Brown leads Redblacks past Blue and Gold

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This article was published 13/06/2024 (661 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – When it rains, it pours for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Quite literally, in this case.

In what will go down as one of the more unusual endings in CFL history, the Bombers were forced to wait out an hour-long delay before returning to the field for one last chance at victory with just minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

But after two failed attempts at the end zone from deep inside enemy territory, the game was all but sealed with a quarterback sack on Zach Collaros, confirming a 23-19 victory for the Ottawa Redblacks in front of 16,310 at TD Place Thursday night.

“We came up short, but I thought we clawed back pretty damn well in the second half after a kind of lacklustre first half,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “I’m happy the guys came back out and gave us a chance.”

The game was halted owing to a severe weather delay, which included heavy rain, but more importantly, vicious bouts of lightning. Owing to CFL weather protocol, because the game was past the midway mark of the third quarter, had the weather not cleared up after 60 minutes, the game would have been called and the Redblacks deemed victorious.

While certainly a bizarre and rare conclusion to a game, ending a contest with time remaining, while spared on this night, isn’t unprecedented. In fact, the only time that has ever occurred was back in 2019, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders earning a 17-10 win over the Montreal Alouettes after the game was called with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.

Instead, Collaros and offence returned to the field after the hour-long wait, leaving them with 2:09 remaining and facing a first-and-10 at Ottawa’s 42.

They would get as far as the Redblacks’ 7, but failed pass attempts to Keric Wheatfall and Dalton Schoen, who had the ball deflected just before he could reel it in, set up the Collaros sack and a turnover on downs. The Redblacks would surrender a safety on their next series, giving Winnipeg one last ditch effort with seconds left on the clock and down four points.

The game was sealed after a Hail Mary pass attempt fell incomplete with no time remaining on the clock.

“It was bizarre, but we were lucky enough to have an opportunity to go out there and try to win the game. That’s all you can really ask for,” said Collaros, who finished 15-for-31 passing for 285 yards and two interceptions. “It’s very frustrating. Like I said last week, we got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out a way to get better way to execute and it starts with me.”

The Bombers are now 0-2 following a season-opening loss to the Montreal Alouettes. It’s the first time since the 2016 campaign the Bombers have started with back-to-back losses.

The Redblacks improved to 1-0 after having the bye in Week 1.

While the Bombers weren’t able to pull off any late-game heroics, given the way they were playing for much of the night, they got the result they deserved.

“We did not start fast tonight. I felt we waited and waited for something big to happen and that’s not going to work for us,” receiver Drew Wolitarsky said. “This is a different year, and we obviously feel that now, especially starting 0-2, something we haven’t done in a long time. At the same time, I’m not going to sit here and feel like a bum. I know we’re a good team and I know we have a lot of young talent that we just need to teach and coach. I needed the reminder tonight that it’s going to take more than I think.”

Indeed, it was another slow start for the Blue and Gold, who trailed 10-0 by the end of the first quarter. Winnipeg’s attack moved the ball just 23 yards on four drives through 15 minutes, generating just two first downs. It wasn’t until a Sergio Castillo 45-yard field goal in the second quarter that the visitors finally hit the scoreboard.

Winnipeg would narrow the gap by halftime, trailing 16-10 thanks to a four-yard rushing touchdown by Johnny Augustine late in the second quarter. Augustine, who finished with seven carries for 31 yards, was playing in relief of Brady Oliveira after he suffered a knee injury against the Alouettes.

The Bombers trailed the first half in offensive plays (33 to 20), first downs (13 to eight) and yards (218 to 125). But no stat summed up the first two quarters better than time of possession, with Redblacks doubling their opponent, 20:09 compared to 9:51 for Winnipeg.

“We got to find a way to get momentum, somehow. It’s affecting us right now and we don’t want it to affect us in the long run,” said Bombers offensive lineman Stanley Bryant. “I didn’t have in my mind (after the weather delay) that we weren’t going to win. But it didn’t pan out the way we wanted it to pan out, so we just got to move onto next week.”

The Bombers were also without star receiver Kenny Lawler, who was placed on the six-game injured list with a broken arm suffered in Week 1.

While Winnipeg certainly missed one of their top receivers, Lawler’s replacement, Wheatfall, impressed after being plucked off the practice roster earlier this week. Wheatfall registered a team-best three catches for 111 yards – including a 76-yard catch-and-run that setup a two-yard TD by Chris Streveler in the third quarter that gave Winnipeg its first and only lead of the game, 17-16.

What’s going to make this one extra tough to swallow was that the Bombers, for a second straight week, got a solid performance from the defence. They limited the Redblacks to 342 yards of offence, despite losing three key players in halfback Deatrick Nichols, as well as defensive linemen Celestin Haba and Miles Fox.

“Since I’ve been in the league, this might have been the most guys I’ve seen go down on defence, and guys who play key roles that actually affect what we can actually do defensively,” said Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill, now in his 12th CFL season. “In terms of Xs and Os, there are certain guys who had never played these certain Xs and certain Os, and you still have to make the shit work. We did a really good job of just everyone rolling in, understanding the concepts, and just having to play positions they’ve never played before.”

Dru Brown made his first official start with the Redblacks after being traded from Winnipeg to the nation’s capital over the offseason, creating plenty of juicy storylines given the familiarity with his former club. Brown, who spent three seasons with the Bombers before signing a two-year deal with the Redblacks, played down the hype the day before, wanting to simply earn his new club their first win after having a Week 1 bye.

The 27-year-old looked like someone who had seen a lot of the Bombers defence in recent years, completing 20 of his 33 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown — a two-yard strike to Jake Hardy that proved to be the game-winning score.

The Redblacks also got a one-yard rushing score from short-yardage QB Dustin Crum, along with a trio of field goals from Lewis Ward.

“We just couldn’t finish at the end. We were just short,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “It was close. Offence made some great plays in the fourth quarter to try and put some points on the board. We just couldn’t do it. We couldn’t get the ball in the end zone.”

The Bombers return to Winnipeg to get ready to welcome the B.C. Lions for a Week 3 matchup next Friday.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton