Bombers drop first game of year with 23-15 loss to Ticats

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This article was published 26/07/2019 (2236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON – If Friday night’s Winnipeg-Hamilton matchup served as a preview of the 2019 Grey Cup game, there was a sense of fair play about it.

If these teams eventually reach the title game on Nov. 24, it will mean one of the two cities saddled with the CFL’s longest ongoing championship droughts will be able to end its pain.

For the other? Well, there’s always next year.

The Blue Bombers, who haven’t won a Cup since Mike O’Shea was a peach-fuzzed sophomore at the University of Guelph in 1990, probably held the most promise to end that skid but there will be serious doubts about their pedigree after Friday’s 23-15 loss to Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field.

The Winnipeggers fell to 5-1 on the season but retained their grip on first place in the West Division and have an opportunity to go to 6-1 when they take on the hapless Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field Thursday night.

The Ticats, meanwhile, haven’t sipped from the hallowed chalice since 1999 but improved to 5-1 atop the perennially mediocre East.

Friday’s game had the feel of a title game but the clubs were uncharacteristically sloppy, turning the ball over three times each in the first half.

Winnipeg finished the night with six turnovers, including a fumble on a punt return by rookie Kenny Walker and another fumble by Lucky Whitehead, who coughed up a ball on a kickoff return. The Ticats capitalized with 14 points on Winnipeg turnovers. The Bombers also surrendered the ball on downs with a chance to drive for the tying score in the final minute of the game.

Star Ticats quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had a hot hand early in the first quarter, completing five of six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown while also scampering 22 yards for another score as the hosts broke out to a 14-0 lead.

Masoli’s luck turned bad, however, when his left leg buckled with 5:10 remaining in the opening quarter while he scrambled in the backfield.

Winnipeg’s Craig Roh sacked him on the play but Masoli, who collapsed to the field before contact, left for the dressing room and did not return. He was replaced by backup Dane Evans.

Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols, who entered the game having completed his last 19 pass attempts in a 31-1 win over Ottawa in Week 6, couldn’t buy a break early. Nichols failed to add to his club record streak when his first pass of the night, a shovel toss to Lucky Whitehead, was dropped.

Nichols overthrew his next pass and was picked off by defender Jumal Rolle who returned his first of two interceptions 45 yards to the Winnipeg one-yard line. Evans punched the ball over on the next play and, following a two-point convert, the Ticats led 14-0 midway through the opening quarter.

“It’s crazy that one ball slipping out of my hand to start the game is the difference in the game,” said Nichols, who completed 29 of a season-high 48 passes for 261 yards and one touchdown. “I feel like my teammates played well enough to win tonight and I felt like I personally didn’t. But that’s all right, i mean, I’m a professional quarterback, that’s what I signed up for. Not everyone’s going to be perfect and I’ll right the ship and get back and play better football next week.”

Nichols was intercepted twice in the opening 30 minutes and once more in the second half, bringing his season total to four, but he regained his composure in the second quarter to engineer a masterful eight-play, 106-yard drive capped by a 25-yard major to Darvin Adams.

“For whatever reason, on two of the plays the ball just came off the side of my hand,” said Nichols. “I had open guys, was on the right read and the ball just kinda fluttered off my hand twice and went 10 yards over where I was trying to throw. I mean, something that doesn’t every happen — maybe once in a thousand throws — and it happened twice tonight and it’s brutal but that’s the way this position goes.”

Winnipeg added two points on a safety conceded by Hamilton punter Liram Hajrullahu. Hajrullahu followed that up with a 21-yard field goal and the Ticats went to the half leading 17-9. 

Hajrullahu finished the game 3-for-3, chipping in with field goals of 27 and 42 yards in the second half. Winnipeg’s Justin Medlock connected from 33 and 18 yards out on his only field goal attempts of the game.

What bugged head coach Mike O’Shea most about the loss?

“All of it,” said O’Shea. “I don’t think we played very well and full credit to Hamilton. They take the ball away from us six times, it’s gonna be hard. I thought we stayed with them early, taking the ball away in terms of Winston Rose had a couple of picks, but they took the ball away and they made good on that and made points on that we couldn’t find a way to get those back. They beat us tonight. They were the better team tonight.”

The Ticats adapted seamlessly to the absence of suspended star linebacker Simoni Lawrence, limiting the visitors 324 net yards on offence. Hamilton managed a modest 205 yards of offence but won the turnover battle 6-2. 

“They’re talented and I think (Nick) Shorthill, who filled in for him, I thought he did an outstanding job out there,” said Nichols. “A big, rangy guy that covered some ground. Overall, they played well. They played better than us.”

Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill made his return to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Bighill registered two tackles but was impressed with the steady Evans, who went 13-for-25 for 94 yards and one interception in relief of Masoli.

“The new guy comes in and we know he’s not going to have the same kind of ability as Masoli, because nobody does, right?” said Bighill. “So, as we saw, things changed a little bit but that’s too be expected.”

Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris, who carried the ball eight times for 53 yards, was asked about the difficulty of resetting prior to Thursday’s game against the Argos. 

“It’s easy,” said Harris, who will join his teammates at their Guelph, Ont., base while they prepare for their next game. “We’ve got a short week and I preach don’t get too high on the wins and don’t too low on the losses and this is a prime example. We didn’t show up tonight and they showed up ready to play and they were the better team tonight… We can go back to the drawing board and learn from this loss and more forward.” 

NOTEWORTHY: The Ticats snapped Nichols’ streak of 10 consecutive wins as a starter… Blue Bombers receivers Darvin Adams (lower body) and Drew Wolitarsky (lower body) and defender Anthony Gaitor (upper body) left the game with injuries. There status was unknown immediately after the game… The extent of Masoli’s injuries were also not immediately known… Friday’s crowd of 23,512 was a sellout and the largest of the season at Tim Hortons Field.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14