Brett Holmes/CFL.ca
I’m always conflicted the week of OK Tire Labour Day Weekend.
On the negative side, it reminds me of having to go back to school and that winter is coming but it also means three days of classic football rivalries.
The only drawback is after getting used to CFL football on Thursday and Friday nights, we must wait until Saturday for the first kickoff of the glorious unofficial start to the second half of the season.
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Well fret not, as I have the perfect football fix before Saturday’s night Ottawa REDBLACKS/BC Lions tilt, a totally unscientific top 10 list of memorable Labour Day games from the past decade or so to check out to get you ready for the coming week.
The ground rule for this list before you get angry at me, is this list is going in chronological order so I cannot be accused of any sort of bias.
BC Lions 25 | Montreal Alouettes 30
Friday, August 31, 2012
When you read an old recap from CFL.ca and it starts off with “It was a matchup of the league’s stingiest defence up against the CFL’s most explosive offence with the Lions suffocating opposing pivots and the Als shredding opposing defenders” … well that is probably a game you are going to want to check out.
Beyond the entertainment value, this game was significant as it saw Anthony Calvillo break Doug Flutie’s record of seven consecutive 300-yard passing games with his 323-yard day pushing his streak to eight.
Toronto Argonauts 33 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats 30
Monday, September 3, 2012
This game was a special team extravaganza!
On the Toronto side, Chad Owens was beating up on Hamilton in every possible way putting up 176 yards receiving, 90 yards in punt returns and another 136 yards on kickoffs. This Swiss Army knife of a day would see Owens finish with 402 combined yards, which put him third all-time for the most single-game combined yards.
How about some love for Hamilton’s Chris Williams who set a record with his sixth return touchdown of the season courtesy of an 82-yard punt return touchdown? This was his third straight game with a return touchdown.
Oh, and it ended with one of the coolest names in CFL history kicker Swayze Waters winning the game with a 33-yard field goal.
Calgary Stampeders 37 | Edmonton Elks 34
Monday, September 2, 2013
Speaking of historic, this Stampeders win marked one of the first times Bo Levi Mitchell made his mark on the league. Calgary lost their starting quarterback Kevin Glenn and had to go with their backup, future multiple MOP winner Mitchell.
This game was the equivalent of seeing some little-known band in a hole in the wall bar before they make it big. Beyond the cool “moment in time” Bo Levi Mitchell factor this game was also bananas.
Calgary was up 37-7 with less than a quarter left to play than Edmonton’s offence exploded for four touchdowns, thanks to another legend, Michael Reilly.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28 | Saskatchewan Roughriders 25
Sunday, September 4, 2016
What better way for Winnipeg to break their Labour Day Classic losing streak (first win in a dozen years) than with a walk-off Justin Medlock field goal?
This was a tough one for the home crowd who thought they have it wrapped up with an 86-yard punt return touchdown by Kendial Lawrence with under a minute left. The euphoria at Mosaic was short lived as Tyler Crapigna missed the ensuing extra point meaning the game was tied at 25-25.
There was a time when many of us thought Matt Nichols would become a star and games like this for the Bombers (341 yards) where he helped get Medlock into makeable field goal range was one of those moments.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 49 | Toronto Argonauts 36
Monday, September 5, 2016
This game had it all!
Ricky Ray and Zach Collaros combined for 744 yards and seven touchdowns. The Argonauts led 30-17 at the half only to be overwhelmed by the Tiger-Cats in the final 30 minutes.
Oddly enough, in a game that set a Labour Day record of 85 total points between these two clubs, the big plays on defence stuck out as much as anything you saw from the quarterbacks. The Argonauts early lead was all about three turnovers created, including a 57-yard fumble return touchdown by Thomas Gordon. The second half turnaround for the home team was fuelled by Toronto mistakes as it was Hamilton’s turn to force a trio of turnovers.
This was a wild game with big plays seemingly happening on nearly every possession.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 24 | Toronto Argonauts 22
Monday, September 4, 2017
This one will be remembered for the extreme weather that delayed the game for two hours and for the first time in 2017, the home fans went home happy as this two-point victory was the first win for a Hamilton team that came into the weekend with a 0-8 record.
C.J. Gable scored the winning touchdown in the final three minutes as Toronto lost yet again despite Ricky Ray putting 325 yards and two touchdowns while S.J. Green went over 1,000 yards receiving.
Saskatchewan Roughriders 38 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers 24
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Matt Nichols had another strong game (364 yards and two touchdowns) but this time he was out-dueled by a 38-year-old Kevin Glenn who celebrated his 200 CFL start in style with 386 yards, a hat trick of touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The Roughriders offence was clicking in the first half, finding the end zone three times in a 10-minute span, and went into the locker room at halftime up scoring 34 points. Glenn was masterful and generous on this day as three of his favourite targets, Naaman Roosevelt, Bakari Grant, and Duron Carter all went over the 100-yard receiving mark.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32 | Toronto Argonauts 19
Monday, September 6, 2021
Much like many parts of the COVID-shortened 2021 season this was an ugly affair from an offensive standpoint. The highlights were a Frankie Williams 67-yard punt return touchdown and a Simoni Lawrence interception touchdown off a Nick Arbuckle tipped pass.
However, this game will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first Tiger-Cats/Argonauts Labour Day game since 2019, and it brought some normalcy in our lives.
On a side note, this game also saw rookie Tim White score his first touchdown for the Tiger-Cats. I wonder how he is doing these days?
Saskatchewan Roughriders 32 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30
Sunday, September 3, 2023
This was such a fun game as the final result was unexpected and one of the heroes on this day was also a surprise.
Winnipeg came in with a 9-2 record while Saskatchewan was 5-5. This game would be the high point for so many Riders fans while for Winnipeg it was a temporary set back on their way to a 14-4 record and a trip to the Grey Cup.
But on this day, Jake Dolegala (326 yards and no interceptions) and the Saskatchewan Roughriders offence ruled the day. There were circus catches all over the field with Nic Demski making a leaping one-handed catch or Drew Wolitarsky with diving touchdown reception in the end zone.
But the star was Dolegala, who made some clutch second down throws on their final drive in regulation to tie the game at 24-24 or his pinpoint pass to Shawn Bane Jr. on a critical two-point conversion in overtime. For a game with 62 total points scored it was the defence that made the game winning play, a deflected Zach Collaros pass on the Bombers two-point conversion attempt.
Calgary Stampeders 35 | Edmonton Elks 31
Monday, September 4, 2023
Last year’s game between these Alberta rivals proves you don’t need to have high stakes to have a classic game.
These teams came into Labour Day with five wins between them but that didn’t stop them from putting on a show. Games like this are a reminder that even when the playoffs are out of the picture pride is always there for the majority of professional athletes.
This game featured an impressive fourth quarter comeback by Calgary behind Jake Maier’s 315 yards passing, Tre Ford‘s almost identical stat line of 137 yards passing and 135 yards rushing, and the always fun wide receiver touchdown pass with Kyran Moore finding Steven Dunbar Jr. for the 19-yard score.
