The Saskatchewan Roughriders, who lead the CFL in takeaways, also have cause to marvel at the turnover.
Only five current Roughriders players were on the roster when the Green and White last played in Toronto — on Sept. 28, 2019.
Defensive linemen Micah Johnson and Charbel Dabire, kicker Brett Lauther, fullback Albert Awachie and long snapper Jorgen Hus helped Saskatchewan defeat the Toronto Argonauts 41-16 at BMO Field.
“That was pre-COVID,” Hus said. “Crazy.”
Hus, Johnson, Awachie and Lauther will be in the lineup when the Roughriders and Argonauts collide at BMO Field on Thursday (5:30 p.m., TSN, CKRM). Dabire is sidelined by a knee injury.
COVID wiped out the 2020 CFL season. The following year, when the pandemic necessitated a shortened schedule, the lone Roughriders-Argonauts matchup was at Mosaic Stadium.
Toronto’s next two home games against Saskatchewan were part of Touchdown Atlantic, which was held in Wolfville (2022) and Halifax (2023).
“We got the games in Nova Scotia, so I’ll take that as a trade-off, for sure,” Hus said before the Roughriders flew eastward. “It’s a pretty cool place.
“Toronto is always one of my favourite cities to go to as well, but I’ve got to really think hard about where we’re going for dinner.
“It has been a minute, so I’m excited to get back.”
Hus, a Roughrider since 2015, is poised for his sixth game in Toronto (five in the regular season and one in the playoffs).
Lauther kicked a game-winning, 56-yard field goal in his first game as a Roughrider in Toronto, on Sept. 22, 2018.
He also played at BMO Field in 2019, which was the first season in Saskatchewan for Johnson (a Calgary Stampeder from 2013 to 2018). Dabire was a rookie in 2019.
Awachie, who is from Toronto, joined the Roughriders in 2017 but did not play in his hometown until two years later. He made his second CFL reception, for eight yards, at BMO Field on Sept. 28, 2019.
Awachie is to start at fullback tonight, in his hometown.
TREVOR TO TORONTO
For Trevor Harris, his first game in Toronto didn’t count in the standings. Nonetheless, it was all-important.
In the Argonauts’ 2012 pre-season finale, played at the Rogers Centre, Harris completed 13 of 15 passes for 160 yards and two second-half touchdowns and help Toronto defeat the Montreal Alouettes 25-20.
In so doing, Harris secured a CFL job for the first time — not an easy task when you consider that the Argonauts’ quarterbacks’ room at the time also included Ricky Ray, Zach Collaros and Jarious Jackson.
“I thought I was just going to come up here for a few years, just to put some years of playing professional football on my resume so I could coach,” Harris reflected. “You blink an eye and here it is, 12 years later in the CFL.
“I’m praising Jesus Christ and it’s amazing that I get this opportunity. I’m grateful that the Argonauts brought me in to begin with, but it’s not a sentimental thing like I’m going back to Toronto, the old stomping grounds.”
Harris signed with the Argonauts on April 29, 2012 after being associated with six teams and three leagues over a two-year period.
Included was a stint in 2011 with the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions and the opportunity to play alongside running back John David Washington. You may have heard of his father — first name: Denzel.
Harris enjoyed meeting Hollywood royalty, but had soured on the gridiron grind.
“I was going to retire,” he recalled. “I accepted a coaching job at my alma mater, Edinboro University.
“I was tired of the washing machine of pro football. I was a part of a players’ strike, leagues folding, the NFL strike. I was a backup in arena football. I kind of had my fill of it.
“I was like, ‘I’m done.’ I took a job at Edinboro as the offensive co-ordinator. I was going to be the co-ordinator with my brother.
“I felt like God wouldn’t let me sleep a few nights in a row. He was telling me, ‘Give it one more go.’ ”
The Argonauts, who had placed Harris on their negotiation list, were all for that.
“I went to a one-on-one tryout with the head coach, Scott Milanovich,” Harris continued. “We sat in a car and talked ball for about an hour and a half. Then we went in the gym and threw.
“They offered me a contract and I was like, ‘I’ll try this one more time and see what happens,’ and here we are.”
FAMILIAR PLACE FOR MACE
Like Harris, Mace celebrated a Grey Cup championship to cap his first season with the Argonauts.
Mace was a starting defensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders against the triumphant Argonauts on Nov. 25, 2012.
Harris was the Argonauts’ third quarterback, behind Ray and Jackson, for a game Toronto won 35-22 at Rogers Centre. Collaros was sidelined by an ankle injury.
Two years later, Mace sacked Collaros to help Calgary post a 20-16 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
As the Stampeders’ defensive line coach, Mace shared in a 27-16 Grey Cup victory over the Harris-quarterbacked Ottawa REDBLACKS on Nov. 25, 2018.
(The week before, Harris had thrown six touchdown passes — a CFL playoff record — in the East Division final against Hamilton.)
Mace became a Grey Cup champion for the third time when Toronto edged the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24-23 at Mosaic Stadium.
Such was the climax of Mace’s first of two seasons as the Argonauts’ defensive co-ordinator. He was hired by Ryan Dinwiddie, who is now in his third season as a CFL head coach.
“With Din having the faith in myself and bringing me over there, there’s the relationships, just like anything you build with the staff and the people in that building and the players as well,” Mace said earlier this week.
“Toronto’s a bigger city. There’s a lot going on, but when we get out there, I’m going to go and see my old neighbours, stuff like that.
“For me, it’s always the game. It’s a people business and it’s just good to catch up.”
