Riders’ Emilus hauls in 10 passes, plus Grey Cup’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award

WINNIPEG — You might say that Sam Emilus is proving Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris right when he referred to the pass catcher as a future hall-of-famer.

With leading receiver KeeSean Johnson out with 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 Grey Cup game at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.

That earned the 28-year-old Montreal native the Cup’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award.

“RIDER NATION!” whooped the youngster as he held the award over his head in jubilation while standing on the podium where the Grey Cup trophy was officially presented.

The 10 receptions was just two short of tying a single-game Grey Cup record shared by Montreal’s Red O’Quinn and Edmonton’s Tom Scott.

“Ten (catches?) Holy (crap),” said Riders head coach Corey Mace. “I don’t know what else you want to say about Sammy, man. He’s my favourite. We go out there, we start four Canadians and I would say that the passport doesn’t matter. These dudes are just good football players. That’s how we look at everybody.

“I’m incredibly proud of Sammy, though. He deserves everything. Battling in and out of injury. He pushed through it, man, and again, (now) with that Grey Cup champion next to his name.”

Emilus overcame both an ankle and knee injury that limited him to seven regular-season games where he still caught 37 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns.

On Sunday, Emilus made many of his receptions in tough situations and most of them kept drives alive. He caught six tosses for 56 in the first half alone. His longest was 31 yards.

“Coming into this game, I was about to give everything I had for Coach Mace, the coaching staff, the players and the whole organization,” said the six-foot, 200-pounder. “I get more motivation playing for other people — my teammates and the coaches — so, I knew they were going to get everything I had out of me. We earned it.”

Going into the game, Emilus had admitted it would be extra special to beat the team from his hometown that he grew up watching.

“This is the fun part,” Mace said while sitting beside Emilus at the podium in the post-game media conference room. “It’s 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 Grey Cup in five tries, with each one having a Winnipeg connection. The former Blue Bombers running back won his first when the B.C. Lions beat the Bombers in 2011, then two with the Bombers in 2019 and 2021, and then beat the Bombers for the Toronto Argonauts in 2022. The fifth he won as a coach on Winnipeg’s home turf.

“To do it here in Winnipeg is a surreal moment and, hopefully, it’s a start of a long coaching career for me,” he said. “I’m excited for the future.

“I’m going for the next one now.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2025.