Standing in the late-evening chill of Nov. 11, 2012, having just watched the Saskatchewan Roughriders assume the lead in the final minute of play and conditioned to expect the worst, Rob Cote had come to a decision.

“Honestly,’’ the 31-year-old home-brew mainstay is recalling today, “before Drew Tate throws that pass, I had retired on the sideline.

“No joke.

“I’d had enough. They’d beaten us in the West final in 2009 and 2010. They’d scored the go-ahead touchdown that game with less than two minutes left.  And I’m thinking: ‘Not again. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t go all season and then lose to these guys again. I just … can’t.’

“That just shows you how much it hurts to lose in the playoffs.

“It was killing me.

“I was done.

“In my mind, it was final.

“And then 30’’ – 22, actually – “seconds later …”

Tate fires up a probing flare to Romby Bryant down the right stripe behind Rider DB Terrell Maze for a 68-yard pass-and-run touchdown at the 14:40 mark of the fourth quarter, capping a hard-to-wrap-your-head-around 36-30 victory that booked Grey Cup passage for Cote and the Calgary Stampeders.

They’d lose that title tilt, 35-22 to the Ricky Ray-orchestrated Toronto Argos at Rogers Centre. But any thoughts of heading off in another career direction had vanished.

Five seasons and five post-season berths later, Cote’s still going strong, of course. Still anchoring the largely unheralded fullback position out at McMahon Stadium.

Still in it only to win it.

With the 2017 edition of The Horse having already stamped their playoff passage, this marks his 11th trip in 11 tries.

However you want to frame that, it stands as an astounding run.

“It is,’’ he agrees. “But it’s also what we expect in this organization. I’m lucky to be in a situation (like this). I’ve never been on the other side of it, where we’ve missed entirely and been a part of that kind of disappointment. And I never intend to be.

“My disappointments have always come in playoffs.

“The great goal we strive for here never changes. We’re never happy ‘just’ to be a playoff team or to ‘just’ be in the Grey Cup.

“But priority 1 each season, for every team, is getting there. And I’ve been fortunate enough to get there, in with a chance, every season I’ve been a Stampeder.”

Over those 11 Cote campaigns, the Stamps have reached eight Western Division finals and four Grey Cups, winning two.

The avowed aim now being to increase those totals this November to nine, five and three, respectively.

Cote hoists the 2014 Grey Cup with teammates (Photo by David Moll)

In backfield tandem with Joffrey Reynolds or Jon Cornish or now Jerome Messam, Cote represents a common thread running through an extended period of consistent excellence.

“Well,’’ he teases, “that’s what I always try and tell Huff …

“You know, I think a lot of this stuff is stored in the back of my mind and I’ll reflect on it more when I’m done playing. Then I’ll look back on what a ride it has all been.

“Right now, my only concern is the present.

“I do, though, take great pride in being a part – a small part, but still a part – of something pretty special through the years. We’ve had a string of great running backs who’ve been at or near the top of the league. That is, and always will be, a point of pride for me.”

At a table-topping 12-1-1 record, enjoying their second bye week of the season, the Stamps find themselves on the cusp of booking another West final playoff date at McMahon.

They’ll doubtless head into another post-season in a month’s time installed as championship favourites.

“Any playoff game,’’ Cote cautions, “is 50-50. I should know. I’ve played in a few. Won my share, lost some, too.

“You always hear guys say ‘Playoffs are the most fun time of the year.’ And they are. Definitely.

“But around here, only if you win.

“So while being in that many consecutive playoffs is great, something I’ll be able to look back on, as I said, I’m also very, very proud of spending my entire career with a team, an organization, that doesn’t accept anything less.”