‘That was fun’: Bombers lay beating on Tiger-Cats

If Saturday afternoon is a sign of things to come, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are peaking at the perfect time.

The Bombers enjoyed their most well-rounded performance of the season in a 40-3 beatdown over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats in front of a 12th straight sellout on Chancellor Matheson Road.

The win improves Winnipeg — who are in the thick of the playoff race with three games left — to 8-7, while the East Division-leading Ticats drop to 9-6.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of games like this here in this building, and that was a lot of fun. It’s been a while, yeah. But it was fun,” said quarterback Zach Collaros.

“I thought we played a pretty complete football game – all three phases.”

Collaros saw his first action since he left the Banjo Bowl with a head injury and was in his vintage Most Outstanding Player form by completing 20-of-25 passes for 367 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions.

It was just the fourth time this season Collaros has managed to leave a game without committing a turnover. He also managed more completions (four) on the opening drive than his backup Chris Streveler had in all four quarters in last week’s bizarre 26-18 win in Ottawa.

The offensive line also did their part as Collaros never got sacked.

“Zach’s the ultimate competitor. Even when he’s not playing and not feeling well, he’s still helping with the game plan, still the first one in, last one to leave. He’s the ultimate pro,” said receiver Nic Demski.

“When you put that much detail in when you’re preparing for games, even when you’re not playing, you don’t miss a step when you’re back out there healthy. Kudos to him. For him to do this and lead our team to that success means a lot.”

As fantastic as Collaros was, the defence and special teams were equally as brilliant. Before everyone inside Princess Auto Stadium could even take their seats, Bombers returner Trey Vaval was sprinting down the sideline for a 98-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff to spot the home side an immediate 6-0 advantage. The red-hot rookie had a 128-yard touchdown return last week on a missed field goal. Vaval has four return touchdowns on the year and could very well be the Bombers’ nominee for both Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

“I trust myself and my abilities,” said Vaval. “I’m not surprised by what I’m doing. I’m not surprised by my blockers. That hole was big as putting a bus in there.”

Hamilton arrived in town with the second-best offence in the CFL with a 30 points per game average. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and standout receiver Kenny Lawler — two names that belong in the race for this year’s MOP award — were held in check all day. Lawler, a former Bomber who inked a $300,000 deal with the Ticats in free agency and is averaging career highs across the board, was targeted nine times which led all receivers but could only muster two grab for 34 yards. Lawler had just one catch for 11 yards heading into the fourth quarter when the score was 33-3.

Mitchell was held to 21-for-32 for 212 yards.

“We executed and limited Kenny’s explosion plays,” said dime back Redha Kramdi. “You gotta limit Kenny Lawler, who is the best receiver in the league, and give different looks to Bo to get him to hold on the ball a little bit. That’s what we did, we did a good job. The result you saw was us executing the game plan. But there’s still work to do.”

It’s only the second time this season Lawler has been held to two catches. He was moved all over the field to create different matchups, but it didn’t make a difference: Bombers defenders Dexter Lawson Jr., Demerio Houston and Deatrick Nichols all took turns breaking up passes in his direction, with none bigger than the one Nichols had to close out the opening half. Trailing 19-3, the Ticats wanted to enter the break with some momentum, so they went for it on a third and four on Winnipeg’s eight-yard line. Mitchell found Lawler in the middle of the end zone before Nichols came from behind to poke out the football.

“It was a huge play. It was a gutsy play for them,” said Nichols. “Those are the plays that you take to heart. They’re gonna go for it and throw it to their guy, and I just won, that’s all.”

Collaros marched the Bombers down the field on their first possession and capped it off with a 44-yard strike to Dillon Mitchell to put the Blue and Gold ahead 13-0. The play was Mitchell’s first touchdown as a Bomber. It’s been a tough go in Bomberland for Mitchell who was expected to do big things after signing for nearly $150,000 in the off-season after three standout seasons in Edmonton. He entered the weekend with 15 catches for 126 yards in seven games, but produced three for a season-high 67 yards against the Ticats.

Demski bounced back from having zero catches in Ottawa with seven for 114 yards including a 46-yarder. The Winnipegger has 424 catches for his hometown club which puts him ahead of Clarence Denmark for fifth all-time in franchise receptions.

“That is pretty cool. To go into the top five, it means a lot just being from here and growing up in the city,” said Demski.

“I’m thankful for it, I’m thankful for the trust from the organization and for my teammates for making it all possible.”

It was the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season. The Ticats bested the Bombers 32-21 in Hamilton in Week 15.

Streveler had three touchdown runs in the final two quarters, including an eight-yard scamper to put the finishing touches on a 104-yard, 12-play drive with less than two minutes left to make it 40-3. Bombers running back Brady Oliveira had 15 carries for 98 yards.

The victory allows the Bombers to stay as the No. 3 seed in the West. The B.C. Lions (8-7), who fumbled the season series against Winnipeg at the beginning of the year, are currently pencilled in as the crossover team. The Calgary Stampeders (8-6), who own the tiebreaker with the Bombers but have lost three in a row, are hanging onto the No. 2 spot, and the right to host the West semi-final, by a thread.

“Everything that we want is in front of us,” said Nichols. “That’s all that matters.”

The Bombers are on a bye next week and don’t play again until Oct. 11 when they take on the Edmonton Elks on the road.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca