Rob Vanstone: Saskatchewan's surprising signal-callers
Yesterday at 10:40 AM
The good name of Nick Arbuckle, already ingrained in the minds of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, will soon be engraved on the Grey Cup.
Only a few months removed from pondering his football future, the 31-year-old Arbuckle quarterbacked the Toronto Argonauts to Sunday's 41-24 championship-game victory over Winnipeg in Vancouver.
Arbuckle was promoted to a primary role after Chad Kelly fractured a tibia and fibula in the Eastern Final against the Montreal Alouettes.
By proceeding to earn MVP honours, Arbuckle will be a part of Grey Cup lore for forever more.
The closest equivalent in Roughriders history? Well, that would be the Rocky Butler game — also against Winnipeg.
Without further preamble, here is one seasoned scribe's list of the Green and White's most noteworthy surprise performances by a quarterback …
Rocky Butler: As advertised. Fourth on the depth chart to begin the season, Butler started for the injury-plagued Roughriders against the visiting Bombers on Sept. 1, 2002. He rushed for three touchdowns as Saskatchewan won 33-19.
Darian Durant: Durant's first CFL start served as foreshadowing. He threw for 347 yards and two TDs as Saskatchewan defeated the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-28 on July 12, 2008. Only eight days earlier, he had been No. 3 on the depth chart. He will always be fondly remembered as No. 4 on the roster.
Isaac Harker: With Cody Fajardo unavailable due to a torn oblique muscle, Harker went 23-for-28 for 213 yards in a 23-13 home-field victory over the Edmonton Elks — a result that gave Saskatchewan first place in the West Division.
Cody Fajardo: A concussion suffered by Zach Collaros on the third offensive play of the season cleared the way for Fajardo to start against the Ottawa REDBLACKS on June 20, 2019. Signed as an unheralded free agent by Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O'Day, Fajardo completed 27 of 34 passes for 360 yards and two scores in a down-to-the-wire thriller that Ottawa won 44-41 in the nation's capital.
Mitchell Gale: Ottawa was 3-0 leading up to a July 22, 2016 road game against the 0-3 Roughriders. With Durant nursing a severely sprained ankle, Gale made his first CFL start. The Gale Force was unstoppable as Saskatchewan won 30-29. Gale threw for 354 yards and one TD — an 89-yarder to Naaman Roosevelt.
Ron Adam: Franchise quarterback Frank Tripucka was sidelined by a shoulder separation, so Adam — a fifth-year Roughrider — started behind centre for the first time in the professional ranks. The former Saskatoon Hilltops standout completed only four passes, but two of them were for touchdowns in a 21-13 victory over Winnipeg on Aug. 21, 1958 at Taylor Field.
Eric Guthrie: The Roughriders were in the unaccustomed position of preparing for a game without the services of Ron Lancaster, who was sidelined for a must-win home game against the B.C. Lions on Oct. 30, 1977. Eric Guthrie, a 30-year-old backup, threw for 232 yards and one TD to help Saskatchewan defeat his former team 38-28. The missed start was Lancaster's first since Oct. 1, 1972, when Bubba Wyche was at the controls while The Little General recovered from cracked ribs.
Bruce Bennett: Saskatchewan salvaged an 11-11 tie with Winnipeg after a sprained ankle forced Lancaster to the sideline during the second quarter at Taylor Field on Oct. 2, 1966. In came Bennett, the starting safety, who had not seen significant playing time at quarterback since high school. Late in the second frame, Bennett scored on a one-yard run that followed a 71-yard sprint by George Reed. Asked about the successful quarterback sneak, Bennett joked: "You've got to give the ball to your best back."
Danny Sanders: For a while, it was not the happiest 41st birthday for Lancaster — the Roughriders' first-year head coach. Edmonton, which would soon win its second of five consecutive Grey Cup titles, was ahead 11-2 in the second quarter of an Oct. 14, 1979 game at Taylor Field. Lancaster then replaced struggling starter Lloyd Patterson with Sanders, who promptly threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Joey Walters. Miraculously, Sanders helped Saskatchewan win 26-25 and improve its record to 1-12. After back-to-back appearances in relief, Sanders made his first CFL start one week after the shocker against Edmonton.
Kent Austin: Austin, newly arrived from the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals, made his CFL debut during a Thanksgiving Day game in Hamilton. Fifty-one of his 292 passing yards were gained on a 51-yard scoring bomb to Ray Elgaard. The final: Roughriders 23, Tiger-Cats 20. As was the case with Durant, greatness was foreshadowed.
Jeff Bentrim: An ankle injury to Austin cleared the way for Bentrim, a much-ballyhooed recruit in 1987, to make his first start in three years. He threw a 78-yard TD pass to Lucius Floyd added 45 yards on seven rushes to help Saskatchewan defeat Edmonton 29-24 at Taylor Field on Oct. 14, 1990. The previous year, the athletic Bentrim had made key contributions as a receiver and kickoff returner as the Roughriders weathered an injury crisis en route to winning a championship. He even made a one-handed catch — a rarity for someone who is classified as a quarterback. Surprise!
