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TORONTO — One of the most exciting things about the CFL is that every game counts.
There’s no room for error from June to November, but that doesn’t mean some matchups aren’t even more important than others.
That’s the case with OK Tire Labour Day Weekend, when rivalries get settled and standings get shuffled. The West Division specifically is up in the air this season with all five teams within striking distance, meaning the results this week could shape their futures going forward.
“Listen, it is going to be an amazing stretch at the end of the season right here, and it starts really on Labour Day,” said Henoc Muamba to Donnovan Bennett in this week’s edition of The Waggle Podcast.
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“You talk about those two top teams who are the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers facing off this week, it is going to be electric in Regina this weekend,” added Muamba. “You’re looking at a team in Saskatchewan who they didn’t play bad themselves last week.
“Trevor Harris, who has just returned and is starting to get himself back into game mode and you look at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who continue to play better and better. They started off with an amazing defence, going back to when they started playing against the BC Lions a few weeks back, and shut them out in a whole game. Kudos to their defence, and their offence is getting back on track.”
Riders (5-5-1) and Bombers (5-6) sit first and second in the West Division with only one point separating the two, meaning whoever wins will temporarily hold first place.
The other all-West battle happening on Labour Day Weekend is the Edmonton Elks traveling to Calgary to take on the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. It is a matchup that doesn’t lack both in history and possible playoff implications as only two points separate the two teams in the standings.
“This is a strong battle in U sports. It’s a strong battle in the NHL. It’s a strong battle in the CFL. These two cities, the two major cities in the province, they like to beat each other and the record is razor thin,” said Bennett about the Battle of Alberta. The Stampeders (4-6) lead the Labour Day series 31-30-1 against the Elks (3-8), the smallest possible margin.
Finally, the BC Lions are the only squad in the West facing an East Division opponent when they head to Victoria for Touchdown Pacific to take on the red-hot Ottawa REDBLACKS.
It’s a rematch from Week 12, when Ottawa came away with a 34-27 win at TD Place as the Lions dropped their fifth straight game. The REDBLACKS meanwhile haven’t lost a game since Week 5 behind a potent offence led by quarterback Dru Brown.
“I think they’re going to come up and play big time football,” said Bennett about the Lions going into Touchdown Pacific. “Nathan Rourke will take another step now. He’s going to have to, because, as you mentioned, Dru Brown has been slinging it”.
“It is absolutely going to be an amazing atmosphere over there in Victoria,” said Muamba. “That is also one of the reasons why I truly believe that the BC Lions are going to have to pull it together.”