The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were down for nearly the entire game in Calgary tonight, and ended up losing to the Stampeders 24-30. The Bombers found success for a near comeback around the middle of the game, but a massive early lead for Calgary and Winnipeg’s failure to execute in the final minutes stopped their attempt at earning first place.
The game started off with Calgary hitting a field goal on their opening drive, a quiet knock that opened the floodgates on a stampeding first quarter. Calgary’s offensive consistency combined with almost nothing going right for the Blue meant that Winnipeg went scoreless and finished the first 15 minutes down 17 points.
Just a few lowlights were Terrence Edwards banging up his elbow (an injury that kept him out for much of the first half, an Alex Brink fumble setting up a Calgary touchdown drive, and Jamie Boreham’s punt being blocked and recovered by Calgary, which also led to a Stamps score.
Calgary’s defence stayed strong heading into the second quarter, and although they are last in the league in sacks they put up big pressure on Brink, forcing another fumble that this time Winnipeg was able to recover. Their offence showed no mercy either, bringing in Henry Burris to punch in a short yards touchdown that pushed the score to a daunting 24-0.
Winnipeg obviously had their work cut out for them, and help came from a somewhat unlikely source. Fullback Michel-Pierre Pontbriand stuck on a long route and ended up pulling down a 41 yard catch amidst double coverage, putting the Bombers at first and goal and their most hopeful situation so far. Calgary went offside to move them even closer, and a short handoff to Chris Garrett gave Winnipeg their first points of the game.
The excitement continued as Winnipeg nearly recovered a fumble on the following kick-off. On defence, Jason Vega grabbed a tackle for loss, and the man with three Player Award nominations, Jovon Johnson, grabbed his eighth league-leading interception when he jumped the route on Nick Lewis. With just over a minute to go in the half, the Bombers capitalized on Johnson’s turning point with Brink running for a 1st down in a 2nd and 20 situation. After this, it was another awesome end zone grab for outstanding rookie Clarence Denmark, who sacrificed himself for a Winnipeg major.
But I hope you didn’t leave for refreshments yet, as the second half was still far from over; Henoc Muamba forced a Calgary fumble on the resulting kick-off which was recovered by Alex Suber. With only 34 seconds left, Winnipeg moved the ball enough for Justin Palardy to hit a field goal from 39 yards, ending the half much closer down 17-24.
It was a slow third quarter for both teams, with Calgary driving the ball for a large chunk of time and finishing with a field goal. Calgary’s offence looked as consistent as it did at the game’s beginning, while Winnipeg was unable to achieve very much. A big play came from Cory Watson on 2nd down and 20 yards to go, where he juked and turned a short pass into a first down. This put the Bombers close enough for Palardy to attempt a 53 yard field goal, but he missed and pinned the Stamps deep.
Now down 10 points in the last 15 minutes of play, Winnipeg came closest after Palardy was roughed up while attempting a field goal. The penalty gave Terence Jeffers-Harris the chance to bring his team into first and goal, and Brink saw an opening to finish the drive himself, bringing the Bombers to just three points away after the convert.
But sadly, Winnipeg would stay down in the final minutes. Despite a big knockdown from Marcellus Bowman and a lengthy punt return from Johnson into Calgary territory, the Bombers were unable to accomplish enough, while the Stamps found time for another field goal to go up by six.
Winnipeg’s chances of finishing first now rest with the BC Lions, who would seal Winnipeg’s position by beating Montreal later tonight. There’s still plenty of hope in Winnipeg for that first round bye and home field advantage, and you can catch that decision maker tonight at 9 PM.
