ROBSERVATIONS: Receiving a great gift … revisiting a crazy game from 1970 … and a momentous 2025 season

Did one newly signed contract include a Samta clause?

That thought did come to mind (unfortunately) after the Saskatchewan Roughriders squeezed in one more re-signing — that of star receiver Samuel Emilus — before Christmas.

Honestly, who needed a present after that news?

Santa did provide a coveted complementary gift in the form of a new pair of socks and, crucially in my case, instructions.

I was not resting easily with the notion of Emilus becoming a free agent in February.

This is someone, remember, who enjoyed back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons (in 2023 and 2024) before being named the Grey Cup Game’s Most Valuable Canadian in 2025.

He is, in the assessment of quarterback Trevor Harris, a “future Hall of Famer.”

At 28, Emilus would have entered free agency in his prime and with considerable momentum.

Factor in his National status and, well, there could have been a vibrant market for his services.

The worst fears have been allayed.

(The worst jokes, however, are still reserved for this space.)

How talented is Emilus? Well, he is already in the company of legends, even with only four CFL seasons to his good name. He is one of only nine receivers in Roughriders history with 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons:

• Hugh Campbell (1964-66)

• Joey Walters (1981-82)

• Chris DeFrance (1981-83)

• Ray Elgaard (1985-86, 1990-94)

• Don Narcisse (1989-95)

• Jeff Fairholm (1991-93)

• Weston Dressler (2010-13)

• Naaman Roosevelt (2015-17)

• Samuel Emilus (2023-24)

The tone was set on June 16, 2023, when Emilus scored his first three CFL touchdowns — all in the same game, against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In so doing, Emilus tied a Roughriders single-game record for touchdown receptions.

At the time, he was in a 19-way tie. The list has since swelled to 20.

Sept. 29, 1958: Jack Hill (distances: 5, 8, 10) at B.C.

Sept. 26, 1960: Bob Renn (21, 21, 49) vs. Calgary.

Aug. 7, 1964: Hugh Campbell (7, 33, 10) vs. Winnipeg.

Aug. 28, 1964: Hugh Campbell (20, 14, 9) at Edmonton.

July 29, 1966: Hugh Campbell (20, 28, 8) at Edmonton, July 29.

Aug. 7, 1966: Hugh Campbell (10, 8, 42) vs. Winnipeg.

Sept. 5, 1966: Hugh Campbell (27, 10, 17) vs. Montreal.

Sept. 16, 1973: Tom Campana (25, 36 44) at Montreal.

Sept. 28, 1975: Rhett Dawson (24, 46, 44) vs. B.C.

Aug. 30, 1981: Joey Walters (35, 25, 3) at Edmonton.

Oct. 18, 1981: Joey Walters (21, 1, 35) vs. Edmonton.

Sept. 16, 1988: Ray Elgaard (10, 5, 36) at B.C.

Sept. 21, 1991: Jeff Fairholm (4, 16, 21) at B.C.

Sept. 13, 1998: Don Narcisse (5, 16, 20) at Winnipeg.

July 28, 2000: Curtis Marsh (15, 25, 35) vs. Calgary (OT).

July 28, 2001: Curtis Marsh (30, 20, 11) vs. Toronto.

Oct. 14, 2007: Andy Fantuz (36, 73, 27) at Hamilton.

June 29, 2012: Weston Dressler (9, 22, 6) at Hamilton.

June 16, 2023: Samuel Emilus (5, 20, 6) vs. Winnipeg.

June 8, 2024: Shawn Bane Jr. (27, 40, 33) at Edmonton.

One final note allows me to demonstrate the skills that allowed me to fail math in Grades 10, 12, 9 and 11.

Emilus had 37 receptions for 588 yards in seven regular-season games for the 2025 Roughriders.

Extrapolated over a full 18-game schedule, the numbers compute to 95 receptions for 1,512 yards. The latter total would be the fourth-highest in Roughriders history, behind Walters (1,715 yards in 1981; 1,692 in 1982) and Marsh (1,560 in 2000).

For an easier calculation, take Emilus’s nine-game stats (playoffs/Grey Cup included) from 2025 — 56 catches for 796 yards — and simply double them.

Catches: 112.

Receiving yards: 1,592.

Those are “Sam” kind of numbers!

ABENDSCHAN RULES

The recent death of Roughriders legend Jack Abendschan prompted an e-mail from Edmonton-based football historian Jack Morrow.

