Grand victory celebration for Schaffer-Baker
Rob Vanstone
It took Kian Schaffer-Baker six CFL seasons to reach 1,000 receiving yards at a pace rarely achieved.
Schaffer-Baker celebrated that milestone on Saturday while helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Montreal Alouettes 16-12 at Mosaic Stadum.
A seven-yard catch on the Roughriders’ late-fourth-quarter, game-winning touchdown drive gave him 67 receptions for 1,006 yards in only 11 games this season. He missed six other contests with a knee injury.
There are only nine instances in Roughriders history of a receiver reaching 1,000 yards by the 11-game mark.
Joey Walters (in 1981), Ray Elgaard (1990 and 1992) and Curtis Marsh (2000) all got there in 10 games. Schaffer-Baker joins Walters (1982), Hugh Campbell (1965), Jeff Fairholm (1992) and Naaman Roosevelt (2016) in the 11-game club.
“None of it is possible without God and Jesus Christ — without my family, which has been pushing me and encouraging me throughout everything,” Schaffer-Baker said.
“They’ve been behind me on the rainy days, when you can’t always see the light. Most importantly, there are my teammates, who have always held me accountable and have always wanted more, and the coaching staff.”
First and foremost, though, Schaffer-Baker was happy to celebrate a result that snapped a four-game losing streak and guaranteed a playoff spot for the defending Grey Cup champions.
“It wasn’t the prettiest fashion of getting it done, but we finished,” he said.
“Winning definitely makes (1,000 yards) more special. I’m so happy that we won. It had been too long since we’d been in the win column.”
Schaffer-Baker is one reception shy of tying his career high of 68, set in 2022. That season, he finished with 960 yards — a total he finally topped this season.
“Shout-out to Schaff,” Head Coach Corey Mace sad. “For him to go over 1,000 yards, it’s well-deserved.”
Schaffer-Baker was at 999 yards before gaining seven on the Roughriders’ third-last offensive play of Saturday’s game.
On second-and-three, quarterback Trevor Harris scrambled for 22 yards. Harris then threw a 17-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to KeeSean Johnson, who scored with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
“It has been a while since we’ve been able to give Coach Mace a hug and see him smile,” Schaffer-Baker said.
“Not everything’s going to be pretty. Not everything’s going to be perfect. As you see in this game, that’s just football right there.
“I give so much credit and kudos to the team, because no matter what the situation is and what kind of adversity we face — and we’ve seen lots of it — we stay together.
“We keep fighting, even when our backs are against the wall. We’re still going to find a way to keep throwing the punches.
“It’s not how hard you get hit. It’s how hard you get hit and still keep moving forward.”
One week later, Saskatchewan will return to action in a first-round playoff game — either in Vancouver or Toronto.