For the second time in four years, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed overtime to decide the annual Labour Day Classic. The 61st edition ended with the home team on top, 32-26. In front of a new Mosaic Stadium-record 34,352 fans, the latest chapter in this rivalry matchup lived up to its name once again. The new stadium first opened in 2017. Winnipeg tied the game on the final play of regulation with a five-yard pass from quarterback Zach Collaros to Dorian Singer, forcing overtime. Saskatchewan earned possession to begin the extra time. Quarterback Trevor Harris, with a pass to Dhel Duncan-Busby; two rushes by Quali Conley and another throw to KeeSean Johnson, got the Riders to the one-yard line. From there, short-yardage pivot Tommy Stevens punched it into the endzone to put the Roughriders ahead 32-26. Then the Saskatchewan defence had to stop Winnipeg. On 3rd and 6, needing a major play to force another overtime possession, Collaros was unable to find a receiver down field for a first down. Riders’ linebacker Jameer Thurman came up with the game-sealing tackle to lock down Saskatchewan’s win. Game recap A defensive battle throughout the first half saw both teams trade small jabs early. After a Winnipeg two-and-out to begin the contest, Saskatchewan took over possession. However, on just their second play of the game, a D’Sean Mimbs fumble gave the Bombers the ball right back. Winnipeg would not be able to make much out of the short field, settling for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Saskatchewan’s defence got the Riders on the board later in the first quarter, sacking Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros in the endzone for the safety to make the score 3-2 for Winnipeg. On the ensuring Riders’ possession, Saskatchewan pivot Trevor Harris led a six-play 42-yard drive which would not reach the redzone. However, it was close enough for Alex Hale to punch a 31-yard field goal through the uprights to give the Riders their first lead of the game. Getting the ball to start the second quarter, Saskatchewan added to their early lead with the game’s first touchdown. Starting on their own 21-yard line, Harris needed just five plays to march down the field and score. A historic 72-yard catch and run by former University of Saskatchewan Huskie Daniel Wiebe took a big chunk out of the field. On the play, Harris passed CFL Hall of Famer Doug Flutie’s 41,355 career passing yards, placing the Rider quarterback in the league’s all time top 10 list. Two plays later, Harris found Quali Conley for a short seven-yard touchdown pass to give the Riders a 12-3 lead. Winnipeg countered immediately with another field goal; a seven-play, 60-yard scoring drive capped off by a 32-yard attempt by Sergio Castillo to cut the lead to 12-6. The Bombers regained the lead late in the half. Beginning on their own 32-yard-line, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros led a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to jump back out in front. Collars threw his first TD pass of the game to Kevens Clercius, giving Winnipeg a 13-12 lead. Saskatchewan tried to retake the lead going into the halftime break, however Hale missed a 46-yard field goal attempt and the score remained 13-12 for Winnipeg. On the very first drive of the second half, Saskatchewan got close to scoring again. Harris and the offence drove to the Winnipeg 40-yard-line to set up another Hale field goal attempt. The Oklahoma State product missed again – this time from 47 yards. Bombers’ kick returner Trey Vaval made contact with the ball before it rolled out of the endzone to qualify for a rouge under the new CFL rules to tie the game at 13-13. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan traded punts on each of their following possessions. Later in the third quarter, with the Bombers pressing, Saskatchewan believed they had turned the ball over on a strip-sack of Collaros. As flags flew after the tackle, the Riders learned a penalty negated the fumble and Winnipeg retained possession. Three plays later, Castillo knocked in his third field goal of the game from 43 yards and the Bombers were out in front again 16-13. The back-and-forth affair continued into the fourth quarter. Harris lead a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive down to the five-yard-line. Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens took over from there. Although he needed three tries at the endzone, Stevens eventually punched it across the goal line for the touchdown. Hale converted on the PAT to give Saskatchewan a 20-16 lead. Then Saskatchewan’s defence came up big again. With the Bombers threatening inside the redzone, Collaros could not find an open receiver in the endzone and Winnipeg was forced to settle for another field goal to draw within a point. Saskatchewan added some insurance on their next possession. Harris needed just four plays to get the Riders into the scoring zone as Stevens ran into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night. Saskatchewan opted for a two-point convert attempt. It was unsuccessful and kept the score 26-19. Winnipeg needed a touchdown to tie, but the Rider defence was a stonewall again – sacking Collaros twice on the final two drives in the last three minutes to seal the win. The seven-point margin of victory makes this the ninth of the last 10 Labour Day Classics to finish as one-score games between the Roughriders and Blue Bombers. Harris finished the game with 23 completions on 33 pass attempts for 362 yards and added one touchdown pass. Dhel Duncan-Busby had the best game of his young CFL career with 148 receiving yards on 10 catches. For the Bombers, Collaros was 27 for 40 passing with 279 yards and two passing touchdowns. KeeSean Johnson records second-straight 1,000-yard season For a second straight season, Saskatchewan’s KeeSean Johnson is a 1,000-yard receiver, reaching the milestone Sunday. He needed just 10 yards to cross 1,000 on the year going into the Labour Day Classic. He made two catches in the first half for 12 yards – surpassing the 1K mark on a nine-yard pass from Harris at the end of the second quarter. Johnson finished the game with just three catches for 19 yards. The third-year Fresno State product set career highs in 2025, making 86 catches for 1,159 yards and four touchdowns. This season, Johnson is on pace to smash those numbers. Through 11 games, his 1,782-yard pace averaged 99 receiving yards per game. He already surpassed last season’s career-best for touchdown catches and is on pace to score 11 majors.
