Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris (7) throws a pass during CFL action in Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, July 19, 2025. (CFL PHOTO - Jimmy Jeong)
The last time the Saskatchewan Roughriders had amassed 500-plus yards of offence, the final score at Mosaic Stadium was 2-1.
That was back on Oct. 26, 2019, when the stadium was temporarily transformed into an outdoor NHL facility for the Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames.
At the very moment Bryan Little scored in overtime to give the Jets a 2-1 victory, the Roughriders were playing at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Saskatchewan ended up registering 529 yards of total offence (and a net of 512) during a come-from-behind, 27-24 win.
The Green and White did not reach 500 again in total or net offence until Saturday, when the host B.C. Lions fell 33-27.
Saskatchewan put up 506 total yards (504 net) while improving its record to 5-1.
Trevor Harris led the way with a sparkling performance, throwing for 395 yards and three touchdowns while fashioning a quarterback-efficiency rating of 140.3.
“He was outstanding,” Dohnte Meyers told reporters after catching seven passes for 132 yards. “He’s a leader. He prepares for it. He takes his work, his craft, very seriously, with the work and the after-hours he puts in during the week.
“You guys get to see us be explosive and put points on the board and you see him execute and be dominant.
“That’s the guy we know him to be and that’s the guy we all saw tonight.”
The tone was set 4:54 into the game when Harris went over the top to Meyers for a 50-yard touchdown.
That duo also collaborated for six points on the opening possession of the second half. Harris froze the defence with a pump fake while Meyers made a double move and found himself wide open for a 32-yard score.
It was that kind of night for Harris, who went 23-for-30 to set a CFL record for consecutive regular-season games (nine) with a completion percentage of at least 70.
Along the way, the Roughriders’ signal-caller averaged 13.2 yards per pass attempt and 17.2 per completion.
“They’re a good defence,” Harris told CKRM’s Luc Mullinder. “A lot of times, they were just trying to jump our intermediate routes. I know the word on the street is ‘take away the short routes against Trevor,’ and that’s fine. We’ll throw it over your head if you do that. We have stuff built into our offence where we can do that.
“I’m just thankful that we have such a great plan and such a great co-ordinator (Marc Mueller) that allow us to do that and receivers who allow us to do that. They make the plays downfield. I just try to deliver the mail the best I can and our receivers have been phenomenal.
“And a big shout-out to our offensive line. There were zero sacks and we were over 100 yards rushing. That’s not easy to do.”
Nor is Harris easy to stop. Saturday’s stellar showing was on the heels of an eye-popping statistical performance one week earlier against the Calgary Stampeders.
At Mosaic Stadium on July 12, Harris went 36-for-44 for 425 yards — 327 of which were compiled in the second half.
He followed up against B.C. with 234 first-half passing yards. Add it all up and you have 561 aerial yards in 60 minutes of football heading into Saturday’s second half.
Impressive, indeed, when you consider that the Roughriders’ record for passing yards in a game is 558 — set by Kent Austin in overtime at BC Place on Aug. 13, 1992. Ninety-one of the 558 yards were in OT.
Over a 60-minute game, Austin owns the Club record of 546 (versus Calgary on Oct. 23, 1993).
The 820 yards by Harris represents Saskatchewan’s highest total in back-to-back games since Darian Durant threw for 918 on Sept. 17 (versus Calgary in OT) and Sept. 25 (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) of 2010. The regulation-time total over those two games: 893 yards.
In that Sept. 17, 2010 game against Calgary, a first-year Stampeders defensive tackle named Corey Mace registered his first CFL sack (toppling Durant for a five-yard loss) and only CFL kickoff return (13 yards).
Mace, who has guided the Roughriders to a 5-1 start in both his seasons as the Head Coach, could only marvel at what he saw from the firm of Harris Meyers on Saturday.
“That’s what you love about Trevor Harris — he’s not going to get too locked in on one receiver,” Mace said. “He’s going to find who’s open and he feels so confident in the entire group.
“With Meyers, the double move they hit was a thing of beauty. You see it in real time and we’ve seen it in practice. It was just incredible.
“We’re happy as ever that Trevor Harris is our quarterback and that Dohnte and the rest of the receiving corps are with us.”
The team is happiest of all about a victory that came one week after a 24-10 home-field loss to Calgary. The turnaround took place against a B.C. team that had won its previous two games after a 1-3 start.
“Anytime you can win games — especially on the road — in this league, it’s huge,” Harris said as the Roughriders prepared to board a Regina-bound WestJet charter.
“It’s a good football team. They had been playing really, really well. I know the popular pick of this week was ‘pick B.C. because they’re the best.’
“We’ve just got to make sure that we enjoy this for a few hours. I’ve downloaded some Edmonton film, so we’ll start watching some Edmonton film on the way home.”
A game against the Elks is next on the agenda for the Roughriders, who return to Mosaic Stadium for live combat on Friday, beginning at 7 p.m.
A victory over Edmonton would give Saskatchewan a 6-1 record for only the fifth time (following the scorching starts of 1967, 1970, 2008 and 2013).
One of the early-season victories during the latter year — a championship season, we hasten to emphasize! — was at the expense of the Toronto Argonauts, who fell 39-28 at Rogers Centre.
Ricky Ray started at quarterback for Toronto in that July 11, 2013 contest before being replaced late in the fourth quarter by Zach Collaros.
Standing on the Argonauts sideline, serving as the third string quarterback: No. 7, Trevor Harris.
