Blue Bombers overpower Roughriders 38-22, advance to Grey Cup

WINNIPEG — Zach Collaros was smiling as he talked about how wide receiver Kenny Lawler nicely fits into the Blue Bombers’ offensive game plan.

“I do the play sheet each week and I write on there, get Kenny going. However we have to do it, get him the ball,” the veteran Winnipeg quarterback told reporters.

Consider it mission accomplished on Saturday night.

Collaros threw four touchdown passes, including three to Lawler, and the Blue Bombers whipped the Saskatchewan Roughriders 38-22 in the CFL West Division final to earn their fifth consecutive trip to the Grey Cup.

The Bombers will face the Argonauts in Vancouver on Nov. 17 after Toronto defeated the Montreal Alouettes 30-28 in the East Division final earlier on Saturday.

Sitting beside Collaros in the press room, Lawler said he considered his four catches for 177 yards a “regular night” for himself and the offence was just “locked in” to face the Roughriders.

“This season has been a crazy ride,” Lawler said. “I missed the first eight, nine games with a broken arm, come back, gotta knock the dust off, the rust off, and get straight to work.”

Winnipeg, which also lost star receiver Dalton Schoen and middle linebacker Adam Bighill to season-ending injuries, had opened the season 0-4 and went to 2-6. They then rattled off eight consecutive victories before losing one and then winning their final regular-season game to claim top spot in the division.

“People counted us out, but we believed in each other,” said Bombers running back Brady Oliveira, who had 20 carries for 119 yards and one touchdown.

He credited the coaches and entire offence for the decisive victory, but in particular Collaros.

“He played lights out,” Oliveira said. “That’s who Zach is. The guy’s a stud.”

Collaros also tossed a touchdown strike to receiver Nic Demski. He finished 19-of-26 passing for 301 yards with no interceptions in front of Winnipeg’s fifth consecutive sellout of 32,343 fans at Princess Auto Stadium.

Sergio Castillo booted one field goal from 30 yards and hit five converts for Winnipeg.

“I would say they had our number tonight,” Roughriders linebacker Jameer Thurman said. “Definitely when you get that momentum, it just carries through the rest of the game.”

Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris was 25-of-44 for 283 yards with no picks.

“They did a good job making things difficult,” Harris said of Winnipeg’s defence. “They contested every play we had. We had small things in execution. Yeah, it hurts.”

Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette had a one-yard TD plunge and ended up with 10 carries for 51 yards. Samuel Emilus caught a 19-yard TD toss with 23 seconds left in the game. A two-point convert attempt failed.

Brett Lauther connected on three field goals from 31, 40 and 44 yards and one convert for Saskatchewan.

“Really, (the Bombers) had their way through the air and on the ground,” first-year ‘Riders head coach Corey Mace said.

Winnipeg led 14-3 after the first quarter, 24-9 at halftime and 31-16 heading into the fourth.

Collaros fired a 31-yard TD strike to Lawler as he ran toward the end zone at 9:35 of the first quarter.

Lawler’s second TD was set up by his 65-yard catch. He then grabbed a pass just outside the goal line and rolled into the end zone for a 24-yard score at 12:25.

Saskatchewan hit the scoreboard with a Lauther 40-yard field goal at 14:41.

Winnipeg punter Jamieson Sheahan then had a kick blocked. The Roughriders recovered and Lauther booted a 33-yarder at 2:21 of the second.

Bombers backup quarterback Terry Wilson sprinted 48 yards on second-and-one to ignite another drive. A Saskatchewan penalty then took the ball to Winnipeg’s seven-yard line, where Collaros found Demski in the end zone on the next play for a 21-6 lead.

Lauther kicked a 44-yarder at 12:29 and Castillo knocked through a 30-yarder as time expired.

Five minutes after the ‘Riders squeezed the score 24-16 on Ouellette’s one-yard TD at 4:02 of the third quarter, Lawler registered a 57-yard catch-and-run TD.

Bombers defensive back Tyrell Ford then broke up a pass attempt for a Saskatchewan turnover on downs.

Winnipeg took over at the Saskatchewan’s 24-yard line. Oliveira ripped off 21 yards, followed by a three-yard TD run at 3:28 to widen the lead to 38-16.

The Bombers defence then recorded a couple of knock-downs and a sack of Harris before Emilus’s late score.

GOOD OMEN

When the Bombers beat Saskatchewan in both the 2019 and ’21 West finals, the club went on to capture a pair of Grey Cup titles. First it was a 32-12 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, followed by a 33-25 overtime win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

On Winnipeg’s past two trips to the Grey Cup, it lost 24-23 to the Argonauts in 2022 and 28-24 to the Alouettes last season.

RARE COMPANY

Winnipeg became only the fourth team in CFL history to advance to five straight Grey Cup games.

The other clubs were the former Regina Roughriders (1928-32), the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1961-65) and the then-Edmonton Eskimos with the record six (1977-82).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press