Big Blue take show on the road
Bombers take on Roughriders in renewal of storied Prairie rivalry
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/06/2023 (843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
After a dominating start turned into a nail-biting finish, resulting in a season-opening 42-31 win over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are ready to take the show on the road.
This week features a clash between two Prairie rivals, as the Bombers head to Regina to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Roughriders are also 1-0 to start the season after claiming a 17-13 victory over the Edmonton Elks and now return home for their first tilt of the year at Mosaic Stadium.
It’s the first of three meetings between the Bombers and Roughriders this season. The Blue and Gold will be back in the Queen City for the annual Labour Day Classic over the September long weekend. They’ll wrap up the season-series the following week in Winnipeg with the Banjo Bowl.

John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS
RB Brady Oliveira scores a touchdown against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Bombers’ season-opening victory last Friday.
While the Bombers have certainly been the better team in recent years, the Roughriders would like nothing more than to spoil their fun and Friday is expected to be another spirited affair. Let’s get you better equipped for kickoff with the latest edition of 5 Storylines.
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
The Bombers dominance in the CFL over the last few years has definitely made their rivalry with the Roughriders a bit lopsided. In fact, Winnipeg is riding a lengthy win streak over Saskatchewan, to the tune of seven consecutive victories.
The Blue and Gold won all three regular season games in 2022, and both in 2021. The other two victories came in the playoffs, with the Bombers ending the Roughriders’ season with wins in the 2019 and 2021 West finals. In those seven games, Winnipeg has outscored Saskatchewan 202-98.
The streak directly coincides with the arrival of QB Zach Collaros, who was picked up by the Bombers from the Toronto Argonauts at the 2019 trade deadline before blossoming into a Bombers legend. Indeed, Collaros has been behind centre for all those victories and he’ll be there once again on Friday, where he’ll look to extend the streak against the Roughriders and build on his sparkling record with the Bombers, which currently sits at an eye-popping 34-5.
WHAT WILL THEY DO IN WEEK 2?
Collaros showed no signs of slowing down against Hamilton, leading the CFL in passing yards (354) and touchdowns (three) in Week 1. The Bombers finished the game with four TDs in 16 possessions, while adding four field goals, totalling 42 points – another weekly high.
As good as Collaros was, there are two other players, Winnipeg natives Nic Demski and Brady Oliveira, I’m equally interested in seeing what they will produce for an encore. Both players are coming off career years in 2022 — Demski set new season-highs in receiving yards (772) and touchdowns (10), while Oliveira rushed for 1,001 yards in his first year as a starter — and both hit the ground running against the Ticats.
Demski rebounded nicely from a fumble on Winnipeg’s first offensive play, ending the night with a game-high 113 yards on six catches, along with a first-quarter TD. Meanwhile, Oliveira racked up 106 rushing yards on 22 carries and also found the end zone, with an additional 58 yards through the air on a pair of receptions.
While equally impressive performances, each still felt like they had more to give. Demski has never hit 1,000 receiving yards in a season, while Oliveira said he felt rusty last week after missing nearly all of training camp, giving each a little added motivation to perform against their archrivals.
HARRIS A GAME-TIME DECISION
The QB situation isn’t nearly as stable in Riderville and the Roughriders coaching staff have no one else to blame but themselves for the predicament in which they currently find themselves.
Trevor Harris, who signed as a free agent in the offseason after playing in Montreal, is listed as a game-time decision after suffering a late hit in Sunday’s win over the Elks. Up by four points and facing a third-and-six at Edmonton’s 24, the Roughriders opted against kicking a field goal and instead asked Harris to run one final play, the thought being he would run out the clock by escaping from the pocket before heaving the ball out of bounds.
That played out mostly to plan, minus Harris holding onto the ball too long, being hit as he delivered his throw resulting in a hip injury that has affected his preparation for the game. Harris was limited in practice all week, including sitting out the entirety of the club’s closed workout on Wednesday.
If Harris, who posted modest numbers in his Roughriders debut, completing 60 per cent of his passes (20-for-33) for 179 yards, one TD and two interceptions, can’t go, the Roughriders will look to No. 2 pivot Mason Fine. Fine took a majority of the first-team offensive reps this week and is familiar with the club’s offensive systems, having spent last season in Saskatchewan, where he started two games — both losses.
It’s bad enough the Roughriders are already without receiver Derel Walker (knee); losing Harris would certainly make what already feels like an uphill battle that much steeper.
JACKSON OUT, HABA IN
The injury bug has once again taken a bite out of Bombers DE Jackson Jeffcoat, who has been moved to the six-game injured list. Jeffcoat lasted just a few series against Hamilton before his calf flared up and was sidelined the rest of the game.
The Bombers brought in some reinforcements at the beginning of the week, inking a CFL-experienced defensive lineman in Miles Fox, though Fox plays on the interior of the D-line and Jeffcoat is a natural pass-rusher. Taking Jeffcoat’s place on the edge will be rookie Celestin Haba, who had an impressive showing in his first CFL game, including sacking Hamilton QB Bo Levi Mitchell on the Ticats’ last offensive play.
It’s an area to keep a close eye on, to see if Haba can handle the increased workload of a starter. If he can’t, might the Bombers finally consider bringing in a veteran free agent such as DE Shawn Lemon?
NOT-SO-SPECIAL TEAMS
It’s an area of the Bombers that usually goes about its business quietly and always puts forth a consistent effort and positive outcome. If there were any shortcomings against the Ticats last week, it was the play of special teams.
While Kicker Sergio Castillo was the lone exception, going a perfect four-for-four on field goals and making all four of his one-point converts, the other parts on the special teams struggled. The kickoff and punt coverage units were surprisingly leaky with holes, which could have been the result of Mike Miller — who was also added to the six-game injured list this week — being a last-minute scratch with a shoulder injury.
Jamieson Sheahan had some quality punts throughout the night, but one was blocked and recovered for a TD. Janarion Grant, among the league’s most prolific returners, also had an off day, including losing a fumble in the fourth quarter that led to another Ticats score.
Knowing head coach Mike O’Shea and how much importance he puts on special teams, the Bombers should be a lot better. They’ll need to be, as they’ll have their hands full trying to stop Roughriders returner Mario Alford, who was named the CFL’s top special-teams player in 2022.
Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @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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