ROB’S RIDERS (ROUGE) REVIEW: Harris gets a kick out of punting … Classic Carney … Corey’s challenge … triple-digit TD treks

Ordinarily, Trevor Harris prefers that the football not hit the turf.

But the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback did not object in the slightest on Sunday when he propelled a pigskin that landed on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 20-yard line and, as designed, rolled into Mosaic Stadium’s south end zone.

His first CFL punt — a 45-yarder — produced a single point that helped the home side post a 34-30 victory in the 60^th Labour Day Classic.

The rouge forced Winnipeg to attempt a game-tying two-point convert after narrowing the gap to 32-30 with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Tevaughn Campbell then intercepted Zach Collaros and motored 112 yards to give Saskatchewan two points that completed the scoring.

Campbell tied a 53-year-old Club record for the longest interception return. Bruce Bennett scored on a 112-yard pick-six against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 27, 1972.

Also against Calgary, Joe Paopao punted for a 62-yard single at McMahon Stadium on Aug. 3, 1985.

Forty years elapsed before another Roughrider registered a rouge while lining up as a quarterback.

“It was really, really cool,” Harris said. “(Offensive Co-ordinator Marc) Mueller asked me a couple of weeks ago: ‘Can you punt?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’

“He kind of just took my word for it, so it worked out.”

As usual.

Harris, when called upon, was a productive punter during his time with the Edinboro University Fighting Scots.

As a junior in 2008, he punted once for 39 yards. That distance stood as a lifetime best until his next punt … on Sunday!

How many punters can say they have added six yards over 17 years?

Over his first two years at Edinboro, he punted five times — pinning the opposition inside its 20-yard line on each occasion.

Harris was asked to weaponize his right foot from time to time even though he didn’t launch a single punt while attending Pleasant High School in Marion, Ohio.

“The last time I ever tried out to be a punter was in Pop Warner football,” he recalled. “They were like, ‘Trevor, can you punt?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ I wanted to be a punter.

“So I punted a few times and they were like, ‘Nope, you’re not a punter. You never will be a punter. You’re just not very good at punting, so never worry about it. You just be the quarterback.’ Then I went to college and they said, ‘Can you punt?’ It went pretty well.

“Then Mueller absolutely took my word for it. He didn’t even see me punt a couple of weeks ago when we put it in. The last time I ever tried out to be a punter, it was not good.

“It has just kind of worked out accidentally.”

Now for a puntpourri of admittedly nerdy factoids:

• The punt by Harris was the first by a Riders quarterback since Aug. 1, 2019, when Cody Fajardo ran seven yards on the final play of the first half before punting the ball 49 yards. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Michael Daly retrieved the ball seven yards deep in the visitors’ end zone and barely made it out, preventing a single. Fajardo ended up running for the winning TD late in the fourth quarter. Remember the classic “corn dog” game?!

• Until Sunday, a Saskatchewan quarterback had not punted the ball from behind the line of scrimmage since Sept. 16, 1990. That afternoon at Taylor Field, Kent Austin tried a quick kick on second-and-18 against the Ottawa Rough Riders. Austin’s 39-yard punt was returned three yards.

• It could be argued that Stan Gelbaugh, not Paopao, was the last Roughriders quarterback to punt for a single until Harris did the honours. Gelbaugh was listed as Saskatchewan’s third-string quarterback when he produced a 49-yard rouge in Ottawa on Sept. 20, 1986. However, Gelbaugh was exclusively the Roughriders’ punter during a portion of the 1986 season. He averaged 40.2 yards on 45 boots, without throwing a pass, over five games in green and white.

• Gelbaugh made his debut with the Roughriders on Aug. 31, 1986 — 39 years to the day before the historic Harris rouge. In both games, Saskatchewan defeated Winnipeg 34-30.

• The aforementioned 62-yard single by Paopao resulted from a quick kick on second-and-10. The Throwin’ Samoan (Puntin’ Pivot?) unleashed another second-and-10 punt, for 47 yards, against the visitors from Edmonton on Sept. 15, 1985.

• Harris wore a Ron Lancaster jersey to Sunday’s game. Late in the proceedings, Harris became the first Roughriders quarterback to punt against the Blue Bombers since … Lancaster! The Little General punted for 38 yards during the frantic penultimate play of the 1972 Western Final. To recap: Jack Abendschan’s attempt at a 32-yard, game-winning field goal was wide. With the score tied 24-24, Winnipeg’s Mike Law punted the ball out of the end zone. Lancaster fielded Law’s punt and kicked the ball back into the end zone. Winnipeg’s Paul Williams launched his own punt after catching Lancaster’s 38-yard return volley. The punt by Williams was caught by Saskatchewan’s Charlie Collins, who was quickly flattened. Winnipeg was flagged for no yards, giving Abendschan a second chance. He split the uprights to give Saskatchewan a 27-24 win at Winnipeg Stadium. Whew!

CARNEY CREATES CHAOS

Roughriders defensive end Malik Carney was a menace — at least from the visitors’ perspective — from the outset of Sunday’s game.

Carney trapped running back Brady Oliveira for a two-yard loss on the Blue Bombers’ second play from scrimmage.

On second-and-12, Carney pressured Collaros into unloading the ball quickly for a six-yard gain. Punt.

Winnipeg also punted to conclude the following possession, after Carney sacked Collaros for a loss of six.

Carney went one step further in the second quarter, sacking Collaros, forcing a fumble and bouncing on the loose ball deep in Winnipeg territory. A.J. Ouellette then ran seven yards for Saskatchewan’s first touchdown.

Afterward, Carney chose to focus upon the larger equation instead of accentuating his own accomplishments.

“This is one of the biggest games here,” he said. “The Labour Day Classic here in Riderville is a huge game.

“I was just able to do my job. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my team.”

ROBUSTELLI AND (WHAT ELSE?!) THE ROUGE

Back to the Harris punt because WE SIMPLY CAN’T HELP OURSELVES: Receiver Joe Robustelli tackled the returner — defensive back Deatrick Nichols — one yard deep in the end zone to secure the rouge.

Robustelli also stood out two plays before Mario Anderson Jr. ran for a 26-yard touchdown.

Harris looked for Robustelli over the middle, only to have linebacker Tony Jones tip the football and slightly alter its path.

The Roughriders’ No. 82 reached behind himself with one hand and pulled in the football for a 16-yard gain. On the next play, Harris found Dohnte Meyers for 13 yards before handing off to Anderson Jr. for his first of two TD runs.

COREY’S CHALLENGE

Anderson Jr.’s second TD, on a five-yard run, was set up by Corey Mace’s successful challenge.

Early in the fourth quarter, Collaros found Dillon Mitchell for a 16-yard completion. Mace threw a challenge flag, maintaining that Nic Demski should be called for offensive pass interference.

Upon review, the call on the field was overturned and Winnipeg was penalized 10 yards.

Two plays later, Oliveira ran eight yards on second-and-24 draw play before A.J. Allen jarred loose the football. Roughriders middle linebacker Jameer Thurman recovered the fumble.

Saskatchewan capitalized by marching 35 yards to pay dirt without throwing a pass.

Ouellette ran for nine yards to start it off. On second-and-one, short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens barged ahead for a gain of eight.

Ouellette followed up with a 13-yard gain before taking a breather. In came Anderson Jr., who scored from the five.

Anderson Jr. also contributed to the game’s biggest passing play. He picked up a Blue Bombers blitzer to allow time for Harris to find Tommy Nield for a 69-yard scoring bomb.

TRIPLE DIGITS

Nield’s long-distance TD capped a four-play, 102-yard march.

It was the Roughriders’ eighth drive of at least 100 yards in 60 Labour Day Classics.

The triple-digit possessions covered the following distances:

107: One play only! Kent Austin to Jeff Fairholm for a 107-yard TD — the longest completion in Roughriders history (Sept. 2, 1990).

105: A four-play possession concluded when Warren Jones hit Ray Elgaard for a 40-yard TD on Sept. 3, 1995. The drive was sparked by Darren Joseph’s 50-yard run.

105: Smith to Smith — Brett to Ryan — for a 27-yard TD capped a 10-play trek (Sept. 6, 2015).

102: Austin to Fairholm (again) for a 66-yard score concluded an eight-play drive (Sept. 4, 1988).

102: Jones to Mike Saunders for a six-yard TD culminated a nine-play march (Sept. 4, 1994). The big play was a 35-yard run by Saunders.

102: Antonio Pipkin scored on one-yard quarterback sneak on the drive’s eighth and final play (Sept. 3, 2023). The highlight was a 69-yard pass from Jake Dolegala to Tevin Jones.

102: Harris to Nield … 69 yards … touchdown.

100: A six-play scoring drive began when Winnipeg was penalized 40 yards for pass interference on Roughriders wideout Dwight Edwards. Five plays later, Joe Barnes found Billy McBride for a 19-yard major (Sept. 1, 1980).

SHORT SNORTS

• Ali Saad’s first CFL sack proved to be pivotal. On second-and-inches, the Blue Bombers opted to pass. Saad promptly toppled Collaros for a loss of seven. Compounding the Bombers’ misfortunes on that possession, Sergio Castillo missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt. Meyers returned the ball out of the end zone to prevent the ever-topical rouge.

• Winnipeg settled for a 10-yard field-goal by Castillo after a robust goal-line stand. After the Bombers recovered a fumble on Saskatchewan’s five-yard line, Oliveira was held to a two-yard gain on first down (tackle by C.J. Reavis). On second-and-goal from the three, short-yardage quarterback Chris Streveler advanced only one yard before Allen made the stop.

• Right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick and right guard Jacob Brammer bulldozed a gaping hole for Ouellette on his touchdown run.

• Saskatchewan has won 13 of its past 16 regular-season games, dating back to Sept. 20 (38-29 victory in Calgary).