The Saskatchewan Roughriders have completed hundreds of long passes throughout their history but, as far as I can determine, there has been only one smoke bomb.
We take you back to Saturday, when Trevor Harris opened a possession (and the floodgates) by throwing deep to Samuel Emilus for what proved to be an 88-yard touchdown against the Edmonton Elks.
On the preceding play from scrimmage, Edmonton had scored a touchdown that triggered the detonation of celebratory fireworks at Commonwealth Stadium.
The smoke had yet to clear when the Roughriders countered with a six-pointer of their own — a pivotal play in a 28-24 win by the visiting side.
“It’s funny,” Emilus mused on Tuesday. “I guess it was meant to be with destiny, because I was about to dust ’em, and the smoke came at the right time.”
So did the Roughriders’ rebuttal.
Edmonton’s 8-0 lead quickly went up in smoke, thanks to the Emilus major and a Harris toss to Dhel Duncan-Busby for a two-point convert.
“When I saw the replay on Instagram, I thought, ‘Why is it so smoky?’ ” Harris said.
“I started rubbing my camera. I thought it was a fault with the camera.
“It turned out it was smoke.”
The game was soon on fire.
After Edmonton handled all the first-quarter scoring — which consisted of a rouge — the teams combined for 32 points during the second stanza.
The payoff pitch to Emilus was the first of the game’s four touchdown passes (two by each team).
“I felt like it was just a little bit dead on the sideline,” Harris recalled. “I said to the guys, ‘Let’s get some enthusiasm. Let’s get some pep in our step. Somebody’s got to make a play.’
“It just so happened that when I reset to the boundary (side), they were playing a coverage we were hoping they would. When they took away the primary read, I reset back.”
To the right of Harris, Emilus had navigated his way behind the last line of defence. A picture-perfect pass hit the receiver in stride at midfield.
“I felt like I was running forever,” Emilus said. “I felt like I was running for my life. But I’m glad I touched the end zone.”
When he did, the Roughriders’ 446th completion of 50-plus yards was in the books.
On 24 occasions, Saskatchewan has produced a passing play of 88 yards or longer.
The Roughriders also struck for 80-plus yards for only the 12th time in the 2000s.
To find a close comparison, though, one must rewind considerably further — to Nov. 26, 1989.
At 8:01 of the second quarter, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Derrick McAdoo crossed the goal line in Toronto (a.k.a. The Big Smoke) to complete a 30-yard touchdown reception in the 79th Grey Cup game. The point-after gave Hamilton a 20-8 lead over Saskatchewan.
To begin (and end) the ensuing possession, the Roughriders’ Kent Austin threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Fairholm. The Tiger-Cats and their fans were still rejoicing over the McAdoo major when Fairholm scored 27 seconds later.
The teams combined for 35 points in the second quarter of that Grey Cup classic, won 43-40 by Saskatchewan.
Saturday’s second stanza was similarly scintillating — especially when Harris and Emilus collaborated on a long-distance, “take that!” TD.
“It’s always good when you’re away and you can silence the crowd and do something that’s deflating to the other team,” Emilus said. “It was really a quick response.”
It came just 37 seconds after the Elks’ Javon Leake had scored on a one-yard run.
Cue pyrotechnics.
“To be honest, I didn’t realize there was smoke until I saw the replay,” Emilus noted. “They had just scored and they had fireworks and stuff, so it was really the smoke from that.”
Emilus, for his part, keeps scorching rival secondaries.
After a 70-catch, 1,097-yard breakout season in 2023, he has already elevated his career-best receptions total by 11 with two games remaining before the playoffs.
The 81 receptions tie Emilus with Don Narcisse (1989) and Weston Dressler (2010) for 19th-best in franchise history.
Emilus, who has been targeted a league-high 125 times, is just 30 yards shy of becoming a repeat member of the 1,000-yard club.
“I remember Trevor telling me at the beginning of the season: ‘Don’t worry about your stats. Keep doing your thing,’ ” Emilus said in advance of Saturday’s date with the B.C. Lions (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“That’s something I’ve always kept in mind. Just play the game the right way and the ball will come to me eventually. I’ve just got to make the most of it.
“One thousand is always a good milestone to achieve. Knowing that I’m close is always nice and hopefully I can get it.
“But there’s bigger things. We’re trying to win a Grey Cup here.”
