Roughriders receivers are revelling in their hat trick

The Labour Day Classic provided proof that good things do indeed come in threes.

Three Saskatchewan Roughriders receivers — Duron Carter, Bakari Grant and Naaman Roosevelt — each exceeded 100 yards receiving in the CFL team’s 38-24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium.

It was the first time in nearly 25 years that the Roughriders had that happen in a game. On Oct. 23, 1993, Ray Elgaard, Jeff Fairholm and B.K. Williams all reached the century mark for Saskatchewan in a 48-45 victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

“It’s just a lot of things going right,” Grant said Thursday when asked to explain the accomplishment. “The offensive line is protecting Kevin (Glenn, Saskatchewan’s quarterback), Kevin’s going through his reads well, and we have a good game plan.

“We said it from the beginning: It’s going to be tough trying to stop us all. If coverage happens to go one way, Kevin takes what the defence gives him.”

On Sunday, Glenn targeted Carter 14 times and connected with him 10 times for 101 yards and one touchdown.

Glenn threw nine passes in the direction of Grant, who recorded seven catches for 139 yards — 77 of which were gained after the catch.

Glenn sent eight passes toward Roosevelt, who caught six of them for 119 yards and a touchdown.

It was the fourth time this season that a CFL team had three 100-yard receivers in the same game. The Toronto Argonauts did it June 15, the Ottawa Redblacks accomplished the feat June 29 and the Edmonton Eskimos did it July 28.

“It’s awesome to do something like that,” said Roosevelt, whose team is to face the Bombers on Saturday at Investors Group Field. “It’s just us trying to make plays for our team.

“I actually think we’re trying to compete against each other. We’re all trying to make great plays. You see Duron making one-handed catches, so you want to make great catches too. We’re competing and having fun.”

“Everybody here — whether it be me, Bakari, Rob Bagg, Naaman — has been in different spots in our careers,” added Carter. “We know how the CFL game works. Sometimes you’re not always going to get the ball. It’s all about the wins.”

Entering the week, Roosevelt was fourth in the league in receiving yards (738), tied for seventh in receptions (53) and tied for third in touchdown catches (five).

Grant was ninth in yards (620), 15^th in catches (44) and tied for sixth in touchdowns (four). Carter was 17^th in yards (541), tied for 11^th in receptions (47) and tied for first in receiving majors (seven).

The production of the Roughriders’ leading trio compares to that of Ottawa’s top three receivers (Greg Ellingson was first in the league in yards, with Brad Sinopoli third and Diontae Spencer 24^th) and that of the Montreal Alouettes’ top three (B.J. Cunningham was seventh in yards, with Ernest Jackson 14^th and Nik Lewis 18^th).

Saskatchewan had played just nine games entering the week, two fewer than the Redblacks and Argonauts and one fewer than the Alouettes, Bombers, Eskimos, Stampeders and B.C. Lions. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats also have played nine games.

The Roughriders’ big three has teamed with fellow receivers like Bagg, Nic Demski and Caleb Holley and running backs such as Cameron Marshall, Spencer Moore and Kienan LaFrance to give Glenn reliable targets.

Saskatchewan entered the week leading the CFL in pass efficiency (108.5) and was tied for the league lead with 22 passing touchdowns. The Roughriders also were third in completion percentage (70.4) and fourth in passing yards per game (319.3).

“This group of guys ranks at the top of my list as far as a group of guys I’ve actually played with,” said Glenn who, as a member of the Bombers, helped Derick Armstrong (117), Arjei Franklin (108) and Terrence Edwards (107) each surpass 100 yards receiving in a 31-23 loss to Toronto on Sept. 23, 2007.

“When you have this type of athletic receivers where you can put the ball in their vicinity and they can come down with it, it gives you a lot more confidence to know that you don’t have to be perfect on every throw in order to get them the ball. That’s what I like about these guys.”

Glenn had played previously with Grant in Hamilton, Roosevelt in Saskatchewan and Carter in Montreal, so the quarterback had some familiarity with the receivers. But the pass-catchers themselves had never been teammates, so they have had to mesh together.

It seems to be going well.

“I heard coming in that it was a stacked receiving corps,” said Grant who, like Carter, signed with the Roughriders as a free agent in the off-season. “To be able to fit in and contribute any way I can, it speaks volumes about the guys we have in the room.”

If the Roughriders’ trio can keep up the pace, it could rival some of the top receiving corps in franchise history. But that’s not on Carter’s radar at the moment.

“We have a lot of good receivers, so teams have been trying to do crazy stuff to match up with us and it hasn’t been working,” he said. “We’re just taking it game by game and hopefully at the end it turns out to be something special.”