No more Labour pains for Blue

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This article was published 06/09/2016 (3320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers extended their winning streak to five games with a 28-25 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the annual Labour Day Classic Sunday afternoon.

The rematch goes down Saturday in what will be the 13th instalment of the Banjo Bowl at Investors Group Field. Before we move forward, let’s take a look back at how Sunday’s game unfolded.

WHAT HAPPENED: Justin Medlock hit a 43-yard field goal with no time left on the clock, ending what was an exciting final few minutes of the game.

The Bombers had quarter leads of 13-0, 19-3, and 25-19, never trailing. With the Bombers up by six points late in the fourth quarter, Riders running back Kendial Lawrence returned a punt 82 yards. Tyler Crapigna missed the one-point convert try, keeping the score tied at 25-25. The Bombers then had less than a minute to put together a penalty-aided drive that eventually led to Medlock’s game-winning kick.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Bombers improve to 6-4 on the season, making it the first time since 2011 — the year they made it to the Grey Cup, losing to the B.C. Lions in the final — and are in sole possession of third place in the West Division with Edmonton losing 45-24 to Calgary Monday afternoon.

Five takeaways from the game:

1) The victory not only extended the Bombers’ winning streak, it also halted another, nastier streak. Winnipeg entered Sunday having lost 11 straight Labour Day Classic games dating back to 2005.

Needless to say, it had been a long time for Bomber fans. The Labour Day curse is officially over. Go ahead, soak it in.

2) Neither team was perfect on this day. But it was the Riders who shot themselves in the foot more often.

Included in that list: a fake punt on their own 40-yard line in the second quarter that ended with a one-yard loss and a turnover on downs; a gamble on third-and-four early in the second half that led to a Bombers field goal; and two interceptions in the fourth quarter by Riders QB Darian Durant. Then there were the two missed field goals for Crapigna to go with the shanked one-point convert.

Indeed, there was plenty of blame to go around. But perhaps the biggest mess-up belongs to general manager and head coach Chris Jones. With just one timeout left and a lost challenge already under his belt, he threw a challenge flag on a Naaman Roosevelt catch that was clearly caught out of bounds in the end zone.

What made the call even more curious was the play was on first down, meaning there was no drive in need of saving. The play stood and the Riders eventually scored a touchdown on the drive.

Where the move proved costly was on the Bombers’ final drive. With Jones no longer able to challenge, a questionable defensive pass interference call on Justin Cox against Weston Dressler was forced to stand. The penalty pushed the Bombers into Saskatchewan territory and three plays later Medlock kicked for the win.

3) Medlock’s game-winning boot was his seventh made field goal and eighth attempt of the match, which tied a franchise record for the most in a game. He had made 20 consecutive field goals heading into Sunday — another club mark — which he would grow to 22 before hitting the uprights on 44-yard attempt in the second quarter.

Medlock has been impressive over the Bombers’ winning stretch, including 13 field goals in the last two games. But as good as he has been, his success has also shone a light on what’s been a struggling offensive effort by the Bombers of late.

Nichols, who improved to 5-0 as a starter since taking over for Drew Willy, has thrown just one touchdown pass in the last two games, and despite getting good field position from the special teams and defence, has been unable to convert that advantage into touchdowns.

Nichols said as much after the game — echoing a similar refrain from last week’s win over the Montreal Alouettes — saying the offence needed to do a better job putting teams away early, that they can’t afford to settle for three points when threatening deep into the opponent’s end.

It worked against Montreal, and just barely versus Saskatchewan, but that will need to be fixed soon if the Bombers hope to catch the likes of B.C. and Calgary in what should be an interesting race to the end in the west.

4) It wasn’t long ago Quincy McDuffie started to become more of an afterthought on the Bombers roster, at least to those outside of the room. The speedy and skilled receiver had made a name for himself in the return game, earning full-time duties after an impressive training camp.

But with a number of injuries earlier in the year, McDuffie was forced to miss a few games, making room for Kevin Fogg to shine in the return game.

McDuffie climbed his way back into the good books Sunday with a stellar performance, pacing all receivers with seven catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. His score — his first TD with the Bombers — came late in the first quarter, showing off his quick feet as McDuffie shook off a defender to go 82 yards to the end zone.

5) This week, we mourn the loss of Jerry Maslowsky. Maslowsky, who was with the Bombers from 2000 to 2014, where he last held the position of V.P. of marketing before leaving to become the CEO of Variety, the Children’s Charity, lost his brief battle with cancer Saturday. Sunday, the Bombers wore a “JM” decal on their helmets as a tribute.

I never knew Jerry in the 15 years he was with the Bombers. In fact, our paths first crossed earlier this year when I found out Variety was working on a project with Medlock that would see money donated to his charity.

It didn’t take long to figure out why Jerry was regarded so highly within the Bombers organization. In our talks he was kind, caring, and truly a fan of the Blue and Gold. And he cared about the kids he was working tirelessly for.

After the Bombers’ season-opener against Montreal, in a game where Medlock hit a 58-yard kick — worth a $1,300 donation — I received a message from Jerry on how much that was going to mean to the kids and how excited they were to see the ball sail through the uprights.

I couldn’t help but to think of Jerry during Sunday’s game, and how a fitting tribute it was to him Medlock tied a club record for field goals in a game that also ended with a game-winning boot.

Rest in peace, J.M.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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