Corey Mace's boldest decision of the season came with the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ season on the line — and it paid off.
Facing third down late in the fourth quarter and trailing by four, Mace made the bold decision to punt the ball away with 1:48 left on the clock, betting on his defence to deliver one more stop.
The Riders’ defence forced a quick two-and-out, giving Trevor Harris one more chance — and the 39-year-old quarterback delivered when called upon. He marched the offence down the field, and found Tommy Nield in the endzone to stun Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions.
It’s the type of play that could’ve easily backfired, but Mace was willing to put the trust and faith in his players to deliver in the crunch, and that’s part of the reason he’s a two-time nominee for the CFL’s coach of the year award.
The job is only partially done for the Roughriders, who have waited 12 long years to be in the Grey Cup.
Twelve years of heartbreak, rebuilds, and near-misses. But the Roughriders would not be denied this time with a 24-21 victory.
It wasn’t all perfect for Saskatchewan, who trailed B.C. 7-4 at the half with the offence not able to find a rhythm, but that all changed when they got the ball to start the third quarter. Harris led a touchdown drive as part of 10 unanswered points for the Roughriders, but to beat the Lions, they were going to need more than that.
Harris gets another shot at his Grey Cup
Entering his 14th season in the CFL, Harris had only reached the Grey Cup once as a starting quarterback — back in 2018 with the Ottawa Redblacks.
Certainly a career highlight for Harris, but the end of that season had a tough conclusion with Harris and the Redblacks losing to Bo Levi Mitchell and the Calgary Stampeders.
It’s tough to think that it would take Harris this long to get back the Grey Cup, and at 39 years old, you have to ask whether he’ll get many more opportunities.
When he re-signed with Saskatchewan in the off-season, Harris wouldn’t entertain the idea of retiring and was optimistic about his team's chance to compete. Part of the reason was the continuity with the team’s roster and coaching staff.
Getting there wasn’t easy as the Roughriders needed Harris to show poise in their final possession. He did just that as he made some big throws, including a 21-yard pass to Dohnte Meyers, which set the stage for the three-yard strike to Nield with 11 seconds left.
“We meticulously drove the ball down the field,” said Harris to reporters after the game. “I wasn’t scared to take the underneath stuff. In doing that, it kind of loosened up their middle zones, because they knew that we weren’t afraid to do that. And then we were able to shoot it over their head on a couple of intermediate passes, which was pretty fun. And then Tommy Nield, option route inside the 10.
“We move on.”
That type of execution in a high-pressure situation is exactly what the Roughriders will be counting on from Harris in Winnipeg as he looks to finally climb the mountain and get the one thing his storied career has been missing.
Magician act from Rourke
Rourke once again showed why he’s one of the league’s most electric players. After leading a nine-play, 103-yard drive, which he finished off a four-yard touchdown run. The Canadian was determined to give his team its best chance at reaching the Grey Cup.
Credit to the Roughriders' pass rush, who didn’t make it easy for Rourke as he had to extend plays with his legs when the pocket broke down.
In the end, however, Rourke and company were unable to finish things off. They had back-to-back two-and-outs that allowed Saskatchewan to stay in the fight.
“We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to,” Rourke told reporters after the game. “We’ll certainly be thinking about those two drives all off-season.”
This is now the second time Rourke has been to the West Final only to come up short. You get the feeling that Rourke and the Lions are trending in the right direction.
He certainly made a believer out of Harris, who has played against a lot of top quarterbacks over the years.
“Nathan Rourke is an outstanding player, might win the MOP and very deservingly so,” said Harris about the Canadian QB. “He made some big plays tonight, some of the stuff where he’s stepping up in the pocket. It was pretty awesome, pretty fun duel.
“But we’ll take it because we ended up getting the last laugh. He’s a great player, has a great future. He’s gonna be the face of the league for a while, but not yet. We’ll take this, but we’re not done yet. We’ve got one more week to go.”
The wait continues for B.C.
The Lions definitely looked like a team capable of playing for the Grey Cup in Winnipeg, but unfortunately, it wasn’t their destiny.
However, it’s another season where they have to put their title aspirations on hold and show patience, which will be tough since they haven’t returned to the Grey Cup since their last win in 2011.
You can pinpoint many things from this game as reasons why B.C. fell short of their goal, and given how close the score was, mistakes will be magnified.
Many will be wondering how different this game would have gone if former Lions DB Marcus Sayles hadn’t snagged a bobbling ball out of the air after Keon Hatcher couldn’t secure it.
At the time, the Lions were only down four points halfway through the fourth quarter. It was also a chance to respond to an early touchdown allowed on defence, but instead, B.C. saw valuable points come off the board.
What the Lions can’t take for granted was getting the ball in Rourke’s hands with a chance to run out the clock, but the pressure from the Roughriders’ pass rush came through, and the Lions couldn’t get the first downs they needed.
In his first season as head coach, Buck Pierce should be commended for how he transformed the Lions offence. But he has also admitted that he’ll be studying this film for a while as he looks at what his team could’ve done better in the closing moments.
“We’ll go back and look at that scenario,” Pierce said post-game. “That’ll be a major focus for us all to look at. Offensively, we’ve got to find ways to stay on the field there.”
Chance to end a drought
The last time Saskatchewan played for a championship, Darian Durant was under centre and Mosaic Stadium was still the old Taylor Field. That 2013 Grey Cup was a storybook finish — a win on home soil that felt like destiny.
It’s been a decade defined by frustration: four head coaches, countless quarterback changes, and near-miss seasons that never lived up to the province’s expectations.
The Riders are now one win away from their fifth Grey Cup title and their first since that magical 2013 night in Regina. And while this year’s championship won’t be on home soil, it carries a similar weight — a shot at redemption and a return to relevance.
