No classic comeback

REGINA — In another chapter of their storied rivalry, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders played a vintage Labour Day Classic, with the Blue and Gold’s late-game heroics falling just short.

The nail-biting 34-30 loss at Mosaic Stadium was a heartbreaker for Winnipeg, snapping a two-game win streak to drop to 6-5 on the season. The Roughriders, meanwhile, improved to 9-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 34,243, padding their lead atop the West Division standings.

Quarterback Zach Collaros put forth a gutsy effort, throwing for 326 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, despite no semblence of a run game. Riders pivot Trevor Harris wasn’t dominant, with 219 yards and one touchdown, along with a fumble, but he was efficient and made plays when they mattered most.

“It was a great battle,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after the game. “Nobody in here likes the outcome, and none of our fans do. But if you’re talking about the game itself, it’s a hell of a game.”

The Bombers had entered the game with recent history favouring them, winning three of the last four Labour Day Classics between the two Prairie rivals. And the close score shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, either, as the last three have all be decided by two points.

Let’s dig deeper into this back-and-forth affair.

Crazy comeback falls short

To understand just how crazy this game was, you must skip right to the final moments.

With less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bombers looked to be on life support, trailing 31-17 after a second Mario Anderson rushing touchdown. But in the LDC, where no lead is truly safe and anything can seemingly happen, the home side almost blew it.

A forced fumble by linebacker Kyrie Wilson gave Winnipeg possession on its own 46-yard line. From there, Collaros went to work, finding Kevins Clercius twice before connecting with Keric Wheatfall for a 33-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone.

The Bombers were suddenly within one score, down 31-24.

Then came a wild sequence of special-teams plays. On third-and-six, Harris, looking as if the Riders were going to gamble, delivered a short punt that landed on the Bombers’ goal line. Defensive back Deatrick Nichols retrieved the ball and appeared to be tackled in the end zone, with the play initially ruled a safety for Saskatchewan.

However, the command centre overturned the call, determining Nichols’ momentum took him into the end zone. The result was a single point for the Riders and possession for Winnipeg on their own 40-yard line.

Aided by a 57-yard pass interference penalty drawn by Nic Demski, Collaros moved the Blue and Gold into scoring position. He then found a familiar face — the recently returned Dalton Schoen, who missed the last six games with a knee injury — in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting Saskatchewan’s lead to just two points, 32-30, with 30 seconds left.

Needing a two-point convert to tie, Collaros’ pass intended for Schoen was intercepted by Tevaughn Campbell, who returned it all the way for two points for the Roughriders. The subsequent onside kick failed, putting an end to a dramatic finish and a victory for the home side.

“We got heart, we got pride in this room. We care,” Demski said. “We treat each other like family and we’re going to fight for our family to the dying seconds. Obviously, it didn’t go our way and we need to figure out how to make it go our way. But if we have some fight like that for four quarters, fix some of those mistakes in between, we’re in a really good place.”

Gambles gone wrong

In a season filled with questionable decisions by the coaching staff, there were two more head-scratching calls in the first half that proved costly by game’s end.

The first came after a strip-sack on Harris gave the Bombers the ball at the Riders’ five-yard line. With momentum on their side and the crowd stunned, Winnipeg opted for a 10-yard field goal after only moving the ball three yards on a pair of run plays.

It was a safe decision, but one that felt out of sync with how aggressive the Bombers have played this season and needed to play against a formidable opponent in a hostile environment. Settling for three points instead of seven felt like a missed opportunity.

The second misstep was even more glaring.

With 41 seconds left in the half, the Bombers faced a second-and-inches at Saskatchewan’s 35-yard line. Instead of a simple QB sneak to secure a new set of downs and better field-goal position, Collaros dropped back to pass.

He was sacked for the third of five times in the game — forcing a long 50-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide right. What should have been at least three points turned into zero. The Bombers headed into the locker room trailing by four in a game where every point mattered.

“While it stings a lot, it was a back-and-forth game, with two great teams going head-to-head,” Bombers veteran offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld said. “Kudos to them, but we just left plays on the field and had two pretty big lulls that put us in bad spots, put our defence in bad spots and gave them points. We just got to find a way to be more consistent.”

Riders D silences Oliveira

The Bombers offensive struggles were a tale of two halves. A more surprising theme, though, was the lack of touches for running back Brady Oliveira.

The CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Player, who dominated the Montreal Alouettes just a week ago with a season-high 137 rushing yards, was a non-factor on the ground against the Roughriders. Oliveira finished the game with just five carries for 24 yards, along with a touchdown and a fumble.

“I didn’t really see much tonight,” Oliveira said. “It’s going to look different every week, but we just couldn’t win the game this week. It’s unfortunate; we battled hard.”

The Blue and Gold, a team built on establishing the run and controlling the clock, seemed to abandon that identity early. This was particularly surprising given the pre-game focus on the matchup between Winnipeg’s league-leading rushing attack and Saskatchewan’s stingy run defence.

Despite the ground game being dormant, Collaros was still able to find success with the deep ball. However, the overall lack of offensive rhythm was evident in the final stats, with the Bombers generating just 321 yards of net offence and were a dismal 38 per cent on second down.

The Bombers attack never truly found its footing, and the lack of usage of their most explosive weapon was at the heart of their final numbers.

Bombers run-stopping woes

The Bombers defence knew the challenge of containing a veteran quarterback like Harris, a player who, at 39-years-old, is playing some of the best football of his career. And for the most part, they were up to the task.

Harris was limited to just over 200 yards passing and one touchdown — a 69-yard catch-and-run by Tommy Nield. These are respectable numbers against one of the league’s top quarterbacks.

Where the Bombers defence ultimately fell short was against the ground game. The Riders backfield, led by A.J. Ouellette and Anderson, ran for a combined 124 yards and three touchdowns.

Ouellette set the tone early with a seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, but it was Anderson who delivered the decisive blows with touchdown runs of 26 and five yards in the second half. The Bombers defensive front, which had been good at stopping the run for much of the season, was unable to keep a lid on the Riders rushing attack, and it ultimately cost them the game.

“We just got be better when it comes to controlling the ball, controlling the game, controlling the momentum of the game,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson. “This was a close game, hostile environment. We’re ready for the rematch.”

Looking ahead to Banjo Bowl

The victory gives Saskatchewan a massive boost in the standings.

At 9-2, they have a four-point lead over the 7-3 Calgary Stampeders for first place in the West, though Calgary has a game in hand. The victory also solidifies the Riders as a legitimate Grey Cup contender.

For the Bombers, the loss certainly stings, keeping them in third place in the West, just two points up on the 5-6 B.C. Lions. Winnipeg will have little time to lick their wounds, as its focus now shifts to a rematch against the Riders on Saturday in the annual Banjo Bowl at Princess Auto Stadium.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca