‘The atmosphere was incredible’: Riders’ Head Coach reflects on significant CFL weekend ahead of Sunday

The year was 2010 and Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach, Corey Mace, then defensive tackle for the Calgary Stampeders suited up for his first game in the Canadian Football League (CFL) against one of his team’s fiercest rivals.

“The very first game I ever played in the CFL was a Labour Day game in 2010 and the atmosphere was incredible,” he reminisced.

The Stampeders defeated the then Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) 52-5 and Mace went on to play eight games with Calgary that season.

“I think anytime you can win as you know, you’re happy. But looking back, so many good players that were part of that team that I was on and even the team in Edmonton. You just felt it even though I was only there for a week prior to playing you just felt what it meant, what Labour Day meant to the two teams that were playing.”

Mace also reflected on the excitement of getting to play in rivalry games and what that means to him this weekend.

“Just my time in this league, luckily I’ve been a part of the battle of Alberta and this will be my first exposure here to, you know, the battle of us and Winnipeg. I hear this is the best one,” said Mace following practice on Thursday.

“I know the rivalry is big. I know the fans are itching for this one, the atmosphere. I mean it’s the energy that you just love coaching in it.”

Mace played five seasons in the CFL before moving into a coaching role with the Stampeders in 2016 and eventually moving on to the Argonauts in 2022 before joining the Roughriders this season. In total he has been a part of 10 Labour Day matchups where he has gone 9-1 between playing and coaching.

“No explanation [for the great record], just great teammates, great co-workers and a little bit of luck probably,” he said with a smile.

There is another new face to Ridernation this season that knows the significance of Labour Day weekend but from a Winnipeg Blue Bomber perspective.

Defensive back Marcus Sayles signed with the Riders after he was released by the BC Lions following training camp this season. But before he was a Lion, he came into the league as a Blue Bomber in 2018. He suited up for 34 games in two seasons with Winnipeg where he recorded 136 defensive tackles and two interceptions.

Now he will suit up for his first Labour Day matchup on the other side of the ball with the Riders.

“I’m very excited. Even when I was in Winnipeg, I knew how big this game was going to be. You know it’s our rival and we’re expected to win. I know there’s going to be a lot of fans out there. And so we’re going to put our best foot forward,” Sayles said.

He reflected on his time with Winnipeg and going against Saskatchewan.

“Going against guys, Willie [Jefferson] was always disrupting stuff and just Ed Gainey and guys like that. There were so many good players, so many great plays and the magnitude of this game was always intense. Going into this game I expect the same thing,” he shared.

Sayles also emphasized how important a win against the Bombers is this week given the face they are fighting for first place in the West Division.

“Everybody’s excited every single week but when it comes down to rival weeks and knowing where we stand in the standings, it always just brings a little bit more excitement, a little bit more energy.”

Saskatchewan has won 15 of the past 18 Labour Day matchups. However Blue Bombers’ quarterback, Zach Collaros is 6-1 in LDC matchups. 3-0 with Hamilton, 1-0 with Saskatchewan and 2-1 with Winnipeg.

Roughriders’ quarterback, Trevor Harris, has played in three Labour Day games. He was 1-1 with Edmonton and 0-1 in Toronto.

Kickoff for Sunday’s sold-out matchup is slated for 5 p.m. on TSN.