Stevens scores 3 touchdowns as Roughriders beat Blue Bombers 32-26 in OT thriller

REGINA — The Labour Day Classic lived up to the hype as the Saskatchewan Roughriders recorded a thrilling 32-26 overtime victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a game that had a little bit of everything.

Played before a sellout crowd of 34,352, the largest for a CFL game at Mosaic Stadium, the Bombers forced overtime on the final play of the fourth quarter when quarterback Zach Collaros connected with Dorian Singer on a five-yard touchdown pass.

The Riders had the first possession in overtime and scored on a one-yard run by quarterback Tommy Stevens. It was the third touchdown of the game for Stevens, who now has 15 rushing touchdowns on the year. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed, opening the door for the Bombers.

The Riders, however, sealed the victory by stopping the Bombers on a third-and-six attempt from the Saskatchewan 31-yard line.

Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris, who finished 23 of 33 passing for 362 yards and one touchdown, acknowledged the Riders didn’t make it easy on themselves with a slow start. Despite that, they were able to find a way to get a valuable victory over a difficult opponent.

“It’s obviously huge. It’s important for us to get these wins at this point in the year,” said Harris. “We’re down some prominent guys, and so the fact that we’re able to kind of grind through it and get these wins is huge for us.

“We didn’t start out tremendous offensively but thought we really found a rhythm in the middle of the second quarter on, and I thought we did a good job staying on the field, moving the chains, allowing our defence to kind of get a little bit of a breather. So yeah, we’ve got to find ways to get into games a little bit quicker and start you know moving the chains and doing some great things early.”

The victory improves the Roughriders’ record to 8-4, good for second place in the West Division behind the Edmonton Elks who have an 8-3 record heading into Monday’s game in Calgary against the Stampeders. The Bombers slipped to 6-6 after Sunday’s setback.

With receivers Samuel Emilus and Kian Schaffer-Baker sidelined by injuries, Dhel Duncan-Busby took the opportunity to have a career game on Sunday. In his third season with the Riders, Duncan-Busby had 10 receptions for 140 yards, including a number of crucial catches in the fourth quarter.

Duncan-Busby, who has a career high of 35 receptions for 504 yards this season, has been preparing to take advantage of any playing time he could get.

“I just knew that I had to be patient. Obviously, we have a great receiving corps. We’ve got a lot of different guys and, unfortunately, with all the injuries and stuff like that, people have had to step up, and I’m just glad that today was my time,” said Duncan-Busby.

The Saskatchewan defence followed the lead of the offence to come up with big plays at the right time.

“The offence set the tone. The offence did that. The offence got us going. They got in the end zone and put points on the board. Only thing we had to do is finish. Coach (Corey) Mace appreciates it every time. Coach (Joshua) Bell appreciates it every time. The main thing we’ve got to do is play our defence and make sure that we come out on top,” said linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr., who was making his first CFL start.

Miller, Derick Roberson and Seyi Oladipo had sacks for Saskatchewan, which limited Bombers tailback Brady Oliveira to 28 yards rushing on nine carries. He entered the contest with 956 rushing yards.

Harris passed Doug Flutie for 10th spot on the CFL’s all-time passing list with a 72-yard completion to Daniel Wiebe early in the second quarter. Harris entered the game with 41,228 passing yards, 127 yards behind Flutie, who had 41,355 passing yards.

Harris felt it was fitting the pass that pushed him past Flutie was on a simple play that succeeded due to an incredible effort from a teammate.

“That’s honestly poetic because it’s the turtle on a fence post sort of a situation where if you see a turtle on a fence post, he didn’t get there on his own. Somebody placed him there, and it’s exactly what this is for me,” said Harris.

“I’ve had teammates that have done nothing but support me and love me, and coaches that have done nothing but teach me the game and I’m really grateful for the opportunities that presented themselves. (That play) was a quick out and he was the first read. He was there and when they tried to tackle him, he kept himself up and went for about 70 (yards). I was just hoping he’d score, but pretty awesome stuff.”

After passing for 362 yards on Sunday, Harris now has 41,590 passing yards and trails Matt Dunigan who occupies ninth place with 43,857 yards. Anthony Calvillo is the all-time passing yardage leader with 79,816 yards.

Saskatchewan’s KeeSean Johnson caught four passes for 32 yards and cracked the 1,000-yard barrier for the second straight season. He has 81 catches for 1,022 yards after totalling 1,159 yards on 86 receptions in 2025.

Collaros completed 27 of 40 passes for 279 yards with two touchdowns. Kevens Clercius and Singer had touchdown receptions for Winnipeg.

Quali Conley caught one touchdown pass for the Riders, while Roberson chipped in with a safety.

Sergio Castillo kicked four field goals for the Bombers, while Alex Hale made one of three attempts for the Riders.

UP NEXT

Blue Bombers: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Sept. 12.

Roughriders: Visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, Sept. 12.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2026.

Jeff DeDekker, The Canadian Press