Rookies come up big to help Bombers bounce back

If you want to convert someone into a CFL fan, just show them the final minute of Thursday night’s game.

Despite leading by 17 in the fourth, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed a walk-off field goal to outlast the visiting Ottawa Redblacks 30-27 in front of a 10th straight sellout crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.

The win stops the bleeding for a Bombers team, now 5-4, that had lost four of its last five and had blown a 17-point edge in Calgary the previous week in an inexcusable loss to the Stampeders.

“Maybe (17 is) our unlucky number. But at the end of the day, we just gotta figure out how to win,” said receiver Nic Demski.

“We figured it out this week, but for our fans, and for our own sanity, we gotta fix it to make sure that we hold leads and win games in a more fashionable style to our liking.”

They’ll have a chance to make it back-to-back wins Thursday in Montreal when they take on the Alouettes who are missing star quarterback Davis Alexander.

Before we shift the focus to the Als, let’s revisit this one with the latest edition of 5 Takeaways.

KICK VS. PUNT

The big bodies on a field goal unit trying to chase down an elite returner is arguably the biggest mismatch in football.

That’s the situation head coach Mike O’Shea elected to put his troops in when he trotted Sergio Castillo onto the field with just over a minute left to attempt a 57-yard field goal to try to seal the deal by increasing their lead to 10.

The result? Castillo’s strike sailed wide left and Redblacks speedster Kalil Pimpleton returned it 117 yards to house to tie the score at 27.

O’Shea stood by his call to go for three points instead of pinning the ball deep with a punt.

“Pretty easy decision. (Castillo)’s good from that distance (and we were trying to) put the game away,” said O’Shea. “It’s way harder to punt that distance than it is to kick the field goal that distance.”

True or not, you should trust your defence to not let a backup QB march the entire length of the field with under three minutes left to score a touchdown.

With that said, Castillo was less than a week removed from booting a CFL record 63-yarder in Calgary and has one of the most reliable legs in the three-down circuit, but still, it was a gutsy call that almost gift-wrapped a victory for Ottawa.

It’s a decision O’Shea might not have had to make if they made a better call a play earlier on second down when they needed three yards to move the chains. Instead of handing the ball off to Brady Oliveira, or a quick hit to Demski or Keric Wheatfall to keep the drive alive, offensive co-ordinator Jason Hogan dialed up a Chris Streveler sneak which resulted in one measley yard.

Despite some questionable decision making, Castillo bailed them out in the end when he was given another shot just over 50 seconds later, this time a more reasonable 47-yarder, and he delivered.

 

DEMSKI AND THE BOYS

Don’t tell Demski that the Bombers don’t have a true No. 1 receiver.

The Winnipegger had one of the best games of his 10-year career by hauling in six passes for 128 yards with 64 of those coming after the catch.

It wasn’t just the Demski show, though. Wheatfall had less than 25-yards receiving in four of the last five games but came to play Thursday with four catches for 68 yards. What the stat sheet doesn’t show is that Wheatfall was drilled by a defender on two of those plays and the second-year Bomber still hung onto the ball.

Jerreth Sterns had four for 50, highlighted by a 22-yard touchdown where he grabbed a jump ball over Adarius Pickett.

Quarterback Zach Collaros was solid, completing 24-for-34 attempts for 298 yards and a touchdown.

However, the veteran is still plagued by turnovers and had two on the night. He forced a pass to a blanketed Wheatfall before the first half whistle that took points off the board, and underthrew a go route to Demski right after the Pimpleton return that was intercepted.

He made up for those errors by making the most of 18 seconds to get Castillo in range at the end — thanks to his defence forcing a two-and-out after his pick — but when you’re up 17 at home against a below .500 squad without their starting QB for half the game, it shouldn’t get to that point.

 

SCHMEKEL’S NIGHT

What a game by Tanner Schmekel.

It’s not often a backup Canadian defensive tackle has a major impact but the third-year pro out of Regina did just that.

Schmekel, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 CFL draft, made the play of his life when he burst through the middle and blocked a Richie Leone punt late in the first quarter. His deflection set up Winnipeg’s first touchdown to give the home side an early 10-0 advantage.

Schmekel would also help the Bombers find the end zone again in the second half when Ottawa was backed up in their own end and the 26-year-old hauled down Dustin Crum for minus seven yards for just his second sack as a member of the Blue and Gold. The Bombers started the following possession in enemy territory, and responded with a three-play, 48-yard drive that was capped off by an Oliveira touchdown run to make it 27-10 at the start of the fourth.

Schmekel deserves a game ball.

 

SECONDARY DELIVERS

Having two unproven rookies in the secondary usually isn’t a recipe for success.

The story heading into the week was whether corner Trey Vaval, making his first start on defence, and safety Cam Allen, who was making his CFL debut, could slow down a Redblacks attack that was fresh off a stellar outing in Toronto where Dru Brown lit up a putrid Argos defence for five touchdowns in a 46-42 shootout.

It wasn’t perfect, but to their credit, the young guns delivered. Vaval had the tall task of playing corner while also handling return duties, but didn’t allow any explosive plays to get behind him.

Allen had not one but two questionable pass interference calls go against him while covering receiver Bralon Addison. Outside of that, he showed enough to keep his place in the lineup — not that the Bombers have any other options with Terrell Bonds done for the year and Jamal Parker Jr. on the injured list.

“The first one, I was definitely on his back a little bit. I like to be aggressive, and I told everyone I’m trying to get a takeaway for us,” said Allen.

“On the second one, I’m just trying to make a play on the ball. I got to watch the film, and coach will tell me what I got to do better, and we’ll go from there.”

Brown never got into a rhythm and finished the night 12-for-21 for 166 yards and a pick before an injury knocked him out in the third.

The standout on defence was linebacker Tony Jones, who had 13 total tackles, with none bigger than his first quarter goal-line stand on Crum on third and one. It’s hard to fill the shoes of a future hall of famer in Adam Bighill, but Jones has managed to do so and will be in the running for the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee at the end of the year.

 

THE CRUMBACK FALLS SHORT

The Bombers were up 20-3 when Brown limped off the field.

The stage was set for backup pivot Crum to once again lead a heroic comeback against the Bombers and he came oh-so-close to pulling it off for a second time — as rookie having overcame a 19-point deficit to drag the Redblacks to a 31-28 overtime win over the Blue and Gold at home.

Crum completed 11-of-17 attempts for 125 yards and a touchdown. He also had 21 yards on the ground and a rushing score.

His career numbers are rather underwhelming but being down big against the Bombers seems to bring out the best in him.

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca