ROBSERVATIONS: Rob’s Riveting Roughriders Records Review … remembering Larry Donovan … and the weekly shout-outs
Today’s football column leads with … hockey!
With Alex Ovechkin having recently supplanted Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s career goal-scoring leader, I started to wonder: Where do the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ records stand?
Some are unbreakable — although wasn’t that said about The Great One’s 894 goals, way back when?
Some are unlikely to be challenged, although there is that chance …
And some should have been threatened, if not broken, by now.
Without further preamble, here is Rob’s Riveting Roughriders Records Review!
UNBREAKABLE
Longest missed field goal return: Tristan Jackson, 129 yards versus the visiting B.C. Lions on July 14, 2012. It isn’t the least bit subjective to refer to this record as unbreakable. Jackson travelled the longest possible distance on the CFL field we know today. There are two instances in league history of a missed field goal being returned 130-plus yards, but those plays are a throwback to the days when the end zone was 25 yards deep. A regulation end zone has been 20 yards deep since 1986.
Career rushing yards: George Reed gained 16,116 yards along the ground over a 13-season span that began in 1963. Think about this for a moment: Someone could average 1,600 rushing yards over 10 seasons and still be just short of No. 34. We will never see anyone like George, or anything like his numbers, again.
Career touchdowns: 137, by Reed. Unless the Roughriders sign an unimaginably durable and short-yardage quarterback …
Career 1,000-yard rushing seasons: 11, by Reed. The next-best total is … two!
Rouges in a single game: 10, by Fred Wilson against Saskatoon on Oct. 4, 1913. I covered that game and cannot imagine a sequel.
ALMOST UNBREAKABLE
Career touchdown passes: 299, by Ron Lancaster. The next two players on the list — Kent Austin (152) and Darian Durant (149) — barely top the Little General when their totals are combined. Yet, the CFL is a pass-oriented league, so the possibility of a Roughrider reaching 300 cannot be completely discounted. What if, for the sake of argument, Henry Burris had spent his entire CFL career in Saskatchewan? Smilin’ Hank, who became a full-time starter for the first time after signing with the Roughriders in 2000, amassed 373 payoff pitches before retiring after the 2015 season.
Career passing yards: 46,710 (Lancaster). Let’s take a few minutes to consider a “what if …?” What if Kent Austin had stayed in Saskatchewan and sustained his peak production for a decade? Austin piled up 20,720 aerial yards over a four-season span that began in 1990. An average of 5,000-plus passing yards per season, as fashioned by Austin early in the 1990s, would suffice.
Single-season passing yards: 6,225 (Austin, 1992). Only once in CFL history has Austin’s high-water passing-yardage total been exceeded (see: Doug Flutie, 6,619 yards, 1991 Lions). In fact, the 6,000-yard mark has been reached only five times in CFL history — and not since the Montreal Alouettes’ Anthony Calvillo finished with 6,041 in 2004. Now, does the potential exist for someone pushing 6,000? Well … yeah! We take you back to last season, when Saskatchewan’s Trevor Harris threw for 3,264 yards in 10½ games of on-field duty. Extrapolate the passing-yardage total over a full 18 games and you have 5,595. Add an extra bomb or three and it could get interesting.
Career points: 2,374, by Dave Ridgway. Paul McCallum is next on the list (1,615), followed by Brett Lauther (956). Entering the 2025 CFL season, Lauther is 1,418 points shy of Ridgway. Lauther registered a career-best 201 points in 2024. If Lauther can repeat that production over seven more seasons, taking him to age 40, Ridgway will be within range. A tall order, yes, but not entirely outside the realm of possibility when you consider Lauther’s trajectory, talent and loyalty.
Career sacks: 140 (Bobby Jurasin). Nobody else is in triple figures. Among the current Roughriders, Micah Johnson leads the way with 16. Now, suppose a player of Johnson’s ilk were to spend his entire CFL career with Saskatchewan and average 14 sacks over 10 seasons. Yeah, it could happen, but …
Single-season sacks: 22 (Jurasin, 1987). Quarterbacks are tougher to sack than ever in this era of ball-control, quick-release passing. Since 1987, a Roughrider has not registered more than 16 sacks in a season — even though John Chick had 12 sacks after seven games in 2014. The CFL’s sacks leader has not reached 20 since Cameron Wake toppled 23 passers for B.C. in 2008. One other factoid to consider: Willie Jefferson, the CFL’s premier pass rusher over the past decade, has never registered more than 12 sacks in a season. That isn’t a slight against Jefferson, but merely an illustration of how the game has changed — and not in favour of those who pursue quarterbacks for a living.
Career interceptions: 51 (Glen Suitor). Next-highest total: 38 (Ken McEachern). Both players were part of the Roughriders’ defence for 10-plus seasons. The last defensive backs who enjoyed comparable longevity as a starter were Omarr Morgan (10 seasons, concluding in 2010) and Eddie Davis (nine seasons, concluding in 2009). Morgan and Davis registered interception totals of 26 and 19, respectively, with Saskatchewan. The best hope is Rolan Milligan Jr., who is 40 picks shy of Suitor but coming off a season in which he was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. If Milligan Jr. can duplicate his 2024 interceptions total (eight) through 2029, we have a tie!
Career receptions: 919 (Don Narcisse). Now, there is always the possibility that the next version of Milt Stegall or Geroy Simon will enjoy a long and legendary run in Riderville, but catching Narcisse in catches will present a formidable challenge for anyone. Ten seasons of 90 catches will get you close.
Career receiving yards: 13,198 (Ray Elgaard). Re-read the previous item, change a few names and numbers, and you arrive at the same conclusion.
Single-game touchdowns: 5 (Ferd Burket at Winnipeg, Oct. 26, 1959). A second five-spot has been elusive. Reed (Oct. 30, 1968 at Edmonton) and Milson Jones (Aug. 31, 1988 at Winnipeg) are the only post-Second World War players to score four TDs in a game for Saskatchewan. In CFL history, there are only six instances of a player scoring five or six TDs in a game. The last such outing was in 1995, so the odds would seem to be against anyone tying Burket.
BREAKABLE
Single-season receptions: 123 (Narcisse, 1995). Across the CFL universe, we see such eye-popping receptions totals from time to time. In 1995, Narcisse threatened a CFL single-season record that had been established one year earlier by the Calgary Stampeders’ Allen Pitts (126). Derrell Mitchell set an enduring league record (160) for the Toronto Argonauts in 1998. Dating back to 2011, there are five instances of a CFL player catching at least 110 passes in a season. There is one example of 120 (Adarius Bowman, Edmonton, 2016) and another of 116 (Brad Sinopoli, Ottawa REDBLACKS, 2018). As well, Naaman Roosevelt caught 76 passes in 11 games with the Roughriders of 2016. His pace over a full 18 games: 124 catches! So, if all the circumstances align, someone could very well take a run at Narcisse’s total of 123 receptions — although it is hardly as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Single-season receiving yards: 1,715 (Joey Walters, 1981). This one may be a surprise, considering that nobody except Walters has registered more than 1,600 yards as a Roughrider. But, again, we remind you of Roosevelt, who registered 1,095 receiving yards in 11 games during his injury-shortened season of 2016. The 18-game pace: 1,791 yards … a record!
Single-season touchdowns: 18 (Ken Carpenter, 1955). This 70-year-old standard has been challenged by Hugh Campbell (17 in 1966), Craig Ellis (17, 1985), Reed (16, 1968), Jack Hill (16, 1958) and Wes Cates (16, 2010). If a Reed record is breakable, this might be the one.
Single-season touchdown receptions: 17 (Campbell, 1966). Gluey Hughie’s standard was four yards away from falling in 1981. Walters caught 14 touchdown passes and was stopped on the one-yard line four other times! As well, a 63-yard TD reception was called back by a penalty. So close!
Single-season interceptions: 11 (Terry Irvin, 1984). As recently as 2017, a Roughrider hit double digits in picks (Ed Gainey, 10). Irvin set his record at a time when each CFL team played 16 regular-season games. The total has been 18 since 1986, so the lengthened schedule should work advantageously (at least theoretically). Consider, too, that Milligan Jr. produced nine picks in 18 games (16 regular season, two playoffs) last season. If anyone can supplant Irvin, it is our friend Rolan.
Longest field goal: 63 yards (McCallum, Oct. 27, 2001 versus Edmonton). McCallum’s CFL-record boot was actually listed as 62 yards until last year, when the league reviewed video evidence and concluded that the distance was closer to 63. The previous record of 60 was set by Ridgway against the visiting Blue Bombers on Sept. 6, 1987. The two 59-yarders in CFL history also took place before a Taylor Field audience. Conclusion: The surroundings in Saskatchewan are conducive to long-distance kicks. On the right day (windy!) with the right kicker (see: Lauther), a field goal exceeding 63 yards could happen.
Longest run: 98 yards (Alex Bravo vs. B.C., Sept. 29, 1956). Theoretically, this record is breakable. In fact, it could be broken by up to 11 yards, so there appears to be some wiggle room. A longer run is certainly overdue after nearly 70 years. However, a Roughrider has not reached 90 yards since Aug. 20, 1976 (Pete Van Valkenburg, 90 yards at Calgary). And a CFL player has not exploded for a run of 99 yards or more since Sept. 4, 1978, when Winnipeg’s Richard Crump scored on a 103-yarder at Taylor Field.
Single-game touchdown passes: 6 (Austin at B.C., Sept. 21, 1991). Keep in mind that the Roughriders’ current roster includes someone who has thrown six TD passes in a CFL game. Harris accomplished that feat for Ottawa in a 2018 playoff game against Hamilton.
SAD NEWS
The death of long-time CFL coach Larry Donovan at age 84 was announced on Monday by the Lions.
Donovan was B.C.’s head coach for its final four games of 1987, all the 1988 season, and the first four contests of 1989.
The Lions advanced to the 1988 Grey Cup Game to cap his only full season as the team’s field boss.
His next CFL stop was Saskatchewan, where he was an assistant coach in 1990 and 1991.
After helping out at training camp in 1990, Donovan was hired full-time by the Roughriders. He was the linebackers and special teams coach in 1990. The following season, he concentrated on special teams.
Born in Casper, Wyo., Donovan coached in the U.S. college ranks from 1964 to 1985. He joined the Lions’ coaching staff as an assistant in 1986 and spent the subsequent six seasons in the CFL.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Bernie Schmidt, Chris Hutchinson, Erin Stankewich, Marc Mueller, Phil Kershaw, Jacob Brammer, Dale West, Dr. Simone Becker, Bill Wright, Steve Mazurak, Alan Ford, Amelie Sarauer and Prince John.
