Brown, Big Blue save face

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This article was published 10/08/2023 (840 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON — It was shaping up to be a nightmare in more ways than one for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The dreadful, winless Edmonton Elks — a team that hasn’t won a game in front of their fans at Commonwealth Stadium since Oct. 12, 2019 — somehow, some way jumped out to an early 22-0 lead over their heavily favoured visitors.

To make matters worse, the play that gave Edmonton a 22-0 advantage — a 23-yard pick-six to Loucheiz Purifoy — knocked star quarterback Zach Collaros out of the game at the beginning of the second quarter. Collaros was hit high by defensive lineman Kony Ealy after flicking an ill-advised pass forward to avoid a sack. It appeared to be a late hit as Ealy dove onto Collaros after the throwing attempt, but it wasn’t flagged. Collaros laid on his back for a few minutes while trainers attended to him. He eventually got up and jogged off.

The reigning, two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player did not return to the game.

Everything was going Edmonton’s way and all signs pointed to Thursday night being the night for their drought to end, but Dru Brown had other plans.

Winnipeg’s backup quarterback was handed the keys early in the second frame and played brilliantly in relief. Brown, a third-year player from California, marched the Bombers down the field over and over again to earn them an improbable 38-29 victory in front of an announced crowd of 19,921 fans.

“(Brown’s) a dog, but we knew that already. He’s calm, he’s cool, collected, and prepares like he’s a starter. You can always rely on that guy,” said Bombers receiver Rasheed Bailey postgame.

“I cheer for that kid. He came in and saved the day. That’s what his job is, and he does it very, very well. He puts a lot of effort and work in. When you can come out here and step up for Zach, that’s big time.”

Brown made a name for himself by completing 17-of-24 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

“I typically don’t really (pay much attention to) the score. I’m kind of just so lost in the assignment and what I’m supposed to look at, and my responsibility in communicating with the guys,” said Brown.

“It kind of just is what it is. It’s the hand you’re dealt and you just chip away like we did. Luckily, these guys have been in worse situations before and have come back on something like this. I could kind of lean on them and guys were making plays all over the place tonight.”

Collaros was 2-for-5 for six yards and an interception before getting hurt.

“Anytime anything happens to Zach, it’s bad. I never want that to happen to him,” said Brown.

“Initially, I’m looking at him seeing if he’s gonna get up because he typically does because he’s one of the toughest guys I’ve been around.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea was asked if Collaros has a head injury and responded by saying it’s upper-body.

Officials told O’Shea the hit on Collaros wasn’t flagged because Ealy tried to brace himself from landing on the quarterback.

Collaros was in the locker room after the game, but O’Shea wouldn’t provide any further update on his status.

“That was not an easy win,” said O’Shea. “There’s a large core of guys in that dressing room that have been down before and have fought back.”

Elks quarterback Tre Ford, a second-year pro out of the University of Waterloo making his first start of the year, had a decent game with 189 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception while completing 12-of-16 attempts. Ford, a Niagara Falls, Ont., native, also had 50 rushing yards and a touchdown run.

The Elks (0-9) have now lost 22 straight at home — which further adds to their North American professional sports record drought —and 13 in a row dating back to last season which ties them with the 1963-64 Edmonton team for the longest consecutive losing streak in club history. The Bombers, now 7-2 on the year, are undefeated against the Elks in their last nine meetings.

The Bombers were asleep on the first play of the game with Elks running back Kevin Brown ripping a 65-yard run to the end zone to give the home side an immediate 7-0 advantage. It was the longest carry of Kevin Brown’s two-year CFL career.

You would think the play would’ve poked the bear and got the Bombers going, but it didn’t. They punted on each of their three first-quarter drives. The Elks, on the other hand, continued to move the chains with their legs before Ford capped off the opening frame with an eight-yard touchdown scramble to put Edmonton up 15-0.

With Collaros down and out, the pressure was on Brown to get the Bombers back in the game. He immediately made an impact by adding 10 points to the scoreboard on the last two drives of the half. Brown, a 26-year-old who finished his NCAA career at Oklahoma State, capped a seven-play drive with a 23-yard touchdown strike to Dalton Schoen and then put Sergio Castillo in position to drill a 53-yard field goal to cut Edmonton’s lead to 22-10 after two quarters of play.

After dominating the first 15 minutes, the Elks were held to 30 yards and one first down in the second.

“We were just trying to feel them out. A new quarterback, we knew he was going to come in and try to run the ball. We knew he wasn’t going to really try to throw the ball,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson.

“But at the same time, they were just making plays with the opportunities that they had. We had to shut it down. Once they came in ready to throw punches, as they should be, at home, with their record and everything like that, and the crowd and momentum behind them, they just kept throwing punches and landing them. We had to take a deep breath, compose ourselves, and just play Winnipeg football.”

The third quarter saw both sides trade haymakers.

Edmonton made a splash right away with Ford throwing a 53-yard bomb to Dillon Mitchell to put the Elks in scoring territory. The drive was spoiled on the next play with defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat forcing Kevin Brown to fumble on a negative rushing attempt. Jeffcoat also recovered the ball.

Eight plays and 86 yards later, Brown threw a perfect pass to the corner of the end zone to Nic Demski from 18 yards away.

With their lead cut to 22-17, the Elks didn’t flinch. Ford threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Kyran Moore. Moore made defensive back Demerio Houston miss before sprinting 70 yards to paydirt to make the score 29-17 for Edmonton.

Brown, who would be an upgrade over half the starters in the league, calmly orchestrated a five-play drive that was finished off with short-yardage quarterback Dakota Prukop inching forward for a one-yard touchdown. The scoring play was set up by a pass interference call on a throw to Schoen.

Edmonton couldn’t keep up after that. Ford responded by tossing an interception to Evan Holm. Brown continued to cook, and gave the Bombers their first lead, 31-29, by slinging a 32-yard touchdown to Kenny Lawler at the beginning of the fourth. Lawler had a defender draped all over him but hauled in the pass with one hand.

Brown would throw his fourth and final touchdown pass with four minutes left on a 17-yarder to Oliveira.

“We’re a championship team. We’re a giant, I always say it, we’re a giant and everyone is coming for us,” said Bailey. “But we don’t break, we don’t fold. This was a great team win. This is going to help build character. This is one of those types of games where you fight, you fight, you fight and it proves and shows who you truly are as a team. I’m so proud of everybody.”

The Bombers converted on second down 66.7 per cent of the time.

Oliveira had 110 rushing yards on 14 carries. Bailey led the Bombers in receiving with five catches for 85 yards.

The Bombers head to Calgary to take on the Stampeders next Friday.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31