Bombers trample Stamps – secure home playoff game

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This article was published 03/11/2017 (2929 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — It took until the bitter end of the regular season, and in the bitter cold, but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will host a playoff game for the first time in six years.

After two failed attempts in as many weeks to lock up second spot in the West Division with a win, the Bombers finally cemented their place on Friday, beating the Calgary Stampeders 23-5 in the regular-season finale at McMahon Stadium.

Winnipeg finishes the season 12-6, improving from last year’s breakout year, where they ended with an 11-7 mark. It’s the first season since 2002 the Bombers have won 12 games. It’s also the first time that Winnipeg has defeated Calgary since the 2014 season, with the Bombers also winning on the final game of the year.

“We know where we’re situated now, we’ve got a playoff game and that part of it’s important, whether it was 10, 11 or 12 (wins) or whatever it took to get that,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea after the game.

“It’s the fact that we do have a playoff game – it’s good for the fans and our players, shoot, they know how good our fans are to us so that part of it is an exciting time… the players do appreciate that too.” O’Shea added: “They put in a tough season to get to where they are and they deserve it, and the fans deserve it, too.”

The Bombers not only have the benefit of knowing where they stand heading into the playoffs next week, but they do so feeling better about their game, even if it did come against, at times, a thinned out Calgary roster. Winnipeg had dropped three of their last four games and losing another would have tipped the scales into full-out panic mode, whether the team would admit it or not.

Not to mention a loss would have also meant waiting for the result in Saturday’s game between the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders, with an Edmonton win or tie resulting in Winnipeg dropping to third place. Now, they wait to see who they’ll host in the West semifinal Nov. 12. The winner between the Eskimos and Roughriders will finish third and play the Bombers, while the loser gets the cross-over spot in the East.

If Winnipeg is to get through to the West final with a win at Investors Group Field next Sunday, the reward will be a return trip to Calgary to play a well-rested club, as the Stampeders will have the week off after clinching top spot in the West, at 13-4-1. Calgary enters the playoffs having lost three straight games.

“It’s a mindset, man. You have to be able to be ready to play in these types of games, especially when the weather is a distraction,” said Bombers veteran cornerback Chris Randle. “We’re both playing in it, we both had to deal with it so we came out ready and it showed that.”

Temperatures were reported to bottom out at –23 degrees Celsius, with the wind chill. Field crews needed to scrape the turf to remove snow before the game, and were often called upon during commercial breaks to clear what continued to fall throughout the game.

To fully embrace the conditions, the Bombers wrote a message in the locker room for all to read. It said: “Weather: PERFECT, Temp: Not Cold Enough, Wind: We Don’t Care.”

The message was delivered, with Winnipeg taking it to the Stampeders for much of the game, including a number of impressive efforts from players on both sides of the ball. 

The Bombers opened the scoring just minutes into the first quarter with a 55-yard interception touchdown by defensive back Brandon Alexander. The score came on the first pass attempt by the Stampeders’ No. 2 quarterback, Canadian Andrew Buckley, who was making his first CFL start.

For Alexander, who was named the Bombers’ top rookie earlier this week, it was his first interception and touchdown of the season, and the only points scored in the first frame.

Winnipeg entered the game having averaged 30.5 points on offence through the first 13 weeks, but could only muster nearly half of that — 18.5 — in the last four games. On Friday, the offence, led by backup Dan LeFevour, struggled to find an answer for the heavy winds and blowing snow. LeFevour, in for an injured Matt Nichols (calf), would eventually move the ball downfield, settling in nicely as the second quarter moved on.

“We had to play to our strengths in this game, giving the ball to Andrew (Harris) and he did a great job and led the offence,” said LeFevour. “It’s great to get a win and get a home game next week.”

The first points from the offence came five minutes into the second frame, when Justin Medlock connected on the first of three straight field goals for the Bombers, putting the visitors up 16-0. Medlock, who went 7-for-7 against the B.C. Lions last week, made good on 52, 22 and 28 yards, respectively.

Harris made three catches — for seven yards — during that stretch to set a new CFL record for most receptions by a running back in a season, with 103 (he finished with 105). Craig Ellis, who reached the mark with the Roughriders in 1985, set the previous record of 102.

“It’s something I have always worked on, is catching the ball and being good with it after the catch,” said Harris. “It’s a big accomplishment but the biggest accomplishment was getting home-field advantage and that’s what we were focused on tonight.”

Harris ran for 43 yards on four carries during those drives, putting him above the 1,000 rushing yard mark for the third time in his nine-year CFL career. He finished the night with 68 rushing yards to give him 1,035 on the season. That currently leads the CFL, with only B.C.’s Jeremiah Johnson in danger of catching him. Johnson would need 149 yards against the Toronto Argonauts tonight.

The Bombers wouldn’t need much of an offensive attack on this night, not with the impressive effort put forth by the defence. Calgary was averaging just one turnover per game, with 19 on the year, and four short of the CFL record of 23 set by the Lions in 2012. The Bombers forced four turnovers in the first half alone, the last of which resulted in a 51-yard fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Bombers defensive end Tristan Okpalaugo. They added three more in the second half.

In total, the Bombers scored 17 points off turnovers in the first two quarters to take a 23-0 lead into halftime.

Calgary had also allowed the fewest sacks this season, with 23, which was six fewer than the Eskimos in second place. The Bombers registered seven Friday, with three of those coming from Okpalaugo. They also came at opportune times.

“I feel like we could have got more but, hey, it worked out,” said Okpalaugo. “I’m happy with my guys and my D-line with how we played. Credit to the DBs for being back there covering, making plays and getting interceptions as well.”

With the Bombers up 23-3 early in the fourth quarter after Rene Parades’ 27-yard field goal, LeFevour was stripped of the ball by Calgary’s Tunde Adeleke. The Stampeders took over possession on the Bombers’ 31-yard line, in position to possibly mount a comeback. But back-to-back sacks by Okpalaugo and Jackson Jeffcoat pushed the ball back 23 yards and the Stampeders were forced to punt.

Ricky Stanzi had replaced Buckley, who finished the night 13-for-18 passing for 120 yards and an interception, at that point. He wouldn’t fare much better, with the Bombers forcing two interceptions under his watch. The second interception, which came from Kevin Fogg with fewer than four minutes remaining, provided the final nail in the coffin.

For a defence that has taken its fair share of criticism this season, it bodes well that they were able to have a game like they did against Calgary. For weeks, defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall had described his group’s performance as “embarrassing” and “sickening.”

It’s likely the report this week will be much different.

“We’ve taken our lumps from some good teams in this league and we got to adjust,” said Randle. “Our backs were against the wall these past two weeks just to get a home playoff game. To come to Calgary and get one, against a team with the best record in the league, it was a good win.”

Winnipeg put up 235 yards of total offence, 12 more than Calgary’s 223. The Bombers gave up a safety late in the game to round out the Stampeders’ scoring.

LeFevour, who completed 13 of 17 passes for 91 yards, would eventually make way for Dominique Davis. Davis didn’t attempt a single pass, with the Bombers running for the rest of the game, eventually draining the clock to secure the victory.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton