Winning streak ends as Roughriders defeat Bombers 27-7

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This article was published 04/09/2011 (5388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were stunned 27-7 here at Mosaic Stadium Sunday afternoon in the 2011 renewal of the Labour Day Classic.

It is the seventh year in a row that Winnipeg has lost the Labour Day weekend game, but this defeat was still shocking. The Bombers were 7-1 coming into the game, while the Riders had the opposite record at 1-7 and many were predicting a Winnipeg blow-out.

“What’s so disappointing for everyone in here right now is we really thought we had the team to finally turn the tide in terms of our performances out here,” said veteran Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown. “But we just followed that same old blueprint play-for-play and now it’s the same old crappy bus ride home for six hours.”

The loss was the Bombers’ first defeat on the road this season — they now have a 3-1 road record and are 7-2 overall — and also snapped what had been a five-game winning streak.

For all the talk of the Bombers’ vaunted Swaggerville defence coming into the game, it was the Riders who controlled this game from the outset, jumping out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, extending their lead to 17-4 in the third quarter and never really looking threatened by a Winnipeg offense that sputtered all afternoon long.

Trailing 20-7 in the fourth quarter, whatever designs the Bombers had on staging yet another late-game comeback — a club specialty this season — were snuffed by a pair of turnovers. First, it was Bombers QB Buck Pierce fumbling on the Saskatchewan 19-yard line to kill what was looking like a promising drive five minutes into the quarter. And then a 3rd and 1 gamble by Winnipeg at midfield with six minutes left resulted in another turnover when Bombers running back Fred Reid was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

Riders wide receiver Chris Getzlaf sealed the deal at 12:21 of the fourth quarter, hauling in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Darian Durant for his second TD of the afternoon.

Winnipeg mustered just two field goals and a single all afternoon and Pierce was unable to sustain drives. The Bombers collected 287 yards offense and Pierce had respectable numbers — 20-28 for 209 yards and no interceptions. But they were unable to put the ball in the end zone and also turned the ball over four times.

“We didn’t execute as a team and when you do that on the road, you lose,” said Pierce. “It’s pretty simple. We didn’t play well enough to win. They played better than us in every phase.”

The lone bright spot was Bombers rookie receiver Kito Poblah, who had a noteworthy afternoon in his first game back since injurying his knee in Week 1. Pierce’s favourite target all afternoon, Poblah finished the day with nine catches for 89 yards.

“It was my first game back and I felt like I played good out there,” Poblah said. “But at the end of the day, I can feel as good as I want. If we lose like we did, it’s still crappy.”

Saskatchewan, playing their first game since firing head coach Greg Marshall and offensive coordinator Doug Berry on Aug. 19, looked like a new team under Ken Miller, the man who piloted them to the last two Grey Cup games and who returned to the sideline when Marshall was fired.

Playing before a raucous sold-out crowd of 30,048, the Riders offence was crisp and efficient as Durant finished the day 13-21 for 232 yards and three touchdowns. And the Saskatchewan defence proved to be stifling, holding Winnipeg to its lowest production of the season.

“We have a different leader (Miller), who leads in a different manner,” said Durant. “We’re back to playing ball and we are taking the thinking away. He’s letting us fly around and play to our strengths. When you do that, results come.’’

“Across the board — all three phases of the game — we just didn’t match up with them today,” said Brown. “They played better than us, they played with more emotion and they even showed more composure than us — a tale you could tell from the penalties today.”

The game degenerated into a penalty-filled slugfest in the fourth quarter, with Winnipeg taking the bulk of the flags. Bombers defensive back Brandon Stewart and slotback Cory Watson were both ejected. In the end, the Bombers took an eye-popping 16 penalties for 178 yards.

“We have to handle our frustrations better,” said Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice. “You’ve got to walk away from that stuff.”

The late fireworks set an interesting backdrop for the rematch between these two teams, which will take place this Sunday in the sold-out Banjo Bowl at Canad Inns Stadium. “I think it sets the tone for a great game, not a dirty one,’’ said Blue Bombers centre Obby Khan. “It will be a physical game and that’s what you get with the Manitoba and Saskatchewan rivalry. I don’t anticipate anything getting out of hand. It will just be a very physical football game.’’

The Bombers were 5-0 this season when trailing after the first quarter and 4-0 when trailing after the first half.

Bombers backup QB Alex Brink mopped up the debacle, coming into the game in the final three minutes.

Receiver Aaron Hargreaves injured his ankle early in the second quarter and did not return.

The Bombers played the game without receivers coach Chris Wiesehan on the sidelines. Wiesehan was in Winnipeg, where his wife Renee gave birth to son Colton early Sunday morning.

Leading 10-4 at half-time, the Riders quickly extended their lead to 17-4 early in the third quarter when Saskatchewan wide receiver Weston Dressler got a step on Bombers defensive back Jonathan Hefney and then made a diving one-handed catch in the end-zone for a 21-yard touchdown strike at 3:31.

The Bombers narrowed the gap to 17-7 three minutes later on a 39-yard field goal by place-kicker Justin Palardy, but the Riders restored the 13-point cushion with a 12-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter.

The Riders were already up 10-0 before the Bombers finally got on the board in the second quarter. Bombers punter Mike Renaud booted a 56-yard single at 7:18 of the second quarter and Bombers place-kicker Palardy added a 22-yard field goal at 13:45 to get the Bombers within six points heading into the locker room for half-time.

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The Palardy field goal came after Riders punt returner Brandon West fumbled on the Saskatchewan 23-yard line and Winnipeg’s Brandon Stewart recovered.

The turnover was one of two for Winnipeg in the game. Saskatchewan also turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter when Bombers defensive lineman Bryant Turner stuffed Riders running back Wes Cates on a 3rd and 1 attempt.

That turnover led to a 38-yard field goal attempt by Palardy at 5:21 of the first quarter, but the Bombers kicker rang the left upright and Winnipeg came away with nothing.

The Riders opened the scoring at 13:29 of the first quarter when Getzlaf got behind the Bombers secondary and hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant to give Saskatchewan a 7-0 lead after the opening quarter.

The Riders extended their lead to 10-0 at 5:05 of the second quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Riders place kicker Chris Milo.