Vaval saves the day

Trey Vaval bailed out the Winnipeg Blue Bombers big time.

It wasn’t a pretty performance by the Blue and Gold Friday night at home, but two return touchdowns courtesy of their rookie returner allowed them to prevail 40-31 over the visiting Toronto Argonauts in front of 32,343 fans.

“This is a stressful game, especially as a rookie. I’m out there being the returner, and I don’t want to mess up,” admitted Vaval.

“I’m carrying the organization in my hands when I have that ball. So, I just kind of relaxed today, trusted my blockers and hit the hole.”

Coming off three consecutive losses by double-digits and having an injury report featuring marquee names such as quarterback Zach Collaros, wide receiver Dalton Schoen, and left tackle Stanley Bryant, the Bombers desperately needed a fresh face to step up, and Vaval delivered.

The 24-year-old out of Minnesota State Mankato made up for what was an underwhelming performance by No. 2 pivot Chris Streveler and the Bombers’ offence, and also a poor showing by a revamped secondary that was torched for nine catches, 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns by Argonauts wideout Damonte Coxie.

The last time a return specialist found paydirt twice in one night for the Bombers was on Aug. 8, 2019, when Janarion Grant — now a member of the Argos — took back a pair of punts in a 26-24 victory over Calgary.

The win improves Winnipeg to 4-3 while Toronto, who beat the Bombers 31-17 last week in Toronto, fall to 2-6.

“Just watching (Vaval) return since his first game, everyone knew it was coming. That speed he hits the ball with, he runs up on the ball and has a head of steam before he even catches it,” said Bombers centre Chris Kolankowski.

“He’s moving out there, so it was just a matter of time before he broke one, and he ended up breaking two. Unbelievable game for him. Young player, rookie year, and he does that? That’s something special. I know I’ll remember that, and I hope he remembers that for the rest of his life. A hell of a day.”

The evening got off to a rough start with Streveler opening the scoring by throwing a touchdown to the wrong team on the second drive of the game. Argos D-lineman Anthony Lanier II tipped the pass at the line of scrimmage before linebacker Cameron Judge came down with it and returned it for a 47-yard score.

It’s the fourth pick-six of the season for the Bombers between Streveler and Collaros.

Streveler, who is now 2-0 this season as a starter despite not having his best stuff Friday, also forced a deep pass to a blanketed Keric Wheatfall in the third quarter that was picked.

He made an even bigger error with just under three minutes left when the Bombers held a 37-31 advantage and were in the red zone with a chance to put the contest away.

Instead, Streveler kept Toronto alive by underthrowing receiver Jerreth Sterns in the end zone – even though settling for a field goal would’ve made it a two-score game —with the ball ending up in the hands of Argos defensive back Tarvarus McFadden.

The Bombers have thrown a league-high 14 interceptions and have turned the ball over a whopping 21 times in their last four outings.

“We just got to stay on the field and get in the end zone offensively. We just didn’t score enough touchdowns and when you throw three picks, that’s just never good enough,” said Streveler.

“I’m going to learn from that, I’m going to be better, we’re going to be better as a team. But like I said, it’s just ultimately nice to get the win and learn from that.”

Fortunately for Streveler, Vaval got the points back immediately after the first INT by dancing through a sea of white uniforms on the following kickoff for a 93-yard touchdown. On the third, and what had the potential to be Streveler’s most costly turnover, the defence stood tall and forced Argos quarterback Nick Arbuckle into back-to-back incompletions and a punt.

“It’s hard to win football games when you’re not playing good football, when you’re giving the ball away like that. Tonight, it was all three phases coming together, with special teams lights out with two big return touchdowns by Trey,” said running back Brady Oliveira.

“The defence was doing their thing, slowing things down for them. Turnovers are going to happen throughout the course of the season. We just need to limit them, because it can really come back to bite you.”

“The defence was doing their thing, slowing things down for them. Turnovers are going to happen throughout the course of the season. We just need to limit them, because it can really come back to bite you.”–Brady Oliveira

Streveler and Co. had another chance to increase their lead from 37-31 to end Toronto’s hopes, but the quarterback took a sack, and the Bombers had to punt it right back.

With less than two minutes left, Toronto had the ball on its 24-yard line and again, Arbuckle wasn’t able to pull out a game-winning drive as they turned the ball over on downs after three incompletions. The Bombers defence was far from perfect, but when they needed to make plays, they did.

Their biggest splash came in the second quarter when Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson strip-sacked Arbuckle and fellow D-lineman Jay Person scooped it up before sprinting 27 yards for his first career touchdown to give the home side a 24-10 lead. Jefferson also had four pass knockdowns.

“Two words: Willie Jefferson. He’s amazing. He had some amazing plays,” said Bombers safety Redha Kramdi.

“Football is a 12-on-12 game obviously, but Willie really played an outstanding game. Credit to him. Our front four, our front seven as a unit did well. They had a big impact on the game.”

“Two words: Willie Jefferson. He’s amazing. He had some amazing plays.”–Bombers safety Redha Kramdi

The Bombers managed to take a 31-13 advantage into halftime as Vaval made the visitors pay again, this time with a 97-yard punt return score. The Boatmen clawed back in the second half with Coxie scoring twice, including a 56-yard catch and run which made it 37-31 with 8:19 left in the fourth.

Streveler completed 17-of-21 passes for 173 yards to go along with his three turnovers. Bombers running back Oliveira chipped in 50 yards on the ground on 17 touches.

Nic Demski led the Bombers in receiving with five catches for 67 yards.

Arbuckle connected on 22-of-39 attempts for 327 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Toronto made zero effort to run the ball as they had a dismal eight yards on five tries.

The Bombers have now won 11 of their last 12 games in August and have snapped a three-game skid against the Boatmen.

The Blue and Gold head to Calgary next Saturday where they will try to avoid being swept in the season series with the Stampeders.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca