Revamped Bombers squad snaps lengthy losing string in Regina

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This article was published 27/06/2015 (3987 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — Finally. A Winnipeg Blue Bombers losing streak at Mosaic Field that stretched all the way back to 2004 came to an end Saturday night, with a gritty 30-26 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in what was the 2015 CFL season opener for both teams.

An 18-yard touchdown catch by slotback Nick Moore with 7:09 remaining in the fourth quarter put the Bombers ahead to stay and brought to an end a losing string in Regina that had been frustrating the Winnipeg franchise for more than a decade.

Yes, it is just one win.

And yes, it comes in just Week 1 of an 18-game season.

But make no mistake, it is a huge victory for the Bombers — coming as it did not only against their most-fierce West Division rival but also in a place so many Bombers teams have gone to die in recent years.

It wasn’t a masterpiece, by any means (Week 1 football never is), but it serves early notice this is not going to be yet another season of the Blue Bombers being the CFL’s free space on the Bingo card.

If you’re a Winnipeg fan looking for reasons to be optimistic, the Bombers provided lots of reason beyond just a rare victory in Saskatchewan to feel good about your team moving forward.

For starters, there was the performance of Blue Bombers quarterback Drew Willy, who was nothing short of sensational in going 22-for-25, for 325 yards and three touchdowns.

Then there was the performance of the Bombers twin tailbacks: Paris Cotton and Cameron Marshall. Marshall scored two touchdowns — one through the air and one on the ground — and Cotton had 108 yards on 13 rushes on a night both running backs gave the Roughriders defence fits by breaking tackle after tackle.

And then — and perhaps most important of all — there was the play of the Bombers offensive line.

A lot of the success Cotton and Marshall had on the ground was directly attributable to the play of the Bombers hogs and Willy’s strong numbers were not coincidental to the fact he was sacked just once Saturday and had more protection in Week 1 of 2015 than he did in any week in a 2014 season when the Bombers surrendered a team-record 71 sacks.

The Bombers front office was hoping a complete revamp of the offensive line in the off-season would be the key to this team getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

The early returns from Saturday night suggest general manager Kyle Walters and his staff might be on to something.

Winnipeg’s leading receivers in the first game of the season were Moore and Clarence Denmark, who both recorded 94 yards and were another big part of an offence that finished the night with a cool 452 total yards.

Now, before Winnipeg fans go cornering the market on ticker tape, it also bears pointing out the Blue Bombers defence gave up 497 yards to the Riders offence on a night when Saskatchewan starting quarterback Darian Durant didn’t get out of the first half.

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He was felled with a ruptured left Achilles tendon the Riders said late Saturday has ended Durant’s season before it barely had begun.

And then there was all those Riders rushing yards — 212 of them by night’s end — that would have been the focus of much consternation over the coming week if the Bombers had lost this game.

Winnipeg’s defence, of course, was the worst in the league against the run last year, and there was a big emphasis this spring on designing squad that was going to be stingier against the run.

Those improvements weren’t much in evidence Saturday, but that’s probably quibbling on a night the Bombers consistently got big stops out of their defence whenever they needed it most.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulWiecek