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October 26, 2019

Game Recap | CGY 28 WPG 29

Winston Rose, October 25, 2019, IG Field

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The story seems completely improbable, unlikely, and let’s be honest, more fictional than real life. And it starts like this…

Once upon a time there was a Canadian Football League quarterback – twice traded within three months and inactive for 134 days – who was parachuted into a new team once considered Grey Cup contenders, but suffering through a downward slide. With just a few practices under his belt and while living in a hotel and cramming to learn a new playbook, the quarterback then lead his new squad to a dramatic comeback victory that helped change the negative narrative swirling around town.

The happily-ever-after part? Well, that’s still to be determined. But stay tuned.

Yes, welcome to Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers, Zach Collaros.

Backed by a solid debut by the veteran pivot and a last-play game-winning field goal by Justin Medlock, the Bombers knocked off the Calgary Stampeders 29-28 in front of 24,460 fans at IG Field Friday night to keep the West Division playoff race a jumbled mess.

“It felt really good. Really good to get a win, man,” said Collaros, speaking to reporters outside a raucous Blue Bombers locker room.. “Those guys deserve it in there. They prepare so hard. We all did. Anytime you can get a win in this league you’ve gotta enjoy it because it’s tough to do.

“I said it all week long. Everybody here has been great. With me being the new person in the locker room it’s a very warm group, a very welcoming group. They’re professionals. They know we’re all just here to win a football game. It felt great.”

Trailing 28-26 with just over two minutes remaining and the ball on their own 46-yard line, Collaros completed three passes to Rasheed Bailey for 15 yards, ran for a yard on a third-and-one, and saw Andrew Harris rush three times for 17 yards to set up the Medlock game-winner with no time remaining.

All told, Collaros completed 22 of 28 for 221 yards with TD passes to Kenny Lawler and Darvin Adams with one interception. The Bombers offence still managed to rush for 89 yards and a TD by Nic Demski against a stingy Calgary defence, but it was the ability of Collaros to read and react quickly that gave the attack a different element than with sophomore pro Chris Streveler at the controls.

And the pass to Adams, in which he dropped back, circled around and then delivered a strike to the corner of the end zone, was a snippet of Collaros magic, circa 2014-15.

“My Pap, who passed away last year, came to every single one of my games my entire career,” said Collaros. “High school, college, CFL… I don’t know how many miles he and my grandma put on their car to see it. So, he was definitely watching tonight.”

The win improves the Bombers to 11-7, and with a bye next week, they’ll be watching closely as the Stamps head to Vancouver for their finale against the B.C. Lions. A win by the Lions would give the Bombers second place in the West Division, as Friday’s victory has earned them the season series, 2-1. A Stampeders win would lock the Bombers into third place in the West and have them on the road for the West Semi-Final.

Calgary is now 11-6 and the loss means the Saskatchewan Roughriders, 11-5, can vault into sole possession of first place in the West with a win over the Edmonton Eskimos Saturday night.

“We’re a blue-collar team and we’re going to fight to the end. Today we showed that,” said Andrew Harris, who rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries and added three catches for another 21. “There are a lot of big plays, game-changing plays, a lot of great effort and we didn’t give up. So, I’m proud of my teammates. What a great way to end the season. I just want to keep this vibe rolling. I wish we didn’t have a bye week right now.”

Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell, meanwhile, did what he always does against the Bombers – although the result drops him to 11-3 all-time versus Winnipeg. Mitchell threw for four touchdowns, two each to Hergy Mayala and Eric Rogers, and finished 31 of 43 for 350 yards.

But it was the Bombers defence which forced a two-and-out with just over two minutes remaining to set up the dramatic finish and managed to keep the Stamps off the scoreboard in the final quarter.

“You’ve got to mix things up against Bo,” said Adam Bighill, who led the Bombers with seven tackles. “You can’t give him exactly what he thinks he’s going to see. You’ve got to mix it up, you’ve got to get after him up front and not let him sit there and see things all day. We were able to disrupt him a bit and it gave us just enough to get the win.

“At the end of the day you’ve got to win close games and the playoffs are going to be very much that,” Bighill added. “So, beating one of the best teams in the league, a team we could face in the first round… it’s what you want.”


THE BIG STAT | 1-0

We could dive into all kinds of different numbers here, but this is the big one: the Bombers are 1-0 in games Zach Collaros starts.

NOTABLE:

The Bombers scratch was WR Lucky Whitehead… With QB Chris Streveler on the one-game injured list, Sean McGuire ran the short-yardage unit and completed a pass to Mike Miller in that formation. McGuire was also the holder on placekicks.

MILESTONE WATCH

Andrew Harris moved past Canadian Football Hall of Famer Normie Kwong to become the CFL’s all-time leader in rushing yards by a Canadian. Harris now has 9,038 yards in his career.

NUMBERS GAME

16: Willie Jefferson added to his CFL record pass knockdown total for defensive lineman with his 16th. That also tops the CFL this year. The last D-lineman to lead the league in pass knockdowns was Fred Perry back in 2006, with 10.

112: Janarion Grant returned a missed Rene Paredes convert 122 yards for two points following a Calgary TD in the third quarter.

2-2: Justin Medlock hit both of his field-goal attempts and his game-winner was the first at IG Field.

NEXT: The Bombers have the bye for the final week of the regular season before the playoffs. TBD determined is whether they are playing host to Calgary or Saskatchewan or on the road.