Monster stat lines for Bombers’ dangerous receiving duo

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This article was published 04/08/2023 (823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s a reason why Kenny Lawler and Dalton Schoen were being hyped as the CFL’s most dangerous receiving duo as soon as they became teammates.

With Lawler missing the first six games of the 2023 season owing to suspension, and Schoen leaving Week 7’s win over the Edmonton Elks with an early injury, Thursday night’s 50-14 victory over the B.C. Lions was the first time the Blue Bombers’ star pass catchers played a full game together.

And for those late getting to their seats, chances are they missed them make an immediate impact. Winnipeg opened the game with a three-play touchdown drive that saw quarterback Zach Collaros hit Lawler near the sideline for a 34-yard gain before tossing a 71-yard bomb to Schoen for the opening score.

On their next possession, Collaros and Co. needed just one play to find the end zone again. This time, it was a 51-yard strike to Lawler to give the hosts an early 14-0 advantage.

The hype was well deserved.

“It’s fun, man. It’s what we saw in training camp,” said Schoen postgame. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for. It’s a good time when we’re at full strength.”

Lawler finished with seven catches for 200 yards. Schoen had 137 yards on five grabs and scored a second touchdown, a 14-yarder, with 3:47 left in the game from backup quarterback Dru Brown.

Schoen was the league’s Most Outstanding Rookie last season after leading the league in receiving yards (1,441) and sharing the lead for TD grabs (16). Lawler, who spent the 2022 campaign in Edmonton as the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback, was the CFL’s receiving yards king in the shortened 2021 season (1,014) when he was in his first stint with the Bombers.

“They know they got the best receiver in the league,” said Lawler, referring to himself.

“And just paired with, arguably, the best receivers in the league, the competition is not with the opposition, the competition is within the room. We’re all competitive souls and we want everybody to eat. When my man Dalton Schoen makes a big play, it just fuels the whole group because we want to be able to make another big play to be able to compete with him.”

The fact that they did it against the No. 1-ranked defence makes it even more impressive. Before Thursday, the only opponent to score more than 19 points against B.C. was the undefeated Toronto Argonauts who lit up the Lions for a 45-24 victory in Week 4.

“It’s not about who we play, it’s about us and our execution. We believe in ourselves, we’re a good team, and so when we go out and execute at a high level, we can do that,” said Schoen, 26.

“So, I think the message is it’s not about the past or what they’ve done all year. It’s about looking at the tape, coming up with a game plan, going out and executing it and having fun.”

Despite the monster stat line, it wasn’t a career-best for Lawler. The 29-year-old product of the University of California has torched the Lions before as he went for 205 yards and 12 catches on Oct. 1, 2021 in a 30-9 victory at B.C. Place.

“It’s just the standard. When you consider yourself the best receiver in the league, you just gotta go every day and work, work your tail off. That’s what it is,” said Lawler. “I’m not surprised, the guys aren’t surprised. They saw it during this whole week of preparation. When you prepare that hard, these are the results you get.”

Lawler told reporters earlier in the week that he wants 2,000 yards receiving this year. A bold goal considering all the time he missed, but Thursday showed it’s not impossible.

He could’ve finished with even more yardage if it wasn’t for an offensive pass interference penalty against him in the first quarter on a shot down field.

“That’s a horrible call. The dude was tugging me off, I have to fight all the way back to make a great catch. The refs need to go back and watch that and learn from that play because I don’t believe that was offensive P.I.,” said Lawler, who made a highlight catch on the play. “I believe I have the rights to that area as much as the person has rights to his area and I had to fight and get back to the ball.”

Nic Demski, who’s on pace to reach 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career, chipped in with five catches for 62 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown in the third frame. Rasheed Bailey had zero catches on two targets and Drew Wolitarsky made three catches for 41 yards.

Collaros completed 70 per cent of his attempts for a total of 369 yards, three touchdowns and one pick.

“Actions speak louder than words. I think we put on a good showcase of that,” said Demski, who now has four touchdowns on the year which puts him in a tie with teammate Drew Wolitarsky for second in the CFL.

“We changed up our looks a little bit and we were passing the ball down the field and having fun with it, just being us. We have everybody back and we’re grooving. There’s a lot of dynamic pieces to this offence, for sure.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31