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This article was published 01/08/2024 (459 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were in desperate need of a spark, their season hanging by a thread as they welcomed the high-powered B.C. Lions to town.

The Blue and Gold would not only get a boost, but in delivering a 25-0 beatdown to the Lions in front of 31,589 at Princess Auto Stadium Thursday night, the Bombers sent a message to the entire CFL that that there’s still life on this side of the prairies.

The Bombers put on a defensive clinic, limiting the Lions to just four first downs and 102 yards of offence. It was the first time Winnipeg has shut out a team since they blanked the Lions 45-0 on Oct. 23, 2021.

“They’ve been great all season long,” Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros said of the defence. “Offensively, we got to continue to get better, believing in our plan, scoring more touchdowns. Sergio was unbelievable all night and the special teams, too. I thought we sustained drives fairly well, we had a lot of plays and did enough to win.”

Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. entered the game as the CFL’s passing leader, averaging 342 yards per game. B.C.’s offence had also paced the league with an average of 29 offensive points.

Adams would prove to be a non-factor, going eight-for-17 passing, for 74 yards and one interception before an injury to his right leg knocked him out of the game early in the fourth quarter. Jake Dolegala wouldn’t fare much better in relief duty, completing one of his three passes for a mere 12 yards.

Collaros was highly effective for a second consecutive week, racking up 295 yards on 27-for-33 passing. He threw for one touchdown — a 10-yard strike to Lucky Whitehead — and ran once for 17 yards.

The Bombers offence registered a season-high 430 yards but relied heavily on kicker Sergio Castillo to finish off drives. Castillo went a perfect six-for-six on field goals, including his second 60-yarder of the season, rebounding from an off night against the Toronto Argonauts a week earlier when he missed twice in a two-point loss.

“He’s way better than reliable,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said of Castillo. “He hit from 60. I mean, shoot, and another from 50-plus. They don’t all go in from there, but everyone on the team believes you have a shot when Sergio trots out there.”

Brady Oliveira rushed for a game-high 100 yards on 17 carries, while adding four catches for another 42 yards. Ontaria Wilson paced the Bombers receivers for a second straight week, reeling in seven balls for 112 yards.

Perhaps the best stat to sum up the game beyond the final score is time of possession. The Bombers had the ball for 42:39 compared to 17:21 for the Lions. It’s even more impressive when you consider the Lions were coming off a bye week, while the Bombers were on a short week, limited to just one practice day.

“The guys did a great job of taking care of their bodies,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said about the short week. “We get gutted in Toronto in a game we should have won… They recovered quickly from that gut punch and then they just went to work.”

To suggest the Bombers needed this victory would be a massive understatement. A loss would have dropped them to 2-7, making it a near impossible hole to climb out of, with the possibility of hosting a playoff game all but gone.

While 3-6 doesn’t exactly exude dominance, it keeps the Bombers on the heels of the Calgary Stampeders, who are 3-4 and in third place in the West Division. The Lions dropped to 5-3 with the loss, giving the Saskatchewan Roughriders a shot to leapfrog them for first in the division with a win over the Edmonton Elks Saturday night.

“I’m just really happy for the guys,” Collaros added. “To come in after a flight from Toronto, basically four days later and play a game, just hats off to everybody for taking care of their bodies and, obviously, the coaching staff putting together a plan that we could go out there and execute.”

It was as quiet a first half offensively that you’ll see in the CFL, with the Bombers taking a 13-0 lead into the break.

The Bombers defence suffocated the Lions top-ranked offence early and often, limiting the visitors to two first downs and 59 yards of offence through two quarters. B.C. opened the game with three consecutive two-and-outs, followed by an interception, then another quick two-and-out.

Adams, who completed six passes for 47 yards in the first half, was picked off by Tyrell Ford midway through the first quarter, giving the ball back to the offence at Winnipeg’s 38-yard line. From there, Collaros would complete his next six passes, with his last one falling a couple yards short of a first down, resulting in a Castillo 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead for the Bombers.

The Bombers had a marvelous opportunity to add to their lead minutes into the second frame, marching all the way down to B.C.’ 13-yard line. A third-and-one gamble failed, as Chris Streveler was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, giving the ball back to B.C.

Winnipeg trotted out Castillo on the next drive to kick a 60-yard field goal, the same way they did against Calgary in Week 4. Castillo would connect with the monster kick giving the Bombers a 6-0 edge with fewer than five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Castillo has been the league’s most called-on kicker from 50-plus yards, with nine attempts this season, converting seven. B.C.’s Sean Whyte, Calgary’s Rene Parades and Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther are in a tie for the second-most attempts beyond 50 yards with three.

A 10-yard touchdown to Whitehead rounded out Winnipeg’s scoring through the first half, capping off an eight-play, 80-yard drive that left just 28 seconds before the halftime. Whitehead, who was signed nearly a month ago and was playing in his first game of the season, caught all six of his targets for 56 yards and the score.

“It was amazing. Coaches put me in a great spot to be able to make that play,” Whitehead said. “Zach had been talking about it. I’d been studying extra, extra hard. Just been waiting for my chance to get out there.”

The second half started similarly to the first, with the Bombers defence coming out hot and Castillo’s leg also on fire.

The Lions were forced to punt on their first three drives of the half, all of which were two-and-outs. Meanwhile, the Bombers added a pair of field goals — from 32 and 51 yards, respectively — to lead 19-0 after three quarters.

“Getting back to doing what we do, getting pressure on the quarterback, getting in his face, getting him off of his spot,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson, who had two pass knockdowns and one of Winnipeg’s four sacks. “Good work in the back end taking away the initial throws, giving us more time to get to (the QB), get him flustered, and make him throw some bad balls.”

Castillo booted his fifth field goal of the game early in the fourth quarter, the 36-yarder putting the home side up a commanding 22-0. His sixth and final score came on a drive that stalled on B.C.’s three-yard line, leaving an 11-yard chip shot for Castillo.

The Lions ended the game by running out the final 90 seconds.

“We got our butts beat…from start to finish. We could not get anything going and you don’t see that too often in the CFL, so I’ll credit them,” Lions head coach Rick Campbell said. “(The Bombers) had a really good game plan and they played well and we had a bad, bad day at the office, I’ll tell you that.”

Winnipeg now heads off on the first of three bye weeks. When they return, it will be for a rematch with the Lions on the road, in what will decide the season series after B.C. took the first game 26-24 in Week 3.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton