It has been quite the season for Zach Collaros.
The man who Rider Nation hoped would quarterback their team to a Grey Cup is now the man trying to prevent the Riders from getting to the Grey Cup. The 31-year-old is expected to be the starter for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when the two collide Sunday in the Western Final in what will be his first game at Mosaic Stadium since being hurt in the 2018 season finale against B.C when he had to leave the game following a headshot from Lions defensive end Odell Willis.
When asked if he is relishing the opportunity to knock off the team that dispatched him to Toronto midway through the season, all Collaros would say is it is a chance to go the Grey Cup.
“I don’t think it would mean any more or less than any of my teammates, right?” Collaros said “That’s the ultimate goal when you start every single season, to get to the Grey Cup and win it. We’re excited for this challenge, this opportunity.
The Collaros returns to Regina storyline is perhaps the biggest one in what is a series of storylines going into Sunday’s game which can be heard on 620 CKRM starting at 3:30. Collaros realizes what is at stake and says this will be much bigger than the annual back-to-back matchup between the two two teams in September for obvious reasons.
“It’s obviously a big-time rivalry between Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl,” said Collaros. “So there’s that and when you factor it in with it being the West Final, it’s a game of pretty big magnitude but, again, we have to treat it like every other game. Do our best, execute our gameplan and let the chips fall where they may.”
The winner of the game will battle the winner of the East final between the Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 107th Grey Cup which will be played in Calgary November 24. The Riders have not been to the Cup since winning it all at Taylor Field in 2013 when they beat Hamilton.
