Written by: Andrew Parker
It was a rough time in Winnipeg today, and the constant banjo soundtrack wasn’t helping anyone either. Under the weeping strains of violins and bluegrass crooning, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fell 45-23 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. With this loss, Winnipeg slides down to a 7-3 record.
The last Banjo Bowl at Canad Inns Stadium started out electric, with the stadium bursting at the seams and its sold-out crowd making tons of noise from the opening kickoff. The enthusiasm continued as Winnipeg jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The scoring began with a field goal from Justin Palardy and featured big catches by Terrence Edwards, including a deep bomb landing picture-perfect, right over his shoulder for a 49-yard gain. It was a run from Fred Reid that finished it off, outrunning two Riders for seven yards and six points.
Earlier in the drive, quarterback Buck Pierce was blindsided by Saskatchewan’s Craig Butler, popping his helmet off and losing seven yards. But this play showed that despite his record of injuries, Pierce is one tough nut. He got up to complete a first down pass to Cory Watson immediately after taking a hit that would have decapitated a lesser man.
After that first quarter, things slowed down for the Bombers. The Riders were able to find plenty of holes in Winnipeg’s defence, allowing Chris Getzlaf a 33-yard catch for a score, and a wide open Weston Dressler a 43-yard catch that led to a field goal soon after. The Riders would continue that pace, scoring another two touchdowns in the second quarter, including another from Getzlaf. Although newly-returned CFL All-Star Andy Fantuz’s performance was nothing to write home about, Saskatchewan found plenty of other ways to get things done. In fact, the only really positive moments in the quarter came with a 46-yard field goal by Palardy, and a great sack by Bomber newcomer Rodney Fritz who was playing in his first CFL game.
Heading into the second half, nothing was going Winnipeg’s way. Palardy was able to nail another long 45-yard field goal and Jovon Johnson prevented a score with a gorgeous end zone interception, but Saskatchewan still struck gold later to end the third quarter 31-16.
The fourth quarter showed little change, with Saskatchewan adding another major not long after fielding Pierce’s fourth interception of the game. Less than two minutes later the situation became even grimmer, this time with Pierce’s fifth interception caught and ran back for a Rider touchdown. Pierce was pulled after that and replaced by Alex Brink, who performed admirably by marching the Bombers downfield. After some solid connections on offence, a pass interference call bothered Greg Carr in the end zone and put the Bombers at Saskatchewan’s doorstep. Brink was able to complete the drive with a perfect pass to Edwards for a Winnipeg touchdown with one minute left to play, but it wasn’t consoling enough for the deflated fans that were still present.
This score would finish off the game 45-23 in favour of Saskatchewan.
