First-place Bombers unload on Elks

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This article was published 21/10/2023 (723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With much of the heavy lifting already done, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers wrapped up their final regular-season game at IG Field in familiar fashion.

Playing in front of a fourth consecutive sellout crowd of 32,343, and having already clinched first place in the West Division 24 hours earlier, the Bombers completed the season-series sweep of the Edmonton Elks with a convincing 45-25 victory Saturday night.

It was the third win this season for the Bombers over the lowly Elks, who dropped to 4-14 with the loss. The victory improved the Bombers to 13-4 and 8-1 at home.

Winnipeg has been nearly unbeatable at IG Field in recent years, boasting a 33-3 record since the start of the 2019 season.

“Every time I leave the stadium I always tweet to the fans: we love you guys,” said Bombers receiver Rasheed Bailey. “And to hear the crowd tonight, with nothing on the line, is just incredible. At one point in the game, I tried to talk to one of the guys on the sideline and he couldn’t hear me. That’s a testament to our fans.”

Bailey helped lead the way with a pair of touchdowns, taking full advantage of a heavier workload with all-star Dalton Schoen out with an ankle injury. Running back Brady Oliveira was also his usual dominating self, scoring a pair of touchdowns and, with 74 rushing yards on 14 carries, now has the second-most rushing yards in a single season by a Canadian with 1,498.

What’s more, Nic Demski, who had five catches for 27 yards, eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his seven-year CFL career. With that milestone secured, the Bombers are the first team in league history to have a Canadian rush for 1,000 yards and a Canadian hit 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

The fact they’re both from Winnipeg and both starred at Oak Park High School is just an added touch.

“It’s special. When it happened, we were talking on the sidelines and it still doesn’t really settle in,” said Demski. “But then the crowd applause and just knowing how much it means to this city as well, especially two Winnipeg guys to do it together. It’s a crazy thing and I’m happy for the opportunities.”

The Bombers had clinched the West late Friday with a Stampeders victory over the B.C. Lions. With nothing left to play for in the standings, Winnipeg had already dressed their optimal lineup, keeping their starters in for the first three quarters.

Quarterback Zach Collaros finished the game 13-for-16 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown. Dru Brown came in early in the fourth quarter and tossed two touchdowns — a 10-yard strike to Greg McCrae, followed by another 10-yarder to Bailey — while completing all seven of his passes for 94 yards.

By game’s end, the offence had registered six touchdowns and a field goal — a 24-yard boot by Sergio Castillo — and put up 371 yards of offence, including 155 on the ground. Winnipeg never trailed in the game, taking a 14-10 lead after the first, a 24-17 lead at halftime and a 31-18 edge heading into the fourth quarter, where the Bombers added two more touchdowns for good measure.

“It was important to win this one,” said Collaros. “It wouldn’t have felt the same way if we had gone out there and laid an egg and rolled over. There was never any doubt in my mind that it would happen, nobody really even talked about it, it was just like, ‘hey, let’s just go out there and do our thing.’”

The Bombers defence knew they had their hands full trying to contain Elks quarterback Tre Ford, who was averaging nearly 70 rushing yards per game and close to 200 yards passing. Ford’s legs were kept in check all night, with the 25-year-old registering just 14 rushing yards on two carries while also getting sacked five times.

Ford did have some success through the air, racking up 288 passing yards on 12-for-22 passing, as the Elks finished with 322 yards. Both of Edmonton’s offensive touchdowns were scored by backup QB Taylor Cornelius, with another score coming off a 98-yard kickoff return by Deontez Alexander. It was the first return touchdown by an Edmonton player since Aug. 28, 2015.

The Bombers defence chipped in with a touchdown, courtesy of linebacker Adam Bighill, who scooped up a forced fumble by Jackson Jeffcoat and returned it 26 yards to pay dirt.

“The goal was to go out there and put it on them,” said Bighill. “You flip the switch and you get what you get. We don’t have a dial where we just turn it up to seven today; it’s really just go out there and put it on them. Some guys came out early and the guys that went in played well. There was no drop-off and that’s what we expected.”

The Bombers will wrap up the regular season on the road with a Week 21 match-up against the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium. They have a bye through to the West final, which will be played at IG Field on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton