There is plenty more in store for Sam the Record Man.
In only his fifth CFL start, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Samuel Emilus on Friday tied a franchise record for touchdown receptions in a game (three).
The Roughriders’ home opener was barely 32 minutes old when quarterback Trevor Harris found Emilus for the hat-trick major to help the home side assume a 21-17 lead over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
On the night, Emilus registered career single-game highs in catches (seven) and receiving yards (77), but individual matters were not his priority when reporters surrounded him in the Roughriders’ locker room.
“I wish we could have had the win,” he lamented after the Blue Bombers’ 45-27 victory. “It feels good to have a touchdown but, at the end of the day, the outcome should have been a W.”
Emilus did a make a notable contribution to the Roughriders’ season-opening win, catching three passes for 51 yards on June 11 in a 17-13 victory over the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium.
He made a key reception on the Roughriders’ final possession, which devoured four-plus minutes and left the Elks with only one second on the clock.
Although much was made of the fact that Saskatchewan amassed 70 yards on the ground on its closing drive, a 13-yard reception by Emilus on second-and-10 was also crucial.
Emilus, whom the Roughriders chose in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2022 CFL Draft, continued his upward trajectory with Friday’s three-touchdown gem.
“He has been that good since the first few days of training camp,” Harris noted. “I think people are just finding out about him.
“He’s fun. He’s explosive. On his second touchdown, I thought I had overthrown him, but he accelerated and dove underneath (the football).
“He told me that he was making up for last week, because he felt like he could have caught the one on the first drive of the second half.”
Harris was referencing a second-and-three play from Edmonton’s 26-yard line. Emilus dove for the ball in the end zone and was visibly disappointed when he did not finish the play.
“He made up for it tonight,” Harris said following Friday’s game. “He’s a stud.”
Emilus became the first Roughrider to catch multiple TD passes in a game since Sept. 22, 2018, when Jordan Williams-Lambert scored twice in a 30-29 victory over the host Toronto Argonauts.
The twin touchdown passes to Williams-Lambert were thrown by Zach Collaros, who was the victorious quarterback on Friday.
Also of note: Emilus was the first member of the Green and White to score three TDs in any fashion since July 27, 2019, when William Powell rushed for three majors in a 45-18 victory over the host B.C. Lions.
And, as referenced earlier, Emilus joined a fraternity of Roughriders receivers who have produced three aerial majors in a game. Here is a list of the other 15 three-TD-catch games.
Sept. 29, 1958: Jack Hill in a 22-6 victory at B.C. (Hill’s receptions and yardage totals were unavailable.)
Sept. 26, 1960: Bob Renn (eight catches, 203 yards) in a 45-35 victory over the visiting Calgary Stampeders. (Renn, by the way, was a close friend of Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds. Renn and Reynolds were NCAA teammates with the Florida State Seminoles.)
Aug. 7, 1964: Hugh Campbell (stats unavailable) in a 37-29 home-field victory over Winnipeg.
Aug. 7, 1966: Campbell (four catches, 78 yards) in a 38-14 victory over Winnipeg at Taylor Field.
Sept. 5, 1966: Campbell (11-194) in a 44-0 rout of the visiting Montreal Alouettes.
Sept. 28, 1975: Rhett Dawson (6-152) in a 33-6 home-field win over B.C.
Aug. 30, 1981: Joey Walters (6-134) in a 44-34 loss at Edmonton.
Oct. 18, 1981: Walters (9-169) in a 42-29 loss to the visitors from Edmonton.
Sept. 16, 1988: Ray Elgaard (9-176) during a 36-32 victory at Vancouver. Elgaard’s third TD — a 36-yarder with 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter — was the game-winner.
Sept. 21, 1991: Jeff Fairholm (7-98) in a 49-47 victory at B.C. Fairholm caught half of Kent Austin’s franchise-record six TD passes.
Sept. 13, 1998: Don Narcisse (8-107) in a 36-35 loss at Winnipeg.
July 28, 2000: Curtis Marsh (8-126) in a 52-52 overtime tie with the visiting Stampeders. Two of Marsh’s TD receptions were in OT.
