Football is a gruelling sport \u2014 for the players as well.<\/p>\n
From this observer\u2019s perspective, the fine art of watching the Saskatchewan Roughriders has been known to wreak havoc upon what was once a functional central nervous system.<\/p>\n
As the latest example, we present Saturday\u2019s 31-27 victory over the B.C. Lions<\/a>. The CFL classic was witnessed by upwards of 30,000 people at Mosaic Stadium, including an anxiety-plagued staff writer.<\/p>\n The stress boiled over late in the fourth quarter. Inexplicably, I started bleating in the press box \u2014 right out of the blue \u2014 about matters unrelated to football and, for that matter, common sense.<\/p>\n I am not too proud to confess that I cracked as a result of the tension. Trevor Harris<\/a>, as a welcome contrast to the bowl of mashed potatoes that occupied my seat in the press box, calmly directed an 11-play, 82-yard drive that culminated in a six-yard touchdown toss to Samuel Emilus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alex Hale\u2019s convert, with 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, gave Saskatchewan a four-point advantage that held up for the duration.<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 Nathan Rourke, who collaborated with Harris to treat the attendees to a brilliant display of quarterbacking, marched his team to Saskatchewan\u2019s 33-yard line before the drive stalled in the waning seconds.<\/p>\n In typical fashion, the Roughriders had won a nailbiter.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what you live for,\u201d Harris said after masterfully completing 30 of 36 passes for 417 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a competitor, you were never in the backyard going, \u2018We\u2019re up by 45. Hand the ball off.\u2019 You\u2019re down by a certain number of points and you need to score and there\u2019s X amount of time left. When you\u2019re a kid, that\u2019s what you do.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we\u2019d rather not be that close, but those are the moments that are fun. I always love those moments, because one of my favourite things to say to people if I\u2019m playing them in basketball or darts or whatever and they misstep is, \u2018Moment too big.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad has always told me, \u2018Never let a moment get too big, because every moment\u2019s just a moment,\u2019 so I just try and treat every moment the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Every Saskatchewan touchdown was the same, in a sense.<\/p>\n \u2022 Harris to Emilus, 11 yards.<\/p>\n \u2022 Harris to Emilus, four yards \u2014 to conclude only the fifth 109-yard drive in Roughriders history.<\/p>\n \u2022 Harris to Emilus, six yards \u2026 for the win.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, it just felt like slow-motion,\u201d Emilus recounted after registering the 21st three-touchdown-catch game in franchise history.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I\u2019ve beat my man, so I\u2019ve just got to catch it. My job is to catch balls and that\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n Emilus was also proficient on Nov. 8, 2025, making nine receptions for 100 yards to help Saskatchewan defeat B.C. 24-21 in the Western Final at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n The game was decided when Harris found Tommy Nield for a three-yard touchdown with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Eight days later, Saskatchewan registered a 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes in another down-to-the-wire affair.<\/p>\n The Roughriders\u2019 tendency toward dramatic endings has reached the point where even a pre-season game can electrify the nerves.<\/p>\n On May 23 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, the Roughriders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31-27 \u2014 the same score by which Saskatchewan prevailed on Saturday \u2014 on the strength of a last-minute, three-yard TD pass from Brayden Schager to Daniel Wiebe.<\/p>\n The Roughriders returned to action three weeks later by opening the regular season in victorious fashion for the sixth year in a row.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just believed in each other,\u201d offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick said on Saturday. \u201cIt could have gone the other way. With these tight games in the CFL, we could be 0-and-1 right now, but we\u2019re 1-and-0 and I\u2019ll take it. It felt great.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard the crowd. Thank you, Rider Nation. Keep showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Football is a gruelling sport \u2014 for the players as well. 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