The Saskatchewan Roughriders were marching deep into Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ territory late in the first quarter of Sunday’s Labour Day Classic and Trevor Harris dropped back in the pocket, his eyes on receiver Daniel Wiebe.
By his own admission, Harris’ throw wasn’t perfect – he said it could have been six inches more inside – but close enough to the target, and a catch would have almost certainly resulted in a Riders touchdown.
The ball hit Wiebe’s hands. Then it hit the turf.
That killed the drive late in the first quarter on the Winnipeg 23-yard line. The Riders had to settle for a field goal.
There are quarterbacks who would have made a scene or, maybe worse for the receiver, decided not to target that player for the rest of the game. Harris took the opposite tacks with Wiebe.
“You’re going to make the next play and you’re going to make a huge play for us. Watch,” Harris said he told Wiebe.
Harris was right on both counts.
Harris’ next pass – the third Riders offensive play on the following possession after two rush attempts from Quali Conley – was zipped eight yards to Wiebe. The wasn’t the end of the play, though. Far from it.
Wiebe eluded a tackle from Bombers defensive back Trey Vaval, bolted past linebacker Jaiden Woodbey and was off to the races. He made it 72 yards before being brought down at the Winnipeg 11-yard line.
Wiebe was thankful to be able to make amends for his mistake so quickly.
“It means a lot,” he told to reporters in Regina postgame Sunday. “Obviously, that one I’ve got to have. That’s one that I’ll be thinking about for a long time. But at the same time, you’ve got to move on from it. The game’s a long game. I was glad he came back to me. I just tried to make a play with that one.”
Making the catch and extending the play was big for Wiebe’s confidence and for sparking the Riders offence in the eventual 32-26 overtime victory. It was also momentous for Harris.
Those yards after the catch pushed him ahead of the great Doug Flutie for 10th on the CFL’s all-time passing list. Harris finished the game with 362 yards and is up to 41,590 in his career – 235 ahead of Flutie.
“That feels great,” Wiebe said about his role in the feat. “It feels even better that we got the win. But I’m super happy for him. He’s an absolutely great guy and a great leader.
“It’s just his quiet confidence that he has. He’s always just in the game and very calm. That really spread to the whole team.”
Harris said he has full confidence in all his teammates in the huddle. He’s also calm enough to not let one mistake define a player.
Though that drop likely prevented Wiebe from scoring his second career touchdown and first since Week 4 against Toronto, the 23-year-old rookie has been impressive overall of late. Wiebe has stepped up and helped the Riders survive amid injuries to star receivers Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus.
His work in the team’s previous contest against the Argonauts saw him corral six of Harris’ passes for 56 yards, 36 of which came after catches. That outing thoroughly impressed Riders legendary quarterback Darian Durant.
It’s clear why Harris wasn’t going to abandon Wiebe as an option after one drop, even if it was a big one. Wiebe came through with that big gain and one more catch for a career-high total of 90 yards receiving.
“Danny Wiebe’s a stud,” Harris said. “I’ve been a believer in him since he was here in last (year’s) training camp. He’s just got that grit to him, that Saskatchewan tough to him.
“That (key play) doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s who Dan Wiebe is, and that’s who he’ll continue to be. He’ll continue to get better.”
