Harris and Zach Collaros (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) each have 221 career touchdown passes and are tied for 13th All-Time. With Collaros on the six-game injured list, Harris has an opportunity to assume sole possession of 13th spot.
• With Harris behind centre, Saskatchewan has a completion percentage of 72.7 this season (168 of 231). Edmonton set the CFL team record of 71.9% last season.
EXTRA POINTS
• Because of injuries — of course — the Roughriders have had a revolving door at boundary-side defensive halfback. Jonathan Edouard is about to become the first Roughrider this season to make back-to-back starts at that position.
• One more injury-related note: Roughriders linebacker Josh Woods (ankle) is listed as a game-time decision.
• With the eighth game of the season fast approaching, the Roughriders give already given starting assignments to nine different receivers. Saskatchewan started 10 receivers over the course of the 2025 season and 11 the year before. The Roughriders have already equalled their 1989 total of nine different starting receivers.