Written by: Andrew Parker
It was a rough night for Winnipeg sports, as the Blue Bombers trailed the Edmonton Eskimos all game, falling to a final score of 24-10. The many successes from last week against Hamilton didn’t carry over into this game, as Winnipeg was stifled on offence and couldn’t stop enough of Ricky Ray’s bombs to match the score.
The only way Winnipeg gained consistent yards was off of several Edmonton penalties, contrasting with an Edmonton offence that put up majors in each of the first three quarters and added a field goal in the fourth.
Things got off to a bad start with Edmonton scoring on their opening drive, showing their consistency early on offence and finishing with a short run from Jerome Messam. Jonathon Hefney did what he could to change gears on a shaky start with an interception early in the quarter. Penalties moved up the ball, but Winnipeg was forced to settle for a short field goal to finish the quarter down 7-3.
Later, Winnipeg came close in the final minutes of the half while both teams battled back and forth on possession. The Bombers were able to sack Ray twice in the second quarter, but he continued to be right on target, this time finding Jason Barnes in the end zone for a looping bomb at the very end of the half.
This continues a recent Winnipeg trend that’s seen low scoring in the first half, a total of only 21 points in the last 4 games includingtonight. Unfortunately, this sluggishness continued into the second half. There were also disappointments to come as the third quarter saw injuries take down Bombers Odell Willis and Clint Kent. Willis would return to test his knee out later in the game, but hard hits left Kent and Eskimo Delroy Clarke with the possibility of frightening upper body injuries.
Some positives did come during the third quarter, with Winnipeg’s only touchdown of the night. Early in the quarter however, a deflected ball was intercepted by the Eskimos. They were unable to score on the resulting possession, but their missed field goal attempt was run for a great return by Jovon Johnson. Winnipeg’s first moment of strong offence followed, with several plays landing to drive them downfield, and Edmonton penalties putting them on the one yard line. Alex Brink finished the drive with a goal line push to make it 14-10 after the convert.
Edmonton would answer back though, with another bomb from Ray finding Fred Stamps for another touchdown.
After Johnny Sears extended majestically for an interception to stop a potentially dangerous bomb, there weren’t many positives to be found in the fourth quarter. Terrence Edwards was robbed of a sure thing in the end zone by another Edmonton interception, and the Eskimos found their way to another field goal to finish the game off.
With this win, Edmonton ties Winnipeg’s record and moves to first in the West, leaving Winnipeg at 9-6 with plenty to work on before next week’s home game against their fellow East-leaders, the Montreal Alouettes.
