LABOUR DAY CLASSIC PREVIEW
WINNIPEG (6-3) AT SASKATCHEWAN (6-2)
2:00 pm Sunday, Mosaic Stadium, Regina
TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network, ESPN3
RIDERS: Home 3-1, Versus West 3-1
BOMBERS: Road 3-1, Versus West 1-2
RIDER OFFENSE: RUSH 1ST, PASS 8TH, OVERALL 5TH
QB Darian Durant is 7th in CFL passing (1511 yds, 7 TDs, 5 INTs) … WR Rob Bagg leads the club in receiving (414 yds, 1 TD) … RB Will Ford is the team’s leading rusher (365 yds, 5 TDs) … The Riders are #6 in points scored and #2 in fewest sacks allowed
BOMBER OFFENSE: RUSH 9TH, PASS 2ND, OVERALL 7TH
QB Drew Willy is #2 in CFL passing (2358 yds, 10 TDs, 8 INTs) … REC Clarence Denmark is #2 in CFL receiving (591 yds, 1 TD) … RB Nic Grigsby is the CFL’s #1 rusher (489 yds, 6 TDs) … The Bombers are #1 in points scored and #9 in sacks allowed
RIDER DEFENSE: RUSH 3RD, PASS 7TH, OVERALL 4TH
DE John Chick is the CFL’s sack leader (12) …. DB Mark Legree leads the team in INTs (3) … S Tyron Brackenridge, LB Sam Hurl and LB Brian Peters all lead the club in tackles (29) … Chick leads in Tackles For Loss (7) … The Riders are #3 in fewest points allowed and are #1 in sacks (32)
BOMBER DEFENSE: RUSH 6TH, PASS 4TH, OVERALL 6TH
DE Greg Peach is their sack leader (5) … S Maurice Leggett leads the league in INT (5) … Bombers are #6 in points allowed and #5 in sacks
RIDER SPEC TEAMS: K Chris Milo is 19/25 on field goals and has a 60.3 yard kickoff average … P Josh Bartel’s average is 45.0 which is 4th-ranked. Tristan Jackson leads the team in PR and KR yards … DE Dylan Ainsworth and LB Shomari Williams lead the team in ST tackles (8)
BOMBER SPEC TEAMS: K/P Lirim Hajrullahuh is 16/17 on field goals and has a 43.4 yard punting average … Aaron Woods leads in PR and KR yards
INTANGIBLES: Riders are a CFL-best +13 in turnover ratio while the Bombers are 7th (-5) … The Riders won 23-17 in Winnipeg three weeks ago … Saskatchewan has won nine straight Labour Day Classics and is 31-16 all-time … The forecast calls for a high of 20 degrees Celsius and a 30% chance of showers or a thunderstorm … The Riders are favoured by seven points … The referee is Andre Proulx.
RP
(Photo courtesy Canadian Press)
It all looked good, until I read "The referee is Andrew Proulx."
Andrew Proulx ! Nooooooooooooooooo
I always make a point of reading a good book on football on Labour Day weekends. This year I read "End Zones and Border Wars: The Era of American Expansion in the CFL" by Ed Willes. What a wonderful read! The CFL has come a long way from that fiasco, but there were many great and funny stories from a strange and desperate time for the CFL.
Why, oh why do we get Proulx ???
Dis and Dat
Is Andrew Proulx any relation to Andre Proulx?
Game day! With all the hype about the Labor Day Classic and the festivities leading up to it how can you not get excited! Our team is starting to pull it together and it is only a matter of time before offense defense and special teams are at their best. Are we good enough to win it all? Time will tell, but it sure is fun going through the process. Let's not take anything for granted, we have a lot of good teams to play and Winnipeg is one of them. So excited to watch the game! Hope it's a… Read more »
The only ref in the league that anybody can name. What's that tell you?
Always get butterflies in my stomach as the Labour Day Classic game approaches. This year more than ever. And I just have to sit in the stands a yell. The players must be really pumped!
The referee the last time we played Winnipeg was also Andre Proulx and look how many penalties were called. We just rewatched that game, and a lot of the calls were questionable. I have been saying for years that Andre is biased against Saskatchewan because the penalties against the Riders are always brutal. My heart sank when I found out he is calling this game again.
41-7 riders today.