Labour Day lives up to the hype

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This article was published 07/09/2023 (772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Labour Day weekend is the most exciting time of year in the CFL regular season, and this year’s edition certainly didn’t disappoint.

There were highly attended games with raucous crowds, including sellouts in Saskatchewan and Hamilton — music to the CFL’s ears. While not every game went down to the wire, each packed its own punch, making for an enjoyable few days of three-down football.

The B.C. Lions snapped a two-game losing streak with a 34-25 road win Saturday over the Montreal Alouettes, who after winning four straight have now lost their last two. The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers went toe-to-toe in the annual Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium, with the Riders pulling out a 32-30 victory in overtime.

That set the stage for a double-header on Monday, beginning with the CFL-leading Toronto Argonauts dismantling the lowly Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 41-28, at Tim Hortons Field. Finally, things wrapped up with the Calgary Stampeders mounting a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Edmonton Elks 35-31 at McMahon Stadium.

With that, let’s dive into the top stories from Week 13 in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) Roughriders DL Pete Roberston was given a one-game suspension for his egregious headbutt against Bombers QB Zach Collaros. While suspending Robertson was the prudent thing to do — there’s an argument the penalty should be more severe — I’m not about to give credit to the CFL despite what was a quicker-than-usual response. Head-butting has absolutely no place in the game and Robertson should have been ejected immediately. What made it even more embarrassing was the on-field officials didn’t even see it, forcing the command centre to come in and call the 15-yard penalty.

2) If you’re curious why the CFL decided to keep Robertson out just one game, it’s because when it comes to the league and suspending players the goal is to come up with a punishment it hopes won’t be appealed by the CFLPA. It was a similar situation last season with Garrett Marino, another Riders D-lineman, who was given four games for his despicable actions against Ottawa QB Jeremiah Masoli. Marino’s suspension was broken up into three separate punishments — one two-game and two one-game suspensions — to make it harder for the player to appeal. Give Robertson two games and it’s almost certainly going to be grieved, especially when you consider how the club, notably head coach Craig Dickenson, seemed to downplay his player’s actions. The appeal process can then take weeks to finish. With a one-game suspension, it’s a bad look if the CFLPA tries to protect Robertson over the league’s two-time reigning MOP. Robertson also doesn’t get to play this week in the rematch, ultimately ending any chance of vigilante justice.

3) The headbutt overshadowed what was a stellar performance by the Riders, who have certainly started to turn some heads with wins over the Bombers and Lions in recent weeks. Saskatchewan deserved to win as they were better in all three phases of the game. The close score only hammers home the importance of finishing drives with TDs, as the Riders kicked five field goals to keep it close.

4) QB Jake Dolegala appears to be the real deal and if he can continue to play the way he has the last two games, he should be the pivot of the future in Riderville. Saskatchewan is high on Trevor Harris, who is expected to return from a serious knee injury by season’s end, but at 37 years old it’s a gamble that he can return as the player he was before. Dolegala, who is being dubbed The Green Giant for his 6-7 stature, is 26 years old and, despite just three starts, already looks more comfortable behind centre than half the league.

5) The Stamps have lost a lot of close games this season, so it must have felt good to win a nail-biter, even against the lowly Elks. Calgary trailed by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter but carved out a four-point win thanks to three consecutive TD drives to close out the game. That was a must-win for the Stamps, who keep their playoff chances alive with a record of 4-8.

6) Can’t say the same for Edmonton. After winning two straight, the Elks blew a chance to get right back into the playoff hunt despite losing their first nine games. At 2-10, they’re not officially dead, but there’s hardly a pulse at this point. Hey, at least QB Tre Ford continues to shine, including setting a new single-game record for rushing yards by a Canadian pivot, with 135 yards on 11 carries, surpassing Ottawa Rough Riders’ Russ Jackson’s mark of 134 set in 1964.

7) Anyone else tired of hearing from Chris Jones about how young his team is? The Elks GM/HC once again referenced the club’s youth, while also reminding the public they have 20-plus players that are in their first or second season. He does understand he puts the roster together, right?

8) I’m a big fan of trick plays, so it was cool to see a couple this week. Toronto RB A.J. Oullette connected with Dejon Brissett on a pass for a 26-yard score, while Edmonton’s Kyran Moore found fellow receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. on a 19-yard catch in the end zone. Extra points to Ouellette for bringing out a replica of Thor’s Hammer for a TD celebration — well worth the 10-yard penalty.

9) The Alouettes have lost both games by a combined 81-42 since the return of QB Cody Fajardo. Might it be time to go back to Caleb Evans? Not sure the move is the right one, at least right now. Not with back-to-back games against the CFL-leading Argos. If Fajardo continues to make costly errors, it might be worth a change after what would be three straight losses.

10) Got to feel for Alouettes DL Almondo Sewell, who appeared to do everything right on his fourth-quarter sack against B.C.’s Vernon Adams Jr. — including lowering his head and wrapping up the QB — only to have the play challenged and be called for roughing the passer. Instead of a second-and-17 at Montreal’s 50, the Lions were given a first-and-10 at their opponent’s 28. Four plays later, B.C. scored a TD, improving their lead to 34-25 with fewer than 90 seconds remaining.

11) At 9-1, the Argos are unquestionably the best team in the CFL. A big part of that has been the play of QB Chad Kelly. Much of Kelly’s success is owed to the play of his O-line. The Argos have allowed just 10 sacks this season, and none against Kelly since the TD Atlantic game back on July 29.

12) Hamilton has had its share of problems but there’s been little talk about how poorly the defence has played this season. Offence wins you games, but defence wins you championships. OC Tommy Condell was fired, making him the scapegoat following a dismal first half, but DC Mark Washington must be looking over his shoulder. The Ticats allowed 40 points against for the second time this season and have allowed 30 or more points in five of their 11 games.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca