Harris and Harris highlight this tilt

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This article was published 17/08/2018 (2677 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Something will have to give between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks, both of whom will take 5-3 records into tonight’s game at Investors Group Field.

It’s the first game between the clubs this year. The Redblacks have won just once in Winnipeg since their inaugural season in 2014, and have lost the last three games against the Bombers.

Still, that doesn’t have Winnipeg feeling lucky against a team with a stranglehold over the East Division.

“When you play a team that’s as good as Ottawa, you have