Bombers’ Dalton Schoen ruled out for West Final

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This article was published 10/11/2023 (933 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s official: the Winnipeg Blue Bomber will be without star receiver Dalton Schoen in Saturday’s Western Final against the visiting B.C. Lions.

It was the news that everyone in Bomberland was expecting as Schoen hasn’t practised since suffering an ankle injury on Oct. 6.

That doesn’t soften the blow for the Blue and Gold, though.

“Dalton is a pivotal part in what we do. He’s a special player, a special person, a special teammate,” said Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros after Friday’s closed walkthrough.

“Anytime you lose somebody like that, it’s tough.”

Things might get worse for Winnipeg as receivers Nic Demski (ankle), Rasheed Bailey (knee) and Greg McCrae (shoulder) are all listed as game-time decisions.

The Bombers don’t have to make a final call on any of those three until 30 minutes before the 5:30 p.m. CT kickoff.

“Whoever’s out there, we need to help them and get them right. There’s a lot of great opportunities out there for guys. Sheed and Demski, they’ve been coaching everybody up. At the end of the day, it’s gonna take whatever it takes,” said receiver Drew Wolitarsky.

“I think it’s good that we got a lot of guys stepping up and making plays and I think it’s growing confidence, which is really what we need, too. I wish everyone was healthy and we had who we had to start, just because those are my guys and we’ve done this so long together, but again, nothing’s written, nothing’s certain. We still have time.”

The Bombers can preach the ‘next-man-up mentality’ all they want, but there’s no replacing Schoen. He led the league in touchdown receptions (10) and finished second in receiving yards (1,233) despite missing the last two games of the season.

They’re going to need running back Brady Oliveira — the CFL’s leading rusher and the West Division nominee for Most Outstanding Player — to bring his A-game.

Oliveira ran for 130 yards on 20 carries in last year’s Western Final — a 28-20 win over the Lions.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow. But if we have to put the team on our backs, you know, with this offensive line and myself, we’re very capable of doing so,” said Oliveira.

With a banged-up offence heading into Saturday, you could argue there’s more pressure on the Bombers defence to slow down the Lions.

“I don’t think so. Our offence is still going to do what they do. We got a lot of great guys over there that can play ball,” said linebacker Adam Bighill.

“Our offence is still going to do what they do. We got a lot of great guys over there that can play ball”–Adam Bighill, linebacker

“We already said we’re going to put it on our shoulders either way. Defence wins championships. That’s really exciting for us. There’s no pressure when you’re excited. There’s no pressure when you’re prepared.”

Bombers bench Rose

Veteran cornerback Winston Rose is a healthy scratch for Saturday’s game.

The Bombers are opting to start second-year pro Jamal Parker in his place.

Rose played 10 games this season and recorded 32 defensive tackles and one interception.

“(Parker) is a fiery, tough competitor who always wants to stick his nose in there,” said head coach Mike O’Shea.

“There’s such fine margins, especially at a position like that, because Winston is a very good football player. I just think at this point it looked like Park was coming out harder.”

Playing on Remembrance Day

It’s the fourth straight trip to the Western Final for the Bombers, but this year is the first time they’ve played the game on Remembrance Day.

“To be perfectly honest, if I had my say, we probably wouldn’t be playing on Remembrance Day,” said O’Shea, while wearing a Royal Canadian Air Force hat.

“But I don’t make the schedule, so I’ll do my part tomorrow morning, for sure.”

Lions not afraid of the cold

The Bombers have had all week to get used to the weather.

The Lions, on the other hand, have been practising indoors at BC Place in Vancouver.

The forecast for Saturday calls for a low of -2 C, but Lions head coach Rick Campbell isn’t concerned.

“I tell our guys that the ‘C’ in CFL stands for Canadian, not Caribbean or something,” said Campbell. “It’s the Canadian Football League. I mean, minus-2, I sure hope we’re not phased by that. I’m not the toughest guy in the world but when I walked outside today, I was OK.”

Bombers chasing history

Winnipeg is one victory away from playing in their fourth consecutive Grey Cup.

It’s a feat the franchise has never accomplished before.

Bighill was asked if being on the brink of history has resonated with the team.

“It will when we get there,” he said.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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