ROBSERVATIONS: Big-game buzz … Campbell filled a need — with speed! … high school teams join forces to tackle cancer

WINNIPEG — Although there is a push toward interprovincial commerce, let the record show that nobody in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ travelling party stopped to make a purchase at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ team store on Friday.

We did pass through the Blue and Gold’s retail outlet, though, en route to conducting interviews at Princess Auto Stadium in advance of today’s Labour Day Rematch.

Once the media session began, I asked Trevor Harris to describe the feeling that is created by entering a rival team’s home base, being surrounded by its merchandise, and absorbing the big-game buzz.

“The air’s worse,” the Roughriders’ marquee quarterback joked. “It’s better in Regina.

“You know, it’s fun. When you grow up throwing the ball around in your backyard and you’re the announcer, the player and all that stuff and you’re imagining the setting, it’s never about the whole crowd behind you.

“My son comes into the living room and says, ‘Dad, will you boo me when I come out and introduce myself for the game?’ You envision yourself in those hostile environments.

“You watch movies like Rocky IV when he goes to fight the Russian and goes into that hostile territory — but he goes there and takes over. That’s kind of what you envision.”

Visualization is also part of the on-field pre-game regimen, which also includes touching base with loved ones in Regina and Waldo, Ohio.

“A lot of times, I’ll call my mom, because it’s a gratitude thing,” the 39-year-old son of Tom and Suzanne Harris said.

“I remember going to games every weekend when I was a kid and just watching the guys play. The fact that I get to do this still produces those ‘pinch me’ moments. There’s that little kid inside you that never grows up. That you get to do that now is really neat.

“So I call my mom. I call my wife and kids and just FaceTime and show them the stadium. It’s one of those cool moments. I look up on the stands and think, ‘I used to be the guy sitting in the seat. Now I get to be the man in the arena.’ ”

It is a peaceful, calming ritual a few hours before a physical, intense, high-stakes game that can include bedlam in the stands at a sold-out stadium.

“It just centres you,” Harris said. “I treat football like it’s the most important thing in my life, but it’s not. I think anybody who has a family can attest that family and faith and those sorts of things are always going to come first.

“We darned sure treat football like (it is the most important thing), but it’s OK to look back and zoom out really quick and just be thankful that I not only get to be on the team, but I get to be the quarterback.

“This is pretty darned cool and I’m just thankful.”

However, there is only so much time for reflection and appreciation due to the imperatives of preparing for a game.

“You say, ‘OK, that’s out of the way. What can we do to get dialled in here?’ ” Harris said. “I just start doing visualization stuff (on the field).

“I come in (to the locker room) and get dressed and warmed up. I try and make it just like a practice, because I try to approach practice just like I would a game and put my best foot forward for my teammates.

“That’s ultimately what drives me, aside from my faith and my love for Jesus Christ. It’s the love for my brothers and teammates.”

T.D. FOR T.C.

Tevaughn Campbell came through in the long run — with a long run.

When the Roughriders and Blue Bombers last met, the speedy cornerback scored the game’s final points and cemented the outcome by intercepting Zach Collaros on a two-point convert attempt and sprinting 112 yards to Mosaic Stadium’s south end zone.

Two points were awarded, but to Saskatchewan as it won 34-30 on Saturday in the 60^th Labour Day Classic.

“It was a close game,” Campbell recounted five days after the first pick-two in franchise history. “I think we had to make a play on defence. That was what was going on in our minds.

“We looked around at each other and we were like, ‘Man, one of us has got to make a play,’ whether it’s batting a ball down, making a stop or picking the ball … whatever it is.

“I just remember that me and (defensive halfback) DaMarcus Fields looked at each other. We didn’t really say anything, but we knew what was coming.”

In a bid to tie the game at 32-32, Collaros looked toward Dalton Schoen in the right front corner of the end zone.

“I just jumped the route,” Campbell said. “I kind of slipped on it, so I thought he was going to complete it, to be honest.

“I just remember the ball floating in the air for a little longer than I thought it would. I just got my hands on it and started running.”

Once the run was done, Campbell had tied a Roughriders record for the longest interception return. Bruce Bennett established the mark on Aug. 27, 1972 when he scored on a 112-yarder against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

Now another record is within sight.

Campbell’s four interceptions have generated a mind-boggling 201 return yards with seven regular-season games remaining.

That is already the second-highest total in team history. Dale West had 226 return yards on 10 interceptions in 1963.

