WINNIPEG — Trevor Harris exclaimed “it’s our time!” one more time on Sunday.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback was named the 112th Grey Cup Game’s Most Valuable Player after engineering a 25-17 victory over the Montreal Alouettes at Princess Auto Stadium.
“It’s a dream,” Harris said while he was flanked by two of his sons, T.J. and Tripp.
“When I was out there on the field, I was like, ‘Is this real?’ ”
Confirmed.
Sunday’s win produced the fifth championship season in Roughriders history — following 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013 — and the first in which the Green and White has sported the CFL’s best record.
“This group, more than any group I’ve ever seen, deserves to be Grey Cup champions,” said President-CEO Craig Reynolds, who is from Foam Lake.
“I’m like everybody else. I’m just a huge fan of this organization and have been since I was a kid. To be able to just be a part of this and to feel the same emotions that are going through our fans, it’s just incredible.
“I can’t even put it into words.”
That sentiment was echoed by Logan Ferland while he stood on the field as the confetti flew.
“I don’t even have tears right now because I’m in shock,” the Roughriders’ centre said. “This is going to take a whole lot of time to sink in.”
The Roughriders are to fly back to Regina on Monday morning. Fans will be able to welcome home the 2025 CFL champions at 1:30 p.m., shortly after they arrive at Mosaic Stadium.
A Grey Cup championship parade is scheduled to begin on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The procession will travel south down the Green Mile, ending at the Legislative Building.
It will be the fourth large-scale Grey Cup celebration for Head Coach Corey Mace, who was part of two championship teams with the Calgary Stampeders (2014, 2018) and helped the Toronto Argonauts win it all in 2022. He joined the Roughriders on Nov. 30, 2023, becoming the 48th head coach in team history.
“I’m just grateful that these guys get to experience this, because they’re more than deserving,” Mace said.
“But you’ve got to go out and earn it and they did that with conviction. We knew this is exactly who we expected to be — and we are indeed that.”
Sunday’s game came down to the final play, as it typically has for the 2025 Roughriders, before Marcus Sayles knocked down the Alouettes’ final, last-gasp pass.
Earlier, Sayles had intercepted Davis Alexander’s first pass of the game. With 2:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, Sayles also pounced on a fumble on the Roughriders’ one-yard line after fellow cornerback Tevaughn Campbell jarred the ball loose from short-yardage quarterback Shea Patterson.
“That was a huge play,” Sayles said. “If we didn’t get that turnover, it’s a whole different game.”
Harris, 39, completed 23 of 27 passes — good for a Grey Cup-record 85.2-per-cent accuracy rate — for 302 yards. He wasn’t intercepted or sacked.
“I don’t think I took a single hit,” he noted. “I could have not worn shoulder pads.”
Harris connected with Samuel Emilus for 10 completions that gained 108 yards. The fourth-year Riders receiver was named the game’s Most Outstanding Canadian.
“Coming into this game, I was about to give everything I have for Coach Mace, the coaching staff, the players, and the whole organization,” said Emilus, who was an ardent Alouettes fan while growing up in Montreal.
“I get more motivation playing for other people — my teammates and the coaches — so I knew they were about to get everything out of me.
“We earned it.”
So did short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens, who scored the Roughriders’ first and third TDs.
“I’m happy to be a part of this group,” Touchdown Tommy said. “We’re special.”
Such a description also fits A.J. Ouellette, who rushed 17 times for 83 yards — including a four-yard major that was set up in part by his 32-yard reception.
The lengthy list of major contributors includes Jameer Thurman, whose career-high 11 defensive tackles tied a Roughriders Grey Cup record that was set earlier by Cleveland Vann (in 1976 versus the Ottawa Rough Riders) and Renauld Williams (2009 versus Montreal).
On Sunday, the Roughriders opened the scoring on a 69-yard punt single by Jesse Mirco at 4:55 of the first quarter. The possession began after Sayles’ 25-yard interception return.
The Alouettes got on the board at 13:48 of the first quarter when Patterson, an ex-Roughrider, ran for a one-yard touchdown. Jose Maltos Diaz added the convert. The big strike on the six-play, 54-yard TD drive was a 37-yard pass from Alexander to Tyson Philpot.
The Roughriders responded with an eight-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a one-yard TD run by Stevens.
The Roughriders were initially stopped on a third-down gamble from the four-yard line, but Mace threw the challenge flag. The Replay Centre determined that Montreal’s Kabion Ento should be penalized for defensive pass interference.
“I saw it live,” Mace said. “I go upstairs just to double check. Sometimes you don’t want emotions to get the best of you.
“It made sense for us right there. We knew if we get that ball on the one, Tommy Stevens is pretty good at his job, and it all worked out.”
Stevens scored at 3:05 of the second quarter. Brett Lauther provided the convert to give the Roughriders an 8-7 lead.
After forcing a two-and-out, the Roughriders used up 6:42 while marching 92 yards in 11 plays — the capper being Ouellette’s TD run at 12:22 of the second frame. Lauther’s convert made it 15-7, Roughriders, and concluded the first-half scoring.
On the final play of the half, Rolan Milligan Jr. intercepted a desperation pass by Alexander.
Saskatchewan exploded out of the gate to begin the second half.
After a 38-yard kickoff return by Mario Alford, the Roughriders moved 48 yards in four plays. Stevens scored another one-yard TD (at 2:48) following a 34-yard pass from Harris to Tommy Nield. Lauther’s convert made it 22-7 for the West Division champions.
A Campbell interception — the Roughriders’ third pick of the day — set up a 48-yard field goal by Lauther that put the Riders ahead 25-7 at 11:01 of the third quarter.
Montreal countered with a 10-yard TD run by Stevie Scott III. Maltos Diaz’s convert, which concluded the third quarter, made it 25-14 for the Roughriders.
A 23-yard field goal by Maltos Diaz at 7:08 of the fourth quarter reduced the Roughriders’ lead to 25-17.
A touchdown and a two-point convert late in the fourth quarter would have tied the game, but Sayles’ fumble recovery prevented that scenario from unfolding.
Saskatchewan registered back-to-back first downs on the ensuing possession before being forced to punt.
Montreal began its final drive on its 40-yard line with 57 seconds on the clock. The Alouettes moved 33 yards in eight plays before Alexander launched a Hail Mary that was broken up six yards deep in the end zone — the one with the Roughriders’ logo in it, fittingly enough.
EXTRA POINTS
• The 10 receptions by Emilus were the most by a Roughrider in a Grey Cup Game. Tom Campana set the previous record of nine against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1972. Emilus’s three highest single-game reception totals — 10, nine and nine — have all been in the post-season.
• Emilus also amassed the most receiving yards (106) by a Roughrider in a Grey Cup. Running back Mike Saunders set the previous record of 103 against Toronto in 1997. Mark Guy, with 100 in 1989, is the only other Roughrider to hit triple digits in a Grey Cup.
• Stevens tied a Roughriders record for touchdowns in a Grey Cup Game (two). Kory Sheets and Geroy Simon each scored twice in 2013. Stevens, Simon, Sheets, Alan Ford and Andy Fantuz are tied for the most Grey Cup TDs by a Roughrider, period.
• Lauther’s 48-yarder was the second-longest field goal by a Roughrider in a Grey Cup. Bob Macoritti kicked a 51-yarder against the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1976.
• Harris had the second-highest passing-yardage total (302) by a Roughrider in a Grey Cup Game. Kent Austin threw for 474 against Hamilton in 1989. Austin and Harris are also 1-2 in completions. Austin had 26 in 1989. Harris completed 23 — including 10 in a row at one point — on Sunday.
• Saskatchewan tied a team record for interceptions in a Grey Cup. The Roughriders also had three picks in 1976 and 2007.
• Mirco’s 69-yard punt was the fourth-longest by a Roughrider in a Grey Cup Game. Ford set the record with an 87-yarder against Hamilton in 1967. His grandson, defensive back Jaxon Ford, suited up for Saskatchewan on Sunday.
• Sayles’ interception return (25 yards) was the fourth-longest by a Rider in a Grey Cup. Dale West set the record of 36 in 1966.
• Jesse Mirco set a Roughriders record for punting average (49.3 yards) in a Grey Cup. Louie Sakoda set the previous mark of 48.2 in 2009.
• The 17 points allowed was the third-lowest total by the Roughriders in the post-Second World War era, behind 13 (1972) and 14 (1966).
• A.J. Allen had six defensive tackles and one special teams stop on Sunday. Antoine Brooks Jr. added five defensive tackles and a pass knockdown.
• Brooks Jr. has now won a Super Bowl (as a member of the 2021 Los Angeles Rams) and a Grey Cup.
• Nick Wiebe and Aubrey Miller led the Roughriders in special teams tackles, with two each.
• Next year’s Grey Cup Game will be played in Calgary on Nov. 15. Mosaic Stadium will be the host facility on Nov. 7, 2027.
