ROB VANSTONE: Harris heroics evoked images of legendary Lancaster

History repeated itself on an afternoon when the Saskatchewan Roughriders celebrated their storied past.

The CFL team’s annual Legends Game was decided when Trevor Harris threw a picture-perfect 17-yard touchdown pass to KeeSean Johnson with 29 seconds remaining in Saturday’s fourth quarter against the Montreal Alouettes.

On the previous play, Harris had run for 22 yards (with assistance from a block by Johnson).

The drive would have stalled if not for a 12-yard completion from Harris to Johnson on third-and-10.

Now, where have I seen this before?

(Taylor Field.)

When have I seen this before?

(Sept. 6, 1976.)

Just over 50 years ago, Ron Lancaster threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rhett Dawson to give Saskatchewan a 17-14 victory over the B.C. Lions.

The scoring strike was launched on third-and-10.

“If they had asked Cape Canaveral to launch that pass, it couldn’t have been more on the money,” Dawson, who caught Lancaster’s TD toss deep in the south end zone, told Regina Leader-Post legend Bob Hughes.

“It was right there. Perfect.”

See also: Harris to Johnson, Oct. 17, 2026.

Another key play on the game-winning drive from 1976 — a 22-yard run, by Steve Molnar.

Harris’s 22-yarder was the longest run by a Saskatchewan starting quarterback since Cody Fajardo scrambled for the same distance on Nov. 5, 2021 in Edmonton.

Whereas Fajardo is noted as dual threat, Harris runs selectively — albeit effectively.

In 2025, he averaged 6.6 yards per carry (best on the team!) during the regular season. He also took off on a 10-yard run that set up the Roughriders’ first touchdown in the Western Final against B.C.

This past Saturday, he rushed for a team-best 36 yards on three carries during a 16-12 victory over Montreal. T-Mobile, baby!

The 22-yarder was immediately followed by the jaw-dropping payoff pitch to Johnson.

“The corner squatted and I just threw it over his head,” recounted Harris, lauding Offensive Co-ordinator Marc Mueller for the play call. “It was kind of one of my patented deals that I love doing in this league.”

The ball was thrown as Johnson approached the 10-yard line. He made the catch seven yards deep in the end zone, near the right sideline.

“KeeSean said he looked up and the ball was right on his path,” Harris continued. “He squeezed it and kept his feet in(bounds) and it was awesome.”

Calling Cape Canaveral!

Until the final possession, Harris — the 2025 Grey Cup MVP — had not enjoyed one of his better days.

Again, we take you back to 1976 — a year in which Lancaster was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

Versus a B.C. team that was destined to miss the playoffs, Lancaster was intercepted four times. Nothing was working … until it absolutely had to work.

The four-play, 42-yard scoring march was highlighted by Molnar’s 22-yard run and, of course, the 18-yard TD toss to Dawson.

Saturday’s late-game heroics, which propelled the Roughriders into the playoffs, more than atoned for the earlier struggles.

“A couple of weeks ago in a team meeting, I addressed the team,” Harris recalled on Saturday. “I usually don’t do that, because I usually don’t have a ton to say. As a player, I think the less you say, the more power it has.

“I did something to say. It was more or less that it’s not that we needed one win. We needed one moment — whether that be the defence creating a big turnover or a big stop in a big-time situation, or special teams making a big hit or flipping the field, or the offence scoring a touchdown when we really, truly need it.

“I think that we had that all today. I think that one moment kind of flips a lot of belief and attitude and spirit in the team. You could kind of feel that in the second half. I know it might not have looked like it, but you could feel it on the sideline. People were playing with a lot more conviction.

“I think it was a big moment for us in the fourth quarter that we needed as a team to kind of get going in the right direction.”

Someone who was part of so many big moments took notice.

“Trevor Harris, I just love to see that,” Darian Durant, who attended Saturday’s game, wrote on Facebook. “Put the team on his back!”

And that, dear reader, is what legends do.