Shawn Bane Jr. hopes to create more McMahon magic 

Shawn Bane Jr. is about to experience another first at McMahon Stadium. 

The speedy Saskatchewan Roughriders slotback hopes that Saturday’s milestone is highly reminiscent of the events of Oct. 2, 2021, when he made a most auspicious CFL debut. 

Slightly more than 10 minutes into a home game against Saskatchewan, Bane Jr. caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. 

Now a Roughrider, Bane Jr. hopes to create more McMahon magic in his first visit to the home of the Stampeders as an opposing player. 

“Absolutely,” he said with a smile. “(The Stampeders) have been marked on my calendar, so I’m super-excited.” 

And super-exciting. 

Two weeks into the 2023 season, Bane Jr. leads the Roughriders in catches (12) and receiving yards (161). 

He is coming off a six-catch, 125-yard performance in Friday’s 45-27 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, against whom he made a key play on each of the Roughriders’ three touchdown drives. 

Just beyond the midpoint of the first quarter, he caught a 15-yarder on second-and-10 to extend a possession that culminated in a six-yard TD reception by Samuel Emilus. 

Bane Jr.’s 17-yarder on first-and-15 was the catalyst for a late-second-quarter march that was punctuated by a 20-yard TD toss from Trevor Harris to Emilus. 

Barely a minute into the second half, a perfectly placed Harris pass down the right sideline settled into Bane Jr.’s hands for a 45-yard gain. Five plays later, Emilus scored from six yards out for his third major. 

For good measure, Bane Jr. caught a short pass late in the fourth quarter and sped down the left sideline for a 49-yard advance. 

In so doing, the 28-year-old receiver demonstrated the skills and speed that prompted the Roughriders to sign him on Day 1 of the 2023 free-agency period. 

Now he would like to use that talent to help the Roughriders engineer a string of victories, beginning on Saturday. 

“It’s early in the season, but we know what we’re capable of,” Bane Jr. said. “We’ve seen sparks of it. I think it’s fuel for everybody.” 

“D” AS IN “DETERMINED” 

Defensive tackle Micah Johnson lauded Bane Jr., Harris and everyone on their side of the ball for their performance during Friday’s game. 

“I thought the offence did a great job,” Johnson said. “When we get 27 points, we’re supposed to win that game. We feel, on defence, that that’s the type of standard that we’re holding ourselves to. We’ve just got to grow and get better.” 

The Zach Collaros-quarterbacked Blue Bombers offence scored a touchdown each of the five times it accessed the red zone on Friday. 

“They did a good job,” Johnson said. “I think there were a few things we could have done better. 

“We let Collaros out of the pocket a few times. I felt like we definitely could have done better with that. 

“They’re just a team that you really can’t make mistakes against, because they’ll capitalize on them.” 

Now the objective is to minimize those mistakes as the Roughriders’ attention turns to Calgary. 

“You have to execute at a high level, especially when you’re going against these good teams,” Johnson said. “It usually comes down to the team that executes the best. 

“There’s good players on that side. There’s good players on this side. It’s just about who’s going to come out and execute the best so, for us, we’ve got to get back to the X’s and O’s of execution.” 

SHORT SNORTS 

•  Bane Jr. and Tevin Jones (nine receptions for 121 yards) both exceeded 100 receiving yards for Saskatchewan on Friday. The Roughriders had not boasted twin 100-yard receivers since Oct. 26, 2019, when Shaq Evans piled up 174 yards and Kyran Moore added 159 as the Green and White won 27-24 in Edmonton. That defeat ignited an Edmonton home-field losing streak that has swelled to 18 games.
• Jones was targeted 14 times — the highest total for a Roughrider since 15 passes were thrown in Moore’s direction on Sept. 5, 2021 against the visiting Blue Bombers.
•  By losing 22-0 to the host B.C. Lions on Saturday, Edmonton was shut out for the first time since Aug. 15, 1976, when Saskatchewan won 40-0 at Taylor Field. Ron Lancaster went 23-for-27 for 290 yards and three touchdowns before being removed from the game during the third quarter, at which point the home side led 37-0.
• Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press has been at Mosaic Stadium on the last two days in which a Roughriders quarterback has thrown for 400-plus yards. McInytre handled the Blue Bombers’ beat on Saturday, when Harris amassed 413 aerial yards. When Cody Fajardo threw for 429 yards in the aforementioned Roughriders victory at Commonwealth Stadium in 2019, McIntyre was in Regina to cover the NHL’s Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. Winnipeg won 2-1 in overtime.