“I can feel it in the legs, for sure,” a chuckling Campbell said when asked about the yardage total.

“I don’t know what to think. I just heard of that stat not too long ago. It’s interesting. If I could get over 226, that would be great.”

Campbell and teammate Rolan Milligan Jr. are the only players in the CFL with 100-plus interception-return yards this season. Milligan Jr., who also has four picks, has amassed 125 yards.

They are part of a five-way tie for the league lead in interceptions.

Milligan Jr. had a CFL-best eight picks last season en route to being named the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He and Campbell are both excellent candidates for that honour in 2025.

The Toronto-born Campbell signed with Saskatchewan on Feb. 3 after six years in the NFL. He spent time in the CFL with Calgary (2015), Saskatchewan (2016) and the Montreal Alouettes (2017 and 2018) before heading southward.

“He has been sensational — everything we thought he would be when we first made contact,” Head Coach Corey Mace said.

“Getting him back to the speed of the CFL game and allowing him to play free, he has been exceptional. His calming presence just makes everybody relax and feel comfortable out there.

“He’s kind of like a little silent assassin. He’s going to go out there and make the plays. He’s doing an excellent job and we’ve just passed Labour Day. There’s a lot of ball left and a lot more plays to be made for T.C.”

MILESTONE MATTERS

Harris is not big on statistics, unlike the team’s resident historian, so …

MILESTONE #1: He is one touchdown pass shy of a career total of 200.

“Hopefully Gordie lets me keep the ball,” Harris said, referencing Equipment Manager Gordon Gilroy. “He’s stingy with that.

“No, that’s pretty cool. I didn’t know that. Being very, very close to that, it’s one of those things where I’m just thankful.

“Obviously, I’ve had tremendous coaches and players around me for my career. I’m just thankful that (Offensive Co-ordinator) Marc Mueller is guiding us and that we have the playmakers that we do, because oftentimes they’re making me look better than I am.

“I thank God every day that I get to do this. The fact that I’ve gotten to do it for so long kind of tells you I’ve got some grey hairs coming, playing long enough to be able to do something like that, so I’m thankful.”

MILESTONE #2: Harris needs just 13 completions to overtake Doug Flutie and ascend to 10^th All-Time in completions.

Flutie, a six-time recipient of the league’s Most Outstanding Player award, completed 2,975 passes over eight CFL seasons.

“Well, Doug kind of split his career up,” Harris noted. “He played a lot in the NFL, too, so don’t misconstrue that. I wouldn’t say that I’m on par with any of those guys.

“It is pretty cool to see your name among those guys, but to say that I’ve accomplished what they have or what somebody like Zach has, it’s not close.

“I’m honestly just thankful to be here with this organization and with this crop of players and have the ability and the opportunity to accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish as a team.”

TROJANS, SPARTANS TEAM UP

The third annual Beat Cancer Game is slated for Friday, when the Thom Trojans and Sheldon-Williams Spartans will meet in a Regina Intercollegiate Football League contest. Kickoff is set for 5:15 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium.

When the event was launched, both teams had a coach who was battling cancer. Gord MacQuarrie (Thom) and Pete Paczko (Sheldon-Williams) have since passed away.

A donation box will be at Friday’s game so attendees can donate money to fund cancer research. All contributions go toward the Allan Blair Cancer Centre at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital.

“We include this in Thom’s annual Beat Cancer Week in March,” well-named Trojans head coach Ross Vanstone (no relation) said.

“During the game, we are going to have the scoreboard display pictures of the teams individually and who they are playing for. Everyone has been affected by cancer, and this game is meant to bring awareness.”

The game’s slogan is Everything Matters.

There will be an accompanying banner, which both teams will carry while running out of the tunnel.

ROLL CREDITS

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Brett Lauther, Cathy Smith, Amelie Sarauer, Jayden Dalke, Phillip Daniels, Shadia Ismail, Channing Masuhara, Jermarcus Hardrick, Dave Thomas, Pamela Bryden, Barry Dixon, Jack Coan, A.J. Ouellette, Morgan Fleury, Dale West, Wendy Medwid, Ashley Prest, Doug Lunney, Tom Harris, Suzanne Harris, Tevaughn Campbell, Ross Vanstone, Jake Paczko, Dawn MacQuarrie, Marcus MacQuarrie, Derek MacQuarrie and everyone involved with the football programs at Thom Collegiate and Sheldon-Williams Collegiate.