The Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing in the Gray Cup for the first time in 12 years, but the way they punched their ticket was anything but traditional.
Trailing the BC Lions 21-14 with less than three minutes left in the West final, head coach Corey Mays charted his own path with two of the most controversial coaching decisions in franchise history. It all started when he kicked a field goal from the opponent's five-yard line with 2:44 on the clock, turning a one-touchdown game into, well, a one-touchdown game.
While that choice will now become an integral part of his legacy, the sophomore on the bench nearly took a different path.
“Very close. I think last year I probably would have just said, 'Damn, let's do it,'” Mays laughed when asked how close he was to betting on the third goal.
“Just faith in the guys, that's all it came down to. The thought of it, sure, but it's a pretty simple decision. We went for it on third-and-short early in the game. Man, I don't know. Sometimes the football gods have done me a favor, done us a favor – who knows.”
Brett Lauter converted from 13 yards out to cut the deficit to four points. Defensive backs rarely like to be sent off the field in the red zone, let alone in potentially dangerous situations, but veteran Trevor Harris said he didn't respond to that call.
“I trust Corey Mays. He knows what he's doing, as you all have seen,” the 39-year-old insisted. I'm sure there are people at home asking, “What are you doing?” And now they're like, 'Mace is a real man!'”
The strategy worked to perfection as Mays' self-described Riders defense secured a two-and-out on BC's next series. However, Harris and the Saskatchewan offense were unable to gain any yardage after returning the ball, leading to another dilemma.
Facing a third-and-10 with 1:48 left, Mays decided to punt the ball and return it to the hands of Lions MOP finalist quarterback Nathan Rourke. On this occasion, even Harris admitted that he had some doubts about this decision.
“When we hit third-and-10, I was like, 'Oh, man, coach, I don't know.' But the fact that he was able to do that and put his money where his mouth is and say, 'We're defending, we're going to give you the ball back,' was amazing,” the quarterback said.
The sold-out crowd of 33,350 at Mosaic Stadium told Mace how they felt about the conservative decision, booing and jeering as player Jesse Mirko ran outside. Mace heard them loud and clear, but he trusted his instincts and refused to change course.
“I made my decision. I couldn't call time out, say 'sorry' and come back,” he joked. “I've made aggressive decisions on this team before, and it hasn't worked out for us in previous games. I understand though – I totally understand – just trust me, maybe? I think you still love us.”
Once again, Mays' defense put up a critical two-and-out. On second-and-3, linebacker AJ Allen picked up the quarterback's draw and tackled cornerback Zander Horvath hard, losing his block and unsuccessfully tackling Rourke. The Lions were forced to withdraw, putting their lead in jeopardy.
“Incredibly huge. I mean, it was pretty darn close for us. We knew we had to make a play,” Mays said. “I just believe in the defense and then ultimately I believe in the offense. We go through these situations every week in practice, so I've seen it. I know what we're capable of on both sides. They came out and did it. Damn stop to get those guys off the field and get us the ball back.”
The Riders' offense took the field with 1:03 left in the game and needed to march 76 yards to win. They needed only seven plays to do so, as Harris connected with Canadian receiver Tommy Nield for a three-yard pass with 11 seconds on the clock to take the lead.
“It's crazy how calm everyone was in the crowd going out there, even when we were out on the boat. That's why the coach gets paid so much money, right?” noticed running back AJ Ouellette. “There was no doubt. Just trust the process, go out there and whoever gets the ball will play.”
“The fact that we got the ball back, it was our turn to attack,” Harris said. “I’m just glad we were able to help the rest of the team.”
While neither advanced analytics nor conventional coaching wisdom backs Mays' calls, the end result placed him in the pantheon of Riders legends. For a franchise with just four Gray Cup victories in its 115-year existence, just making it to the big game is an accomplishment, although Mays isn't quite sure how to feel about it.
“I don't think I've spent much time thinking about it yet. I'm just waiting to see when the Montreal game is ready for us to break down. It's pretty sad from a coaching point of view,” he grinned. “But those guys out there, they're excited. We have the opportunity to go to work next week, get together for another week. What a time! It's important to us. We love being around each other, and we have the opportunity to do something that we've been meaning to do since training camp. It's pretty cool.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) and Montreal Alouettes (12-8) will meet in the 112th Gray Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 pm EST.
The weather forecast for Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees, sun and clouds. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the US and CFL+ worldwide.
