Game Day HQ | #2: Blue Bombers at Lions

VANCOUVER — Zach Collaros did his best to hide his emotions, speaking in a robotic tone and resisting the urge to jump up and down and wave his arms in excitement.

But make no mistake, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB1 is amped to finally be playing his first game of the 2025 Canadian Football League season after a Week 1 bye was followed by his one-game suspension.

“I’m pretty fired up,” began Collaros with a grin. Friday afternoon upon arrival at the team’s hotel. “I don’t think that’s ever going to go away. If it does, it’s probably time to step away.

“I’m just excited to get out there and play. It’s been a long time since the last time we were out there — the last time I was out there — and it couldn’t be taken the field with a better group of guys and that’s the coolest part about it.

“We’ve got a lot of old friends on this team, guys that we accomplished a lot with and to be back out there with them is going to be a lot of fun.”

Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was asked if he saw any signs of Collaros’ being extra-geeked up for this one during the practice week. He chuckled, then provided this:

“It always goes back to the idea that he didn’t get to play this last one and this has been on his mind for months and months. So, to be putting it in the rear-view mirror is great for Zach and for his family — and our organization, too.

“… This is important for him. I don’t think he puts that much stress on himself, but this has been a tough time for him.”

The Blue Bombers got excellent QB play from Chris Streveler in last week’s 34-20 win as he threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in posting a gaudy 121.2 quarterback efficiency rating. Collaros, of course, has been dominant in Winnipeg colours with a 49-15 record as a starter for the club while sporting a career record of 13-4 vs. the Lions.

“Strev played a very good game for us,” O’Shea added. “Zach’s done it… I don’t even know what his record would be, but he’s a lot (of wins) versus very little (losses) over and over and over again.

“He’s just really good. He’s been doing it for a long time and he’s our starter.”

ICYMI, here is our Game Preview:

Game Preview: WPG at BC

And follow along here as we present a collection of notes/quotes/anecdotes to help get Blue Bombers up to speed for tonight’s matchup in Vangroovy in this week’s GAME DAY HQ…

PETERSON’S ENCORE

So much about Matthew Peterson’s debut last week was memorable, as he came off the bench for an injured Brady Oliveira and rushed 23 times for 130 yards and a sensational 38-yard touchdown.

He’ll now step in as the starter in the rematch against the Lions with Oliveira having been moved to the one-game injured list with a shoulder injury.

“It’s about being on your Ps and Qs and just knowing you’re going to be out there starting the game,” said Peterson when asked about the difference in approach from starting to coming off the bench. “Nothing else really changes for me, per se, it’s just going out there and balling and having fun and being able to trust the guys around me. I have a great group of guys out there that help me have my confidence so I’m just going to go out there and play my game.”

Peterson said of his Week 1 performance that ‘there’s always more to build on’ but the results did help provide the ‘I belong’ validation.

“It does, especially with the guys around you,” he said, “and especially with the guys around you who have been playing a long time and together. That’s the biggest thing — the confidence comes from them and having their trust.

“(His debut) was a surreal moment. Everything was building up to that moment, you dream of it for so long and it happened, and it happened in the debut game. There’s more to build on and, again, the biggest thing is the guys around me who allowed me to take in the moment.

“You always want more,” he added. “Once you get a taste of it, once you start getting the confidence you always want more.”

ROURKE WATCH

There was so much to like in the Blue Bombers opener last week and as silly as this seems, a scheduling quirk means the club could sweep the season series with the Lions with a win tonight. These two clubs complete their back-to-back now and won’t mean again unless it’s in the playoffs.
A Blue Bomber victory or tie, or a Lions win by less than 14 points will earn Winnipeg a tiebreaker.

The game could feature two different starting quarterbacks from a week ago with Collaros returning to the Blue Bombers huddle and Nathan Rourke listed as a game-time decision by the Lions after he injured his oblique in last week’s game in Winnipeg. The Lions list both Jeremiah Masoli and Chase Brice as 1-2 on their depth chart.

“It doesn’t really matter who’s playing — they’re still going to run their offence,” said Blue Bombers defensive back Evan Holm. “They may have different releases and different skillsets, but for the most part their offence is what it is.

“I thought we did pretty well defensively aside from the four explosion plays. And on a lot of them we were in position but just have to make the play. They’re going to make plays, too, but we’d like them not to be explosion plays. Other than that, I felt like we were in control of the game and JY (defensive coordinator Jordan Younger) called a great game.