July 28, 2001: Marsh (13-215) in a 50-24 loss to Toronto at Taylor Field.
Oct. 14, 2007: Andy Fantuz (7-240) in a 40-23 victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
June 29, 2012: Weston Dressler (13-180) in a 43-16 victory at Hamilton.
Emilus became the first Canadian since Fantuz to catch three TD passes in a game for Saskatchewan. Elgaard and Fairholm are the other Canadians to have accomplished that feat.
Not since 1966, when Campbell had one of his masterful days, had a Roughrider scored three times on receptions in a home opener — two years to the day after he had previously accomplished that feat.
STAY TUNED FOR ANOTHER “SAM THE RECORD MAN” REFERENCE!
Kim Mitchell had a Rider in his contract.
The Canadian rock legend, who appeared at halftime of Friday’s game, began his set list with “Go For a Soda.”
He was natural invitee for a team that, back in 2005, held a rookie camp that was attended by a defensive back named Roland Cola Jr.
Before embarking on a solo career, Mitchell was the front man for a group known as Max Webster. The Roughriders’ defensive backfield once included Matt Webster, who played for the CFL team from 2014 to 2016, so there you have it — another stret-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tch of a connection, brought to you by a reaching writer.
And there’s this: Mitchell was born on July 10, 1952 in Sarnia, Ont., which was once a Canadian football hotbed.
The Sarnia Imperials lost a nailbiter to Toronto in their first Grey Cup appearance (1933) before winning national titles in 1934 (20-12 over the Regina Roughriders) and 1936 (26-20 over Ottawa).
Sarnia, in fact, won its second Grey Cup 30 years before Saskatchewan captured a championship for the first time.
The Roughriders moved into a tie with Sarnia in terms of all-time Grey Cup victories by defeating Hamilton 43-40 on Nov. 26, 1989.
At the very same time, Mitchell’s newly released album — Rockland — was on sale at Regina’s Sam the Record Man outlet for $8.99 (cassette) and $18.99 (CD).
The signature song from Mitchell’s 1989 release was “Rocklandwonderland.” By sheer coincidence, the Wonderland Party Band performed at Party in the Park prior to Friday’s game.
It wasn’t until 2007 when the Roughriders finally overtook Mitchell’s hometown Sarnia side in terms of all-time Grey Cup victories.
Before the Roughriders faced Winnipeg in the 2007 Grey Cup game, a tailgate party was held outside the venue (Rogers Centre).
And who was the featured musical artist? You’ll never guess …
KIM MITCHELL!
WORST “DAD JOKE” EVER
The home opener, which kicked off Father’s Day weekend, had a Dad’s Night Out theme.
Suitably, and rather sadly, I inflicted a groaner of a “Dad Joke” upon the Twitter flock on Friday afternoon.
I ran into two long-time friends in Mosaic Stadium’s alumni lounge and absolutely had to take a selfie that also included Rob and Bill.
Why? Because of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write this caption: “Myself, Bill Wright, Rob Bresciani. Do two Robs make a Wright?”
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Patty O’Lantern (sorry), Kim Mitchell (Regina realtor), Ryan Mitchell, Lindsay Mitchell, Scott Predenchuk, Saige Harlow Cormier, Emmet Cohen, Philip Norris, T.J. Reddick, Samuel Emilus, Bryan Schlosser, Lois Schlosser, Morgan Campbell, Barry Clarke, Nora Clarke, Kirsten Turlock, Mack Turlock, Calder Turlock, Maverick Turlock, Cam Tait, Dr. Mike Nicholls, Molly Thomas, Dave Jamieson, Matthew Iwanyk, Jason Gregor, Adam Hunter, Robb Desjarlais, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Michael Porter Jr., Michael Malone, David Thompson, Dan Issel, Bobby Jones, Melanie Sorensen, Sam Berg, Mike McIntyre, Pat Fiacco, Melissa Fiacco, Kelly Marce, Bill Wright, Rob Bresciani, John Maniatis, Ivan Daku, Barry Zerr and, in memory of my father, Alan Vanstone (1920-1982).
