Dave Chidley/CFL.ca
Hello, Nathan Rourke. I’d just like to ask a quick ques – no? Cool. Cool-cool. Talk later.
Here are the OK Tire Labour Day Weekend takeaways.
OK TIRE LABOUR DAY WEEKEND
» Bo Balled: Mitchell’s best game of ’24 produces LDW win
» Lions take down REDBLACKS in first-ever Touchdown Pacific
» Bombers hold off Riders’ late-game push for Labour Day win
» Elks beat Stamps to close out OK Tire Labour Day Weekend
» MMQB: Only a matter of time for Rourke
GO BIG AND THEN YOU CAN GO HOME
In nursing a two touchdown lead against the Calgary Stampeders, the Edmonton Elks appeared to want to play it conservatively with just a few minutes left on the clock.
A couple of short pass attempts and a rush up the middle. Punt it away, hand it to the defence, yeah? Nothing wrong with that.
Except that Stampeders’ returner Peyton Logan hiked that punt back 104 yards to pull the Stampeders to within seven, with three and a half minutes to go.
On their next possession and facing second and six from their own 37-yard line, Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw caution to the wind and a deep sideline shot to receiver Tevin Jones, who pulled it in at the Calgary 47 and then raced to the end zone to put things away.
The Edmonton Elks – who’ve turned the corner with four wins in five games by finding thorough, complimentary football – have added a little something else that could make them very dangerous the rest of the way.
Audacity.
HE DOES NOT CARE HOW FAR BEHIND HE IS OR HOW FAST YOU THINK YOU ARE
Incredible stuff from Ottawa’s Marco Dubois during Touchdown Pacific on Saturday.
His REDBLACKS were down 31-12 with twelve or so minutes left in the fourth quarter when BC punt returner Terry Williams blew by Ottawa’s fine special teams coverage ace at the Lions’ 30-yard line.
If ever there was a time where you might forgive a guy for saying “aw, shucks” and then watching an opponent sail off into the sunset, this might’ve been it.
But 57 yards later, the six-foot-five, 227-pound Dubois had caught and tackled Williams, who was headed for a major.
Magnificent.
If someone pilfers your wallet as you’re walking down the street one day, I hope you’re blessed with the good fortune of having Marco Dubois leap from his table at a nearby sidewalk cafe.
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, WILLIAM STANBACK
William Stanback 🤝 Touchdown Pacific@oktire | #LDWeekend pic.twitter.com/VUmN2zgnHB
— CFL (@CFL) September 1, 2024
After their passing attack had failed to lead the BC Lions out of the damp, bleak shadows of a five-game losing streak, the team turned to running back William Stanback on Saturday, giving the veteran a ton of work early, asking the 30-year-old to be their battering ram to daylight.
And, man, did it ever pay off.
On their opening drive, Stanback played the role of leading man to a tee, opening up with a one-yard reception that he turned into a 31-yard gain powered by 30 yards of YAC.
With Stanback providing dual threat abilities, the Ottawa REDBLACKS’ defence was knocked off balance, helping quarterback Nathan Rourke find a forward gear with BC’s flock of premium receivers.
Stanback was a workhorse for the entire game, finishing with 20 rushes for 93 yards & a touchdown, and catching all six passes thrown his way for another 78 yards.
Need a jar loosened? Call William Stanback today.
WHAT’S THAT OLD SAYING? DYING IS EASY. COMEDY IS HARD
For our purposes, we’ll re-work it a bit: Defensive lining is easy. Offensive lining is hard.
That’s not me saying that. It comes right from the big man, Saskatchewan’s Micah Johnson, who was pressed into action on the Roughriders’ O-line for the second half of Sunday’s game.
“Man, look. That O-line stuff is crazy, the D-line is easy,” Johnson told reporters afterward, laughing.
Johnson had never played on the offensive line, previously, but had been warned by Offensive Line Coach Edwin Harrison that if an emergency situation happened to arise, the 36-year-old was the guy who’d be crossing the line of scrimmage. And in game number 282 of Johnson’s stellar career, it did.
Did alright, didn’t he? Not a single holding or procedure penalty.
Now that he’s got a taste, could he swap his old number 4 for the number 57 he wore while playing right guard more often?
“I hope not,” said Johnson. “I’m tryna keep gettin’ sacks,” he said.
Sure, if you want the easy stuff, I guess.
NOT DEAD YET
The Toronto Argonauts had a chance to put, really, the final nail in the Hamilton Ticats’ 2024 season coffin. A win over Hamilton on Labour Day would have sunk the Cats 10 points back of the third-place Argos, all but eliminating Hamilton from having even a pipedream of making the post-season.
Instead, the Ticats have forced the lid open enough to get a limb out and dangled over the edge of the casket and now they have “so you’re saying there’s a chance” on their minds.
The Argos are still in control of the East’s final playoff position, but the Ticats now have the season series on their side of the ledger and Toronto faces a tough little run now with three more games in this stretch that sees them play four in 19 days, including roadies in Ottawa in Week 14 and BC in Week 15.
After that? A home game against Hamilton.
Let’s check back after Week 16 and see where we are.
AND FINALLY… Sometimes your lightning fast reflexes can betray you. If Saskatchewan returner Mario Alford’s hands weren’t so quick on that crazy punt bounce, he doesn’t get a piece of that ball at all. And Winnipeg doesn’t get an easy touchdown.