“It will be interesting — they’ve seen us now and they know what we have. Obviously, Buck (Pierce) has been with us so they’ll have some stuff ready for us. We expect that. Again, it’ll come down to making plays on those 50-50 balls.”

“HE’S OLD SCHOOL”

Gabe Wallace will step in for Micah Vanterpool at left guard and make his first career start. A second-round draft pick in 2024, Wallace is a massive 6-6, 340, and brings both size and physicality to the offensive line. He’ll have his brother and his girlfriend in the crowd tonight.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Wallace told bluebombers.com this week. “I just want to go out there and be physical and that I can contribute to the team in whatever way they need me to. More than anything, Winnipeg has that reputation of running the ball hard and being a physical team and I want to be able do my part in that.”

Born in Nelson, B.C., Wallace and his family moved to New Zealand — his father worked in the forestry industry — and then back to Salmon Arm when he was eight.

“I loved it there,” he said. “It’s where I started to fall in love with rugby. I never played anything organized there; I just watched the older kids. Then I came back to B.C. and started playing it then and followed it and watch it whenever I can.”

An amiable sort off the field — his O-line teammates love the guy — he does flip that proverbial switch when he pulls on his helmet and straps up his shoulder pads on game night.

“It’s a bit of a switch. I go out there and play right up to that line without crossing it,” he said with a mischievous grin. “It’s nice to get out there and be able to do things you can’t really get away with if you were doing anything else. You can’t get away with it in practice. You’ve got a few opportunities where you can do it, and game days is perfect for that.

“It’s just something I’ve gotten good at. It’s fun.”

Added Pat Neufeld of Wallace: “What does he bring? Attitude. Physicality. Sheer size. He’s a huge human being and there aren’t many guys built like him. I’m excited for him and his opportunity. Chris (Kolankowski) and I and Gabe trained together all offseason and we’re excited for him to get into what we’re doing.

“On game day he just turns into this old school, grinder, offensive line guy. He’s listening to this 90s heavy metal music. We had a crazy heavy squat day a couple days ago and we started squatting weight we didn’t anticipate we were going to be hitting. We were listening to some rap music, but Gabe needed his squat song, and it was Pantera. That just encapsulates who he is.

“He’s that guy out there on the field. He’s got that bar down the middle of his mask. He’s old school. He’ll play hard and to our standard. He’s a chippy guy and that’s what we want from him.”

MILESTONE WATCH

A few items to track for those of you, like me, who are into this stuff…

• The next TD pass thrown by Collaros will be the 200th of his career and would make him the 14th player in CFL history to hit that mark. The list: Anthony Calvillo (455), Damon Allen (394), Henry Burris (373), Ron Lancaster (333), Ricky Ray (324), Matt Dunigan (303), Kevin Glenn (293), Tracy Ham (284), Doug Flutie (270), Danny McManus (259), Tom Clements (252), Bo Levi Mitchell (226) and Dieter Brock (210). Of that list, only Glenn and Mitchell — the latter the starting QB in Hamilton — are not in the CFHOF.
• Of Collaros’s 199 TD passes, 109 have come as a Blue Bomber with 66 during his days in Hamilton, 15 with Toronto and nine with Saskatchewan.
  Collaros (16,177) needs 294 passing yards to pass Kenny Ploen (16,470) for fourth on the Blue Bombers all-time list.
• And mentioned in this piece but worth repeating — Nic Demski needs 56 yards to move past Darvin Adams in 10th spot on the Blue Bombers all-time receiving yardage list. Demski is at 4,612; Adams finished his career at 4,667 yards.
• Sergio Castillo needs 11 points to move into seventh place on the Blue Bombers all-time scoring list. Those ahead of him: Troy Westwood (2,748), Trevor Kennerd (1,840), Milt Stegall (890), Justin Medlock (802), Bernie Ruoff (673), Gerry James (601) and Charles Roberts (474).

NOTABLE

• This is the earliest date that the Blue Bombers-Lions season series will ever have been wrapped up. Winnipeg needs only to avoid a loss of 14 points or more to secure the potential tiebreaker.
• Collaros has 34 300-yard passing games in his CFL career, including 15 as a member of the Blue Bombers. He has eclipsed the 300-yard mark six times against both the Lions and Toronto Argonauts — the most of any opponent.