Collaros, Bombers show no mercy

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This article was published 09/09/2023 (1042 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This one felt personal.

How else do you explain Zach Collaros going from spitting fire to throwing bullets in less than a week?

Clearly motivated by last Sunday’s controversial loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Labour Day Classic — which included getting clobbered by a Pete Robertson headbutt that left the Winnipeg quarterback seething — Collaros delivered the kind of justice the best way he knew how.

The CFL’s two-time reigning most outstanding player put in a near-perfect performance, guiding the Blue Bombers to the end zone early and often, en route to a commanding 51-6 victory over the Riders in front of a sold-out (32,343) Banjo Bowl crowd at IG Field on Saturday.

The Bombers improved to 10-3 to remain atop the West Division and have now clinched a playoff spot. The Riders remain in third place in the West, dropping to 6-6.

“It is a rivalry and I think it’s just what you’re supposed to do for the Banjo Bowl,” a coy Collaros said after the game. “We’re supposed to win that game.”

Winning is one thing. But this was pure domination, led by Collaros, who finished the day completing 86 percent of his throws (18-for-21) for 319 yards and five touchdowns, resulting in a passer efficiency rating of an eye-popping 158.3.

Much of that damage occurred in the first half, as the Bombers registered a TD on all six of their drives to take a 42-6 lead at the break. It’s the fifth-most first-half points scored in CFL history and also tied the club’s franchise record that’s now been set three times – most recently happening 20 years ago.

Sergio Castillo chipped in three field goals in the second half.

“He’s a different cat,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said of Collaros. “There’s something about him when you’re around him. When he gets like this, it’s just so fun to be near him. You don’t even have to talk to him, just stand on your own and you’re like, ‘OK.’ I thought he was a wrecking ball. He really was. He was so dialled in and so on point.”

By the time Collaros exited the game early in the fourth quarter, making way for Dru Brown, he had recorded points in all eight of his offensive series and would have had a seventh straight TD drive if not for receiver Kenny Lawler’s drop on the goal line.

Collaros connected with Dalton Schoen for three scores, while Lawler and Brady Oliveira each reeled in one apiece, with Dakota Prukop also punching in a one-yard QB sneak. Oliveira was an absolute wrecking ball, registering an astonishing 211 all-purpose yards, including 154 rushing to put him over 1,000 for a second straight year.

The Bombers finished with 603 yards of offence and punted just once (coming on their final drive).

“Zach’s a baller and we all know that,” said Schoen, who tied with Lawler for a game-high 104 receiving yards to go with his hat-trick of TDs. “He’s seen a lot in this game and no matter what a defence goes out and does, he’s going to know the next move and the next thing to do.”

“He’s a great leader for this team. He doesn’t speak up a lot, because he leads by example, but when he does, it’s powerful.”

Collaros made the rare move of addressing the entire team with a post-game speech after the 32-30 overtime loss at Mosaic Stadium last weekend.

He was visibly angry when meeting with the media afterwards, frustrated by the offence’s play — the Bombers put up a disappointing 372 yards — and once again calling out the CFL for not protecting quarterbacks and for not ejecting Robertson from the game for his helmet-to-helmet attack, which eventually resulted in a swift one-game suspension.

“He told us we did this to ourselves and when we get the chance to do it again this week, let’s come back and give them everything we have,” Lawler said. “Zach’s a dog and he’s going to give this team everything he’s got. No matter when, no matter where, he’s going to he dialled in.”

The play of the offence overshadowed what was a stellar effort by the Winnipeg defence. The group wasn’t sharp on its details in Regina, unable to generate a single takeaway.

That wasn’t the case this week, as the unit surrendered a Brett Lauther field goal on the game’s opening drive, which was aided by a strong kickoff return and a roughing-the-passer penalty on Ricky Walker. The Riders earned just three more points from there, including none in the second half, with the Bombers forcing a pair of turnovers off a forced fumble by Jackson Jeffcoat, who also recovered the ball, and a turnover on downs, both of which led to points the other way.

‘Riders QB Jake Dolegala registered just 113 passing yards, almost a third of the 326 he put up a week before, before being replaced by Shea Patterson with five minutes remaining. Saskatchewan finished the game with 204 yards of offence and entered Winnipeg’s end on only four of 10 drives, never getting closer than the Bombers’ 19-yard line.

“It’s going to be hard finding any faults in this game. It’s as clean a game as you would hope for and you’d like to duplicate those,” O’Shea said. “Listening to the headset, in every game there’s wrong depths or missed blocks or a missed tackle or we didn’t get out in front of something – there’s always corrections going on in the headset. This time the headset was really quiet throughout the game.”

The Bombers return to practice in a few days to prepare for a road matchup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Winnipeg has a 1-0 lead in the season series following a 42-31 home win in Week 1.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton