Riders survive OT thriller in OK Tire Labour Day Weekend win over Bombers
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders survived a late scare from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before pulling out a 32-26 overtime victory Sunday in the OK Tire Labour Day Weekend matchup at Mosaic Stadium.
Trevor Harris completed 23 of 33 attempts for 362 yards, while Dhel Duncan-Busby broke out for a career-high 148 receiving yards on 10 receptions for his first 100-yard game. The Riders improved to 8-4 with the OT win and secured their second straight Labour Day Classic over Winnipeg.
The hostile crowd at Mosaic Stadium made its presence felt as the Bombers opened with a two-and-out, but Tony Jones quickly silenced it on the next possession, punching the ball loose from D’Sean Mimbs. Evan Holm recovered for Winnipeg, setting up a Sergio Castillo field goal to open the scoring.
The defences continued to trade stops before Derick Roberson burst through to sack Zach Collaros in the end zone for a safety. The Riders then took the lead on an Alex Hale field goal, but it could have been larger had Daniel Wiebe held on to a potential touchdown in the red zone.
Wiebe made up for his mistake in the second quarter, dancing 72 yards down the sideline before being hauled down inside the 20. The completion moved Trevor Harris into the top 10 in career passing yards and set up Quali Conley for a short touchdown catch.
The Bombers offence failed to record a first down on its first four possessions, but Collaros settled in after Conley’s score. A well-timed leap from Seyi Oladipo Jr. broke up Collaros’ end-zone shot, but he connected with Kevens Clercius later in the quarter to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive as Winnipeg reclaimed a 13-12 lead at the half.
Hale bookended the break with a pair of missed kicks from beyond 40 yards. His 47-yard try in the third slipped through Trey Vaval’s hands, giving Saskatchewan a single to tie it at 13-13, but Winnipeg responded later in the quarter with a Castillo field goal.
Dhel Duncan-Busby helped Saskatchewan open the fourth quarter with a 22-yard completion, fighting through a facemask penalty to move the Riders into the red zone. After three straight goal-line carries, Tommy Stevens punched in his 13th rushing major of the season to put Saskatchewan back in front 20-16.
Winnipeg’s answer burned more than five minutes off the clock but came up short in the red zone after Jonathan Edouard broke up a second-down pass intended for Tim White. Collaros and Ontaria Wilson were shaken up on the drive, but the quarterback stayed in despite appearing to favour one leg.
The Harris-to-Duncan-Busby connection then came alive. Duncan-Busby ignited the drive with a 32-yard completion through defensive pass interference before hauling in a 26-yard over-the-shoulder grab. Stevens closed the drive by outpacing the defence and diving for the pylon, but Harris’ two-point pass into traffic was broken up.
The Riders defence looked to have locked down the win when Oladipo and Aubrey Miller Jr. notched consecutive sacks to halt the Bombers’ potential comeback, but with the game slipping away, Collaros found Dorian Singer for a last-second touchdown to tie it and send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Stevens completed his hat trick of rushing touchdowns after Harris moved the ball down to the one-yard line, but Saskatchewan failed to convert the ensuing two-point attempt. With the game on the line, Jameer Thurman delivered the winning play, tracking down Tim White on third down to seal the victory.
Collaros finished with 279 yards and two touchdowns on 27-for-40 passing, while Singer made a dramatic CFL debut with 62 receiving yards. It wasn’t enough, however, as Winnipeg fell to 6-6.
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SCORING PLAYS
- Sergio Castillo 46-yard field goal (10:48, Q1) | WPG 3 SSK 0
- Derick Roberson safety touch (5:10, Q1) | WPG 3 SSK 2
- Alex Hale 31-yard field goal (1:11, Q1) | SSK 5 WPG 3
- Trevor Harris seven-yard touchdown pass to Quali Conley (12:20, Q2) | SSK 12 WPG 3
- Sergio Castillo 32-yard field goal (7:55, Q2) | SSK 12 WPG 6
- Zach Collaros 12-yard touchdown pass to Kevens Clercius (0:38, Q2) | WPG 13 SSK 12
- Alex Hale 47-yard missed field goal single (10:39, Q3) | SSK 13 WPG 13
- Sergio Castillo 43-yard field goal (0:59, Q3) | WPG 16 SSK 13
- Tommy Stevens one-yard touchdown run (11:21, Q4) | SSK 20 WPG 16
- Sergio Castillo 18-yard field goal (5:44, Q4) | SSK 20 WPG 19
- Tommy Stevens three-yard touchdown run (3:11, Q4) | SSK 26 WPG 19
- Zach Collaros five-yard touchdown pass to Dorian Singer (0:00, Q4) | WPG 26 SSK 26
- Tommy Stevens one-yard touchdown run (OT) | SSK 32 WPG 26
NEXT UP
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders close their home-and-home series as they meet one final time this season in Winnipeg on Saturday, September 12. The Bombers won the last meeting at Princess Auto Stadium, a 17-16 victory in 2025. Saskatchewan will look to take the season series for a second straight year
