Dressler the best, Bo knows Nichols and Hurl in the middle

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This article was published 04/07/2017 (3021 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Veteran Winnipeg receiver Weston Dressler was named a Shaw CFL top performer for his exploits during Week 2.

Dressler scored a pair of touchdowns in less than a minute during the third quarter of the Blue Bombers’ 43-40 double overtime victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday night in Regina.

Dressler’s 87-yard pass-and-run TD was the longest of his 10-year career. He finished the games with six catches for 124 yards and took one handoff for a 22-yard run against the club he spent the first eight years of his CFL career with.

“Honestly, it should’ve been somewhere around 150 yards and three touchdowns,” said Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols Tuesday afternoon. “I missed a layup to him. It coulda been an even better game for him… He would never say it but I’m sure it was a little extra sweet for him in that situation.”

NICHOLS VS. MITCHELL

Matt Nichols was a four-year starter at Eastern Washington University between 2006 and 2009 and he was followed at EWU by current Calgary Stampeders QB Bo Levi Mitchell.

The two have a friendly rivalry, illustrated by Nichols’ scheduled appearance Tuesday on Mitchell’s new radio show. Nichols is 0-2 in head-to-head meetings with the Stampeders star.

“He knows that I know (about the head-to-head record)… It’s not something you think about during the game but leading up to the game, we’ve exchanged a few text messages,” said Nichols. “I think I’m going to be on the Bo Show tonight at 5 o’clock so, we’re good friends. On game day, I hope he throws five picks against us and we’ll talk after the game and be friends and talk trash.”

A victory Friday against Calgary would give Nichols some bragging rights.

“I felt like we let one slip away last year and then in 2015, we kinda had a weird offside call at the end of the game that had a weird ending,” said Nichols. “I felt like both times we had a chance to win, we just didn’t seal it. So we feel like we match up pretty well against them and it just comes down to making those few plays at the end of the game because they’re a team that seems to never make the mistake at the end of the game.”

NO CHANGES?

On Friday, the Blue Bombers could go with the same crew that earned victory in Week 1.

“Quite possibly the same lineup,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea. “We’ll sorta give (defensive back) Kevin Fogg a couple more days to see how it pans out.”

Fogg left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Sam Hurl’s return to duty as the club’s starting middle linebacker was a rousing success Saturday.

The 27-year-old Canadian registered three tackles, made a key first-half interception and anchored a stout Winnipeg run defence that limited Saskatchewan to 20 rushing yards on 10 attempts.

“It was big going into the half,” said Hurl, when asked about his interception. “We got three points out of it, so it’s cool, but we’ve got lots of other stuff out there that we have to clean up and worry about more than that… “I think it’s across the board. We want to be cleaner in all aspects. Communication, we want to be better. In keys and different things that are going on on the field, understanding what’s going on out there. Also making sure we’re crisp, mentally crisp, for four quarters.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14