Subject line: “Jack Abendschan inspired a rule change.”

Oh? How so?!

“Some years ago I noticed an oddity in the CFL stats for 1970,” Morrow explained. “The longest punt return was 85 yards by Barrie Hansen of the B.C. Lions at Saskatchewan on Sept. 18 — and it was his only punt return of the season. With no blocking in those days, I figured something weird must have happened and, indeed, that was the case.

“That was the game where Abendschan kicked a 47-yard field goal with one second left to give the Roughriders a 23-22 win. He also attempted a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the first half, but according to newspaper reports, the ball hit the crossbar and came all the way back to the 20-yard line, where Hansen caught it and took off.

“Presumably the Saskatchewan cover team was either caught going the wrong way or thought the ball was dead, because Hansen legged it all the way to the Roughriders’ five-yard line, where he was caught by Henry Dorsch. Because it was the last play of the half, they couldn’t run another play, so that run was for nothing.”

But the play produced something.

Rule 1, Section 4, Dead Ball, which begins with “The ball is dead …”  was amended in 1971 to include “when a kicked ball strikes a goal post or crossbar in flight and rebounds directly into the field of play.”

In 1972 it was amended to read “when a kicked ball strikes a goal post or crossbar in flight.”

OH, ABOUT THAT GAME …

The game cited in the previous item had one of the craziest endings ever. Ever, ever, ever.

B.C. led 22-20 when time was whistled in for a second-down play with 33 seconds remaining. In the pre-timeout era, the Lions were a pair of clock-killing kneel-downs away from their first victory at Taylor Field since 1965.

Unimaginably, B.C. took more than the allotted 20 seconds to snap the ball on second down. The Lions were called for a time-count violation, which stopped the clock and forced the visiting team to punt on third down.

Jim Walter fielded the kick and returned the ball 11 yards to the Lions’ 39-yard line. With three seconds left, there was just enough time for Abendschan to enter the game and provide the decisive three-pointer.

I “DOUG” IT UP

Hansen’s punt return stats from 1970: One for 85 yards.

There is one parallel in Roughriders history. Doug Killoh, a defensive end, was credited for a 61-yarder after fielding a punt for the only time in 1954.

The wacky play unfolded as follows: After blocking a Calgary Stampeders field-goal attempt, Killoh tracked the loose ball and kicked it not once, but twice.

According to Scotty Melville of the Regina Leader-Post, Killoh outran two defenders before falling on the football on Calgary’s 17-yard line.

For statistical purposes, Killoh was credited with the entire distance (61 yards) between the Roughriders’ 32-yard line (from where the ball was snapped on the doomed field-goal attempt) and the point at which the play concluded (Calgary’s 17).

Although Killoh first kicked the ball from the Roughriders’ 50 and did not secure the pigskin until he fell on it, the play was recorded as a 61-yard punt return.

In those days, remember, missed field goal attempts were regarded as punts for statistical purposes.

ABOUT THAT YEAR …

As we prepare to close the books on 2025, here is a quick review of a most eventful year.

• The Roughriders won the Grey Cup. (No kidding!)

• The Roughriders advanced to the Grey Cup Game with a classic comeback. Trevor Harris threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Nield in the Western Final to give Saskatchewan a 24-21 victory over B.C. (What is it about facing B.C.? Nield scored with 11 seconds left. Back in 1970, the Lions’ Ken Phillips punted with 11 seconds remaining, whereupon Abendschan produced the game-winning field goal.)

• Saskatchewan earned the right to play host to the 2027 Grey Cup Festival.

• Tailgating received the green light.

• So did a Saskatoon-based pre-season game, to be played May 23 when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit Griffiths Stadium.

• A new Plaza of Honour cairn was unveiled, coinciding with the inductions of Alex Smith Sr., Steve Molnar and Chris Best.

• A $20, all-in ticket price became a reality when the Co-op Community Zone became a reality.

Here’s to more exciting developments in 2026.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! … almost.

ROLL CREDITS …

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Jim Killoh, Jake Paczko, Dr. Larry Taylor, Samuel Emilus, Dale West, Joan West, Jack Morrow, Maurizio Dattilo, Lori Dattilo, Liam Dattilo, Noah Dattilo, Evan Dattilo, Elliott Dattilo, Dr. Mark Anderson, Roxanne Anderson, Eric Anderson, Lauren Anderson, Thea Anderson and Paul Anderson.