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The Labour Day Classic bogged down at times, but the “Classic” label applied by the end.

The difference on Sunday proved to be a game-winning, 87-yard march by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who needed a 26-yard field goal from Brett Lauther as time expired to register a 19-17 CFL victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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With 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders faced a daunting challenge in the form of an excellent Winnipeg defence.

A reasonable outcome would be to produce a couple of first downs and then punt the ball away.

The Roughriders hadn’t earned a point in the entire second half, so a scoring drive seemed a bit much to ask.

So much for that notion.

Saskatchewan emerged with a 7-3 record, which places the Roughriders — winners of six consecutive games — second only to Winnipeg (8-3) in the West Division.

Comparably, a 31-26 victory in the 2007 Labour Day Classic left Saskatchewan at 7-2 and with a five-game winning streak. Winnipeg, which was then atop the East Division, fell to 5-3-1.