Outstanding moments in meaningless win

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This article was published 30/10/2023 (728 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was my job to watch Friday night’s game — what’s your excuse?

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers left McMahon Stadium with a convincing 36-13 win over the Calgary Stampeders in what was a mostly forgettable and meaningless evening of football as the regular season finale had no impact on the standings.

Win, lose or draw, the Bombers were already scheduled to host the West Final Nov. 11 at IG Field.

Win, lose, or draw, the Stampeders were already scheduled to visit Vancouver this Saturday to take on the B.C. Lions in the West Semi-Final.

The victory gives Winnipeg a 14-4 record heading into the playoffs, while Calgary ends the campaign at 6-12 which makes them the first team to qualify for postseason play in the West with six wins or less in an 18-game season since Edmonton in 1999.

Before we shift 100 per cent of our attention to the playoffs, let’s quickly revisit the Calgary trip with the final 5 Takeaways of the regular season.

Oliveira hits 2K

Brady Oliveira’s season has been nothing short of outstanding.

With nothing at stake, the Winnipeg running back just played the first quarter, and a few snaps towards the end of the game (we’ll get to that in a second) and finished with 36 yards on eight carries to give him 2,016 all-purpose yards in 2023. It’s an incredible feat that has only been accomplished by one other Canadian in league history — Stamps legend Jon Cornish in 2013.

Oliveira entered Friday 20 yards short of 2k, and got there on just his fourth touch of the night. When he ran back onto the field in the closing minutes for a few more carries near the goal line, a lot of people were scratching their heads. It turns out fellow running back Johnny Augustine had a malfunction with his helmet, so, Oliveira got thrown back out there.

The league’s leading rusher was so excited to get back in that he forgot his helmet. Long snapper Mike Benson noticed, so he gave him his.

“I could barely get it on my face. I didn’t know whose helmet it was and until I ran out after the drive and Benson was like, ‘That was my helmet.’ I said, ‘Dude, you’ve got a little head because that was tight on my face, and it hurt’” explained Oliveira postgame.

“That one carry I got, I really felt it because I had this little helmet on my head. It was quite funny; we had some laughs on the sidelines after and we’ll probably laugh on the plane about it. Those are the memories I’ll remember, the little things like that with my teammates.”

Brown’s ready to be a No. 1

In the next few years, there’s likely going to be a time when Bomberland laments the fact that quarterback Dru Brown couldn’t be retained.

The pending free agent connected on 13-of-17 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns in relief of starter Zach Collaros to earn his second career win in three starts.

The 26-year-old Brown finishes the year with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions which is a new CFL record for most single-season passing scores without throwing a pick.

His agent will be busy during free agency, and with the Bombers being financially committed to Collaros — and rightfully so — it’ll be nearly impossible to keep Brown around.

It’s a shame as he’s the most promising pivot this franchise has developed in seemingly forever.

Bailey being Bailey

This play perfectly summarizes Rasheed Bailey as a football player.

He caught a deflected pass from Brown in the third quarter before fighting his way through four defenders to reach the end zone on a career-long 68-yard play.

“It will probably go down as one of my greatest touchdowns in my career,” said Bailey.

Bailey doesn’t put up the same numbers as Dalton Schoen and Kenny Lawler, but he’s always been a guy who leaves everything on the field and takes pride in doing the dirty work, especially as a run blocker.

With Schoen’s season in jeopardy with an ankle injury, Bailey — who finished strong with three touchdowns in the final two games — could be a bigger factor in the postseason.

Castillo’s perfect game

For a guy from Amarillo, Texas, Sergio Castillo sure isn’t bothered by the cold weather.

It was -6 C and windy at kickoff, but Castillo looked like he was kicking in a dome as he went a perfect 5-for-5. His first attempt was his most impressive as he drilled a 51-yarder in the opening quarter as snow fell from the sky.

Castillo finishes the season with a 90.2 per cent conversion rate on field goals (46-for-51), which is the third-best in the CFL. Unlike last season, the Bombers can feel confident in their kicking situation at the most important time of year.

New faces

With Collaros, left tackle Stanley Bryant, defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat, linebackers Adam Bighill and Kyrie Wilson, receiver Nic Demski, safety Brandon Alexander, defensive back Winston Rose, defensive tackle Ricky Walker, and dimeback Redha Kramdi all taken out of the lineup to rest up for the West Final, the Bombers got to test their depth on Friday.

Left tackle Drew Richmond and linebacker Brian Cole II were two names that got called up to play and looked impressive. Cole, who has been biding his time on special teams all season, forced and recovered a fumble on Calgary’s second drive. He also picked off a Jake Maier pass but it was negated due to penalty.

Richmond had big shoes to fill, but held his own outside of a second quarter play where defensive end Julian Howsare beat him to sack Dakota Prukop and force a fumble (the Bombers recovered). Richmond joined the Bombers late into 2019 and has spent the majority of his stint with the team on the practice roster and/or injured. He showed why the Bombers have kept him around for so long.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @taylorallen31