Written by: Andrew Parker
The curse continues, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers losing their seventh straight Labour Day Classic today. It was a painful game to watch for Bomber fans at home, and even worse for the small pockets of Blue and Gold scattered around Regina’s Mosaic Stadium. The Saskatchewan Roughriders, led by a big performance from quarterback Darian Durant, shut down Winnipeg 27-7 for their second win of the season, and Winnipeg’s first loss on the road.
One silver lining of the game was definitely rookie receiver Kito Poblah, who returned from a knee injury sustained in the season opener. He proved to be an extremely consistent target throughout the afternoon, finishing the game with nine receptions for 89 yards. But perhaps most impressive was his ability to break tackles and gain yards after the catch, often pushing enough for a first down.
The game was probably enjoyed by boxing fans as well, with several major fouls and unnecessary roughness calls that resulted in the disqualification of both Brandon Stewart and Cory Watson late in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter however, started the game like a slow novel, and lacked the big start that Winnipeg needed to silence the Rider Nation. Although Winnipeg was able to stop them on back-to-back third and one situations, Saskatchewan showed the game’s first signs of offensive life with a 38-yard rainbow over the middle to Chris Getzlaf for a touchdown.
The Riders began the second quarter with a 27-yard field goal to put them up 10-0. Winnipeg’s first big break came on a fumble recovery with two minutes left in the half. Pierre-Luc Labbe forced the ball loose, and Stewart clutched it on the sideline for the recovery. But on this possession the Bombers had to settle for a field goal, with Justin Palardy hitting from 22 yards to end the first half down 10-4.
Saskatchewan struck next in the third quarter, setting themselves up deep in Bomber territory with a 40-yard catch, a type of play that hurt the Bomber defence several times, and an idea that eluded the Bomber offence for most of the game. After that, it was a nice catch from Weston Dressler that put the Riders up 17-4 after the convert.
Palardy was able to add three points with another field goal, and the defence held the Riders to just a field goal late in the quarter, leading Winnipeg fans to thank heaven for small mercies.
The fourth quarter saw Winnipeg’s first success with deep action by way of a 35-yard catch by Greg Carr, and more solid first down earnings by Poblah, but the offence was foiled after Saskatchewan recovered a fumble by Buck Pierce. As if the game wasn’t sealed already, Getzlaf grabbed his second major score of the game with an easy 13-yard touchdown.
Winnipeg backup Alex Brink came out to relieve quarterback Pierce with under three minutes left, an understandable choice considering Pierce’s failure to execute, even with his 20 of 28 completions. The final two minutes were simply setting the stage for Banjo Bowl revenge, as tempers flared and the rivalry became clearer than ever. Highlights included an ongoing feud between Obby Khan and Saskatchewan’s Dario Romero, a handicap match between Cory Watson and four Riders, and a crushing suplex tackle by Carr after a Saskatchewan interception.
If nothing else, this last minute brouhaha showed that the Blue Bombers will have plenty of fight left when they welcome the Riders to Winnipeg next Sunday for the Banjo Bowl.
That’s the thing about the Labour Day Classic: there’s always next week, and hopefully revenge will be sweet.
