Classic rocks

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This article was published 05/09/2022 (1097 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

REGINA — The annual Labour Day Classic between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders lived up to its hype, delivering a physical and entertaining battle between the prairie rivals.

The game, as it often has over the decades-long tradition, was decided in the final minutes by a lengthy field goal. With contributions from all three phases down the stretch, the kick led to a 20-18 victory for the Blue and Gold in front of a sold-out crowd of 33,350 at Mosaic Stadium.

The Bombers, 11-1, became the first team to secure a playoff berth and have won back-to-back games in Regina on the September long weekend, marking a notable shift after losing 14 of 15 Labour Day games between 2005 and 2019. The Roughriders dropped to 6-6 and have lost four straight games at home.

It will be a tall task for Saskatchewan to make up ground in the West Division, currently sitting in fourth place behind Winnipeg, B.C. (8-2) and Calgary (6-4), ahead of only Edmonton (3-8). It doesn’t help that the Roughriders will have to play the Bombers twice more this season, beginning with a Banjo Bowl rematch at IG Field on Saturday.

Before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look back at Sunday’s win in the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

1) I wrote following Marc Liegghio’s meltdown in Montreal on Aug. 11 that I wasn’t sure what he could do to earn the trust that was lost after missing a pair of field goals against the Alouettes, including shanking a 32-yard game-sealing kick with time expired in the fourth quarter.

Well, kicking a late 55-yarder for what proved be the game-winning points definitely moves the needle. While hitting from that distance is certainly an impressive feat in and of itself — Liegghio’s previous longest was from 50 yards, as a rookie last season — the fact it was converted while more than 33,000 fans, a majority clad in Saskatchewan green, were yelling at the top of their lungs makes it all the more impressive.

In the three games since struggling against the Alouettes, Liegghio is three-for-three on field goals and six-for-six on one-point converts from the 32-yard line.

Liegghio also came up big late in the second quarter by dodging Roughriders linebacker A.J. Allen during a punt attempt. Allen had busted through coverage and, had Liegghio not channeled his former rugby days and quickly shifted out of harm’s way to avoid a block and deliver a 49-yard punt, who knows what would have happened. At the time, the Roughriders were in the driver’s seat, up 17-7.

2) The Roughriders had the early momentum after marching down the field 67 yards on an 11-play drive to open the game, taking a 7-0 lead before the six-minute mark. Saskatchewan’s edge would swell to 14-zip moments into the second quarter, before the Bombers offence finally caught their groove.

The Bombers scored 17 points in the second frame to even the game at halftime. Winnipeg finished with 289 yards of net offence, including 87 rushing yards.

Zach Collaros, who finished 15-for-24 passing for 214 yards, had a 50-yard touchdown to Nic Demski and another score, this one coming from 22 yards out, to rookie Dalton Schoen. Both were highlight-reel grabs — Demski’s an incredible over-the-shoulder catch; Schoen’s a laser to the sideline that required some fancy footwork — and were further proof of the importance in finishing drives with touchdowns instead of field goals.

Furthermore, for a second straight game the offence was able to close out the night by draining the clock. The Bombers were able to kill off a majority of the final two minutes — an eternity in the CFL — before giving the Roughriders one last Hail Mary attempt with eight seconds remaining.

3) The Roughriders were unable to score a single touchdown in two regular-season games against the Bombers last season. So, it was kind of surprising to watch Saskatchewan find pay dirt, and with relative ease, before Winnipeg even got a possession.

The offence put up 379 yards against the Bombers defence, with running back Frankie Hickson a particularly tough challenge playing in relief of an injured Jamal Morrow. Hickson ended with 15 carries for 85 rushing yards, with three catches for 20 yards.

But while the Bombers looked leaky against Fajardo and Co. through two quarters, they completely locked things down in the second half, allowing just one point. When they needed a big play, they made one, intercepting Fajardo on a late drive that stalled on Winnipeg’s 26, with the Roughriders trailing by just two points.

Willie Jefferson applied immense pressure off the edge, forcing Fajardo to release the ball quickly, the pass then deflecting off Hickson’s right hand and into the arms of safety Nick Hallett. It was the Bombers first interception in a month.

4) When someone writes the chapter of Craig Dickenson’s tenure as head coach of the Roughriders, his win total will come a distant second to his inability to reel in his players’ emotions and play disciplined football.

It’s reached a point where it’s just flat-out embarrassing, especially for a franchise that is the most recognizable in the CFL. The latest display of bush-league behaviour was courtesy of — surprise, surprise — receiver Duke Williams, who found a way to negatively impact the outcome Sunday despite being sidelined with an ankle injury.

Williams got into the face of Bombers defensive back Deatrick Nichols after Nichols made a clean play on receiver Kyran Moore before rolling into a sea of Roughriders players. Williams got flagged for objectionable conduct, pushing Saskatchewan out of field goal range with 11 minutes remaining and the game tied 17-17. One play later, Saskatchewan was forced to punt.

Then there’s the constant problem known as Garrett Marino. The Roughriders defensive lineman delivered a late shot to Collaros, blindsiding the reigning league MOP well after handing the ball of to Demski.

Dickenson has come to the defence of both players, showing a level of support that isn’t being reciprocated. That’s going to happen when you run a club with no distinguishable leadership and very little internal accountability.

5) A big topic of conversation after the game was what kind of punishment, if any, Marino should get for his hit on Collaros. Marino is a repeat offender, having been ejected twice, suspended once for four games and fined three times despite playing just 15 CFL games over the last two seasons.

It’s become abundantly clear that Marino just can’t help himself and will take advantage of whatever opportunity he gets to deliver a dirty shot. Against Collaros, video replay shows Marino driving at the Bombers QB well after he releases the ball, and then throwing up his arms in a feeble attempt to pretend it was unintentional.

The CFL would be wise to send another message to Marino, given his past transgressions, by suspending him a fifth game this year. I’m not holding my breath, from either a league standpoint in delivering a serious message or from the Roughriders. I also can’t help but think that if swift action isn’t taken here, right now, then we’ll soon be talking about another incident with much greater consequences and a bunch of people screaming, “I told you so.”

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton