Book of Eli: Bombers O-lineman hits paydirt in win over Lions

VANCOUVER — Tui Eli scored many tries in his rugby days. He had never touched pay dirt in a football game, though.

You can’t blame the big guy. It’s not often a man of his size (6-4, 305 pounds) gets into the end zone after all.

And yet, there was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ fifth-year offensive lineman showing off his soft hands and nifty footwork as he hauled in a five-yard touchdown pass from Zach Collaros in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 27-14 victory over the B.C. Lions to seal the deal on another convincing performance from the Blue and Gold early in the 2025 campaign.

“It’s still settling for me. I still can’t believe that that just happened. Every morning I do the Lord’s prayer and ask the Lord, ‘May your will be done with me and my life,’ and I guess today it was a touchdown,” Eli said in the visitors’ locker room after the game inside BC Place.

“It’ll stick with me for a while. It’s been a dream of mine for a while. It’s so crazy how this came to be.”

Eli, who has played exclusively in six-lineman formations this season, leaked out to the front-right pylon as the play unfolded and was ultimately forgotten about as Collaros stuck it on him.

“We had a double option (to running back Quinton Cooley), it was like a shovel (pass),” said Collaros. “I broke contain, the SAM linebacker travelled with (the No. 2 receiver) for a little bit, I was trying to pump him to get him off it, and I think he just kind of thought for a while I wasn’t gonna throw it there, and Tui made a great catch.”

Big man touchdowns are so rare, Collaros couldn’t remember the last time he hit on one, but he did recall one from his earlier days with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“One of my best buds, Ryan Bomben, I threw him one in (2016). I was rolling right, we leaked him out the backside and he made an unbelievable catch, too,” he said, gesturing an over-the-shoulder catch. “Tui’s was great hands — the toe-tap and everything — but Ryan Bomben caught it over-the-shoulder, it was pretty good.”

Eli’s timely catch salvaged what was otherwise a relatively quiet offensive performance for the Bombers, who totalled just 255 yards of net offence. However, it was an outing that was more than enough on a day the defence stood out, holding the Lions’ offence to 323 net yards while making life miserable at times for quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who played in place of the injured Nathan Rourke.

The Bombers improved to 2-0 on the young campaign and claimed the season series over the Lions, who dropped to 1-2. It’s the fourth time in the last five seasons that Winnipeg has began 2-0, and the earliest it has wrapped up a season series with B.C.

The club will look to stay unbeaten when it hosts the Edmonton Elks at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday.

Let’s unpack this one first, though.

STAYING ON SCRIPT

Two games. Two opening-drive touchdowns for the Bombers’ offence, led by first-year co-ordinator Jason Hogan.

For the second week in a row, Hogan’s game-opening script has gone to perfection. It was an efficient four-play, 80-yard drive that ended in a touchdown in Week 2. On this night, it was a methodical 12-play, 82-yard drive that ate up seven minutes and 10 seconds from the clock, ending in the same result.

Collaros, seemingly all out of options, broke the pocket left and threw a seed to the back pylon into the waiting arms of Dalton Schoen, who showed off his sweet feet to keep his toes in bounds for the 15-yard major.

Collaros, making his season debut after serving a one-game suspension, completed all seven of his pass attempts for 70 yards on the opening drive. In fact, he completed he first eight passes of the game to five different receivers.

“Not playing for a long time, you don’t doubt yourself, obviously, but it’s like it’s nice to know I can still do this. So, being able to mark that throw, Dalton’s body language, you can always tell what he’s gonna do, so just being able to throw to a spot and knowing he was going to go make the play, it felt good,” said Collaros, who finished 18-for-25 for 179 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“You want to start fast, and we were able to do that this week. Last week, as well. But we got to do a better job as the game goes on to stay on the football field.”

More on that in a moment.

IT’S OUR BALL…

The Bombers ranked fourth among all teams in turnovers forced (31) and turnover ratio (plus-four) in 2024.

They’re on pace to smash those numbers this season. The Blue and Gold have forced eight turnovers through eight quarters of football.

They recorded five on this night — two interceptions, two turnovers on downs and a fumble.

It started with what was perhaps a stroke of misfortune for the Lions, and specifically Masoli, who was playing well until the disastrous moment struck early in the second quarter.

Masoli climbed the pocket and flipped a pass out left to his check-down, running back James Butler Jr, who dropped the ball. The whistle never blew, however, and Bombers’ safety Jamal Parker Jr. made a headsy play by scooping up the ball and returning it for a 57-yard touchdown.

Officials determined after video review that Masoli’s pass attempt was a lateral, making it a fumble and a successful score for the Bombers’ defence to effectively suck the air out of the building.

“That’s exactly what it did, and it’s something we practice and we preach,” said Marquise Bridges, who had two interceptions last week. “Watching it happen in real life, it’s like that’s just what we do and we practice every day. ‘Mal obviously had a crazy game, but it started with that. He changed the direction of the game early for us and shifted the momentum in our favour.”

Two drives later, Parker Jr. made another splash play, this time intercepting Masoli, who was hit on a throw intended for Justin McInnis. McInnis ran a terrific route and was wide open, but the ball sailed over his head, and Parker Jr. made a great adjustment to force a second turnover.

“It’s good to be busy. It’s good to be able to make plays,” said Parker Jr.

“It just comes down to practice, running to the ball. We call it loose change, picking the ball up after every play. Doesn’t matter whether the ball is incomplete, we all run the ball so you could pick it up. We had a little game during (training) camp, so it’s honestly second nature for me to pick it up.”

LICKING THEIR WOUNDS

The Lions never quite seemed to recover from that unforced error in the second quarter.

And while the hosts managed to string together a few encouraging plays — such as a 38-yard completion to Keon Hatcher Sr. or the late seven-yard touchdown toss from Masoli to Jevon Cottoy — it was mostly a night of frustration for B.C. fans.

The woes extended to special teams, as a Bomber punt in the third quarter was muffed by Seven McGee and recovered by rookie linebacker Jaylen Smith in Lions territory. The club capitalized on the turnover with a 38-yard field goal by Sergio Castillo, who also connected from 55 yards on this night.

The Lions most encouraging series was their first, as they went 60 yards in 15 plays but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Sean Whyte, who also converted from 43 yards in the third.

“That’s huge,” said Redha Kramdi. “It’s always good to take the ball away and give it to Zach, the best quarterback in the league. It’s always good to give our offence more possessions, and our coaches on the defensive side of the ball do a good job of emphasizing this, and we got great guys doing it.”

In the fourth quarter, Masoli took another huge shot to his midsection as he lofted a ball to the end zone for Ayden Eberhardt. Bombers defensive back Evan Holm played the ball beautifully, outrunning Eberhardt to the spot and laying out for the interception.

“Jamal had an amazing game. Evan Holm had an amazing interception. Terrell Bonds could have had one, too,” Kramdi added. “So it’s always fun. It’s always fun to see the guys make plays.”

STALLED OFFENCE

The Bombers’ offence leaves this one happy about a win, but feeling like it left a lot out there.

After recording five first downs on its first drive, the unit only recorded another three the rest of the half.

Rookie running back Matthew Peterson again looked promising early on but had a tough time finding holes, finishing with 42 yards on 11 carries. Cooley found a bit more success, ending with 43 yards on seven carries.

Meanwhile, Keric Wheatfall (six catches for 86 yards) recorded the biggest offensive play of the game on either side, hauling in a 48-yard pass, but that didn’t come until the fourth quarter.

In many ways, this game played out a lot like many thought the Bombers’ season opener would, with Chris Streveler at the helm — a sputtering offence backed by a stellar defence. Collaros’ interceptions came near the end of both halves, the second of which was a wild one thrown from inside his own five-yard line on Winnipeg’s penultimate drive of the contest.

Needless to say, there is still plenty to clean up.

“Obviously happy about the win. I’m not happy with the way I managed the game at the end of the half and at the end of the game,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “(I) could have made sure we did things a little differently and not put ourselves in jeopardy like that.

“Hate to have to trot out your hands-team at the end,” he added. “It’s a tough, tough football play, so would like to see us better in those areas, but sure, coming on the road, winning, it’s all it’s fun and we’ll enjoy it — the coaches, maybe not as much.”

POINT-AFTER

Collaros’ first-quarter touchdown pass to Schoen was the 200th of his illustrious career. He is the 14th player to reach the mark, and one of two active players to hit the milestone (Bo Levi Mitchell).

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam