Game Recap | WPG 20 SSK 13

REGINA – They’ve taken more than a few punches and delivered just that many more. Now the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will climb into the ring next Sunday for one more fight – in the 107^th Grey Cup.

The Bombers knocked off the Saskatchewan Roughriders 20-13 in what was a nutty, crazy, wonderful, wacky and thrilling Western Final that was the perfect three-hour advertisement for the Canadian Football League and the three-down game.

As a result, the Bombers will now meet the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this Sunday in Calgary. The Ticats knocked off the Edmonton Eskimos 36-16 in the Eastern Final earlier in the day. That means the Grey Cup will feature the two teams with the longest current championship droughts in the CFL – Winnipeg’s last title dates back to 1990, while the Ticats last won in 1999.

“We’re going to the Cup and it’s a great feeling,” said Andrew Harris inside a raucous Bomber dressing room. “We can’t get too high, though. We’ve got to stay locked in because we’ve got a great team we’ve got to go out and beat next week.

“Winnipeg is going off right now. I’m not there, but I’m assuming that Winnipeg is going off right now. They’re getting ready for a big week and we are, too. It’s going to be a big one.”

The Bombers took a 20-10 lead halfway through the fourth quarter on the fourth of Justin Medlock’s field goals, and then worked through some nail-chomping moments until the very end. The defence stuffed Cody Fajardo on a third-and-one-gamble from the Winnipeg one-yard line with 2:37 left and then were on the field as the clock hit zeroes with a last-play pass attempt clanging off the crossbar.

Actually, that last paragraph doesn’t even begin to describe the final three minutes… a novella could be penned on all that unfolded in that last couple of minutes.

“I was playing peek-a-boo for that last three minutes,” said Nic Demski. “I kept putting my hands over my eyes. That was probably the longest three minutes of my life, man.

“Our defence came up big and I just can’t say enough good things about them.”

The victory was backstopped by the defence, even though the Riders cranked out 422 yards net offence to Winnipeg’s 322. The Bombers forced four turnovers and were particularly stout in defending the red zone, even with the football gods seemingly working against them.

There was a forced fumble inside the final minute that was overturned by the command centre to give the Riders new life, and a sure-thing interception that went through the hands of Marcus Sayles and was caught by Kyran Moore to put the Riders at the five-yard line with 27 seconds left.

The Riders got a gritty effort from Fajardo, but Zach Collaros was also steady against the squad that traded him away this season. Collaros finished 16 of 24 for 262 yards and a touchdown to Kenny Lawler, while Fajardo completed 27 of 41 for 366 yards.

“Hats off to the defence, they were just amazing all night with a lot of stops,” said Collaros. “I can’t say enough about that.”

“Coach said something early in the week that really struck me… As a rookie I was fortunate enough to be on a team he was coaching in Toronto that won the Grey Cup. Two years later I was able to play in one in Hamilton, so my first three years I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be able to do this every other year.’ Not everybody gets to do that. It’s a precious thing.”

And it’s especially precious for a franchise that hasn’t been to a Cup since 2011 and has a championship drought that hangs over it like giant black cloud.

So… one more step.

“We did it as a team and it feels so good,” said Jermarcus Hardrick. “But now we really have to go 1-0. Going 1-0 always had meaning for us, but it’s really our focus now.

“Those last few minutes… I just had faith. I didn’t know if we were going to have to go back out, but I believed in the defence. I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I just knew we were going to win.

“You know,” Hardrick added while surveying a celebratory locker room, “I’m a proud Manitoban. I don’t know any other way to put it. No matter what happens in the future, Winnipeg is forever in my heart. I had a kid as a Winnipegger, my kids go to school in Winnipeg. It means a lot to us. I’m a Winnipegger, man.”

THE BIG STAT | 27

Points surrendered by the Bombers in two playoff games. Stout when it mattered, tough in critical moments. Enough said.

NOTABLE

The Bombers scratch was CB Chandler Fenner… LS Chad Rempel returned to the lineup and handled the chores on both punts and placekicks… Zach Collaros became the first QB in CFL history to start a division final having been on each team’s roster during the same season.

FYI

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea lost his challenge a play into the second quarter when most in the building thought would be overturned, as it appeared Fajardo had crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing his pass attempt.

Here’s the explanation from the CFL Football Operations department:

Play 56 – Winnipeg challenged the play believing that the Saskatchewan QB #7 (Fajardo) threw a forward pass from across the Line of Scrimmage. After review, the Replay Official determined there was no clear and obvious evidence that the QB’s back foot was beyond the LOS. (1/2)

— CFL Football Operations (@CFLFootballOps) November 17, 2019

Play 56 (cont.) The rule states that the QB’s back foot, whether in the air or on the ground, has to be beyond the Line of Scrimmage. In this case, the LOS was a ball length inside of the 27-yard line. The ruling on the field stands as called (2/2) #GCPlayoffs

— CFL Football Operations (@CFLFootballOps) November 17, 2019

NUMBERS GAME

4-4: Justin Medlock’s totals for the day in the field-goal department, hitting from 32, 13, 43 and 42.

34-38: Medlock’s career playoff field goal numbers.

107: The Bombers 107-yard TD drive, capped by the Lawler score, was the longest in CFL playoff history since 2011 when the Eskimos drove 108 yards against B.C. in the West Final.