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Corey Mace is at peace with himself.
Wearing a green bunny hug and sitting in front of media the Saskatchewan Roughriders coach is smiling.
With his team down by 7 and with three minutes left on the clock, Mace chose to settle for a field goal from the B.C. Lions’ five-yard line.
A sold-out crowd at Mosaic Stadium erupted as they saw the Riders kicking team head out onto the field. Some choice words from a member of the 33,350-person crowd were loud enough to be heard in the press box.
Instead of potentially tying the game, kicker Brett Lauther’s 13-yard field goal cut the Lions’ lead to 21-17.
With 2:42 minutes left on the clock the Riders would need to get the ball back and still score a touchdown. It was a choice Mace said he had no issue making.
“I’ve made aggressive decisions, I think, before on for this team and it hadn’t worked out for us in games prior,” Mace said.
“I totally get [the booing]. Just have faith.”
Head coach Corey Mace will lead the Saskatchewan Riders to the Grey Cup in just his second season in charge of the Green and White.
The decision would ultimately pay off for the Riders. The Saskatchewan defence would hold the B.C. Lions to back-to-back two-and-out possessions.
Then, with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris would drive the team 74 yards down the field in just seven plays.
A game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Tommy Neild would follow. There were just 11 seconds left on the clock.
While Mace’s decision may have drawn condemnation from the crowd, the players on the field say there was no moment of hesitation.
“I trust Corey Mace. He knows what he’s doing,” said Harris.
“I’m sure that there was people at home going, ‘What are you doing?’ And now they’re like ‘Mace is the man.'”
That level of confidence and trust between the coach and the roster is something Mace will need as the Riders prepare to travel to the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg.
They’re set to square off against the Montreal Alouettes, a team they have had mixed results against this season.
Saskatchewan beat Montreal 34-6 in their first game of the season only for the Alouettes to conquer the Riders 48-31 when the teams faced off again later in the season.
Harris, who finished with 26 completions on 38 attempts, admitted he was far from perfect on Saturday but said the Riders can do much better.
“This group is capable of more and our best football game we haven’t played yet,” said Harris.
Tommy Nield’s three-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Trevor Harris with 11 seconds left in the game lifted the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 24-21 West Division final victory over the visiting B.C. Lions. The Riders will travel to Winnipeg to play the Montreal Alouettes in next Sunday’s CFL Grey Cup game.
With the win still fresh in the entire roster’s mind, veteran running back A.J. Ouellette told media he was already offering words of advice to teammates.
“There’s gonna be a lot of distractions. There’s gonna be a lot of people trying to pump you up. You gotta stay focused, stay grounded,” said Ouellette.
Mace said he was already looking forward to get a chance to review the film from the CFL East Final, where the Alouettes beat the Hamilton Tiger Cats 19-16.
The second-year head coach said he’s excited to come up with a game plan.
“We love being around each other and we have an opportunity to do something that we set out to do since training camp,” said Mace.
It was a comment Harris echoed.
“I think it’s our time.”
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