WINNIPEG — You could say Sam Amilus is proving Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris right when he named the pass catcher as a future Hall of Famer.
With leading receiver KeeSean Johnson out due to injury, Emilus led all receivers with 10 catches for 108 yards from Harris to help the Riders defeat the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 in the Gray Cup game at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.
This earned the 28-year-old Montreal native the Most Outstanding Canadian Cup award.
“HORSE NATION!” – exclaimed the young man, holding the award above his head in jubilation as he stood on the podium where the Gray Cup trophy was officially presented.
Of the 10 receptions, they were just two short of setting the Gray Cup single-game record, shared by Montreal's Red O'Quinn and Edmonton's Tom Scott.
“Ten (catch?) Holy (shit),” Riders head coach Corey Mays said. “I don't know what else you have to say about Sammy, man. He's my favorite. We go out there, we pick four Canadians, and I would say the passport doesn't matter. These guys are just good football players. That's how we look at everybody.”
“I'm incredibly proud of Sammy, though. He deserves everything. He's battled through injuries and come out of them. He overcame it, man, and again, (now) with this Gray Cup champion next to his name.”
Emilus overcame an ankle and knee injury that sidelined him for seven regular-season games, in which he still caught 37 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns.
On Sunday, Emilus performed many techniques in difficult situations, and most of them remained functional. In the first half alone, he caught six of 56 throws. His longest was 31 yards.
“Coming into this game, I was going to give everything I had to Coach Mays, the coaching staff, the players and the entire organization,” the 6-foot, 200-pounder said. “I get more motivation from playing for other people – my teammates and coaches – so I knew they would get everything I had out of me. We deserved it.”
Going into the game, Emilus admitted it would be special to beat a team from his hometown, where he grew up.
“This is the fun part,” Mays said, sitting next to Emilus at the podium in the postgame media conference room. “This is what's going to happen in that locker room. Sam doesn't even know it yet.”
Meanwhile, Roughriders running back coach Andrew Harris won his fifth Gray Cup in five tries, all of which came with Winnipeg. The former Blue Bombers running back won his first game when the BC Lions beat the Bombers in 2011, then two with the Bombers in 2019 and 2021 before beating the Bombers with the Toronto Argonauts in 2022. He won for the fifth time as a coach on his home turf of Winnipeg.
“To do this here in Winnipeg is a surreal moment and hopefully the start of a long coaching career for me,” he said. “I'm looking forward to the future.
“I’ll go get the next one now.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2025.
