Sayles excited for first Labour Day Classic in Roughrider green

Marcus Sayles has been in the visitor locker room at Mosaic Stadium during a Labour Day Classic.

The defensive back was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the 2018-19 editions of the classic rivalry with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Now a member of the Green and White, he’s excited to come out of the home side on Sunday’s game. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m.

“Every game already has been great and the fans have been coming out here and it’s going to be a great environment,” Sayles said. “Just being out here and coming out on (the home side), I’m just excited to put my best foot forward.”

The Riders aren’t the only ones who look forward to the game, with Sayles saying Bomber players look forward to coming to Mosaic Stadium to try and ruin the party.

“It’s a big game to them too,” Sayles said.

This year has an added element to it with it being a battle for first place in the CFL West Division. The Riders are 0-4-1 in their last five games but have managed to remain in first place thus far.

After an 0-4 start, the Bombers now sit at 5-6 with a chance to get into the top spot in the division.

The last time these two teams faced was the last time Saskatchewan had won a game, winning 19-9 on July 19.

“We know how big this game is and everyone is going to be ready,” Sayles said.

The veteran defensive back believes the Riders just need to find ways to finish games to break out of this slump they are mired in.

“There’s been times late in games where we give up a first-down or we give up a catch in a big situation in a game,” he said. “If we’re able to lock onto those, we feel we could have two, three, four more wins than we do now.”

One of the weirder ends to a game came in the team’s 20-19 loss to the Toronto Argonauts with the double blue winning on a rouge from a missed field-goal on the final play of the game.

“It is a different rule but we shouldn’t even put ourselves in that situation,” Sayles said. “It’s not like we can change the rules of the game but if we can do anything in our power to not put us in that situation, that has to be on us.”

While the Riders have struggled to get back into the win column, Sayles said they don’t believe the season is lost.

“I don’t think anybody in the locker room has lost their energy or they are feeling like we can’t make it to the Grey Cup,” he said. “We just have to figure out these ways how to win these close games.”

This will be the 60th Labour Day Classic between the two teams, with the Riders holding a 38-21 record. The Riders do not include the 1952 game that took place in Winnipeg in their counts.

Last year was the Riders’ first win in the game since 2019 and it was also the first time the Labour Day Classic needed overtime, with Saskatchewan winning 30-32.

Notes: Safety Nelson Lokombo was given the day off and is expected to play in the game.