A rivalry like no other More than Prairie bragging rights on the line as Bombers prepare to take on Roughriders in Labour Day Classic By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022

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Jermarcus Hardrick will never forget his first time playing in the annual Labour Day Classic game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

It was 2016, and Hardrick was in his third CFL season, first with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, having played for the Roughriders the year before. The game took place in Regina, as it does every year, at the old Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, and the Bombers had squandered a 16-3 halftime lead.

Tied 25-25 following a Kendial Lawrence punt return touchdown with just more than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bombers marched down the field and into field-goal territory, with one final chance to seal the win.

“It was a Justin Medlock walk-off kick,” said Hardrick, his eyes widening with each word, following practice Wednesday afternoon. “You always remember the first one.”

Sunday will mark the 58th edition of the two prairie rivals going head-to-head during the September long weekend. The Roughriders have a significant edge in the decades-long series, which dates back to 1949, with Saskatchewan winning 37 times compared to Winnipeg’s 20.

It’s been a particularly rough ride for the Blue and Gold in recent years. Though the Bombers were victorious last season, keeping the Roughriders scoreless in the second half en route to a 23-8 triumph, it was just their second win on Labour Day weekend in the previous 16 games.

The Bombers, of course, have been the class of the CFL ever since snapping a lengthy Grey Cup drought in 2019. They’ve since gone on to defend their title in 2021 (after a lost 2020 campaign owing to COVID-19) and are once again the best team in the CFL this season, boasting a 10-1 record.

As for Saskatchewan, it’s been an up-and-down season for the Roughriders. A win over the B.C. Lions last week improved their record to 6-5, good enough for fourth place in the West Division, behind Winnipeg, B.C. (8-2) and Calgary (6-4). Only the Edmonton Elks are worse, at 3-8.

“When you go into this game it doesn’t matter about the records,” Hardrick said. “It’s who is willing to throw the punches the longest and who is willing to take the punches. I just know it’s going to be a fight and I’m looking forward to it.”

“When you go into this game it doesn’t matter about the records… It’s who is willing to throw the punches the longest and who is willing to take the punches.” – Jermarcus Hardrick

The Bombers find themselves in a prime position to create some breathing room atop the West with a victory Sunday, which is then followed up with a rematch in the annual Banjo Bowl game in Winnipeg the following week. A pair of wins might not mean clinching the division, but it would almost certainly eliminate any opportunity for the Roughriders to do so, while at the same time severely endangering their chances of finishing in second spot, which comes with a home playoff game.

In a game that doesn’t need any added hype, the chance to claim bragging rights as well as valuable points in the standings, while also further damaging your rivals hopes of playoff glory — in a season the Roughriders are hosting the Grey Cup, no less — is certainly a delicious carrot.

That’s a two-way street. If the Roughriders are able to knock off the defending champs, it might just be the catalyst to turning the season around, one that has been filled with inconsistency and controversy throughout.

“We understand there’s a lot of stuff at stake for them,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson, who played three seasons in Saskatchewan before signing with Winnipeg in 2019. “The last couple of weeks we haven’t been playing our best football, but we’ve been sticking in there, grinding it out and fighting until the end. Now, getting to the middle of the season, especially with these rivalry games, we want to lock in and focus up and turn into the team that we know we are and can be.”

Part of that focus will be blocking any outside noise, all the added attention that will inevitably be put on the game. Jefferson, among others on the team, believe it’s important to have new players understand the magnitude of the Bombers-Roughriders rivalry, especially how important it is to fans and to the CFL.

After all, these are the kind of games that can dominate conversations over dinner during the holidays, capable of sparking a friendly feud between family and friends. Bragging rights have a real currency on the prairies.

Bombers receiver Dalton Schoen, in the midst of a stellar rookie season, said it didn’t take long to feel the animosity towards a team he’s yet to see in the regular season. He’s also getting a better understanding for how loud the game will be, as the Bombers have pumped artificial crowd noise into practice to mimic what will be a hostile environment at Mosaic Stadium, particularly for the offence.

Any player that reaches this level is aware of how special rivalry games are. Having played his college football at Kansas State, Schoen noted it was always special to do battle against the University of Kansas.

“It’s a little bit different in that it’s an interstate rivalry, but you want to own the state. It’s kind of the same thing here,” said Schoen, whose eight touchdowns are the second most in the league among receivers. “It’s one province over, right down the (No. 1) highway. It just means that much more to lock down the borders.”

Not one to make any moment bigger than another, Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea insists his players are locked in and focused for what should be a physical affair. He’s not concerned with the emotions spilling over, or the lights becoming too bright as fans from both sides fill the city with blue and green.

Staying disciplined in mind and body has come to define O’Shea and his tenure in Winnipeg. He knows the weekend will be fun for the fans, but it remains business as usual for a club whose sights remain solely on winning a third straight Grey Cup.

“We prefer (the players) to feel the same week in and week out, so they can play consistently,” O’Shea said. “If you let your emotions take over you then it’s going to lead to inconsistent preparation, inconsistent play. It’s not lost on them that from a fan’s standpoint they understand the importance of Labour Day weekend to the CFL. It just doesn’t really enter the field of play.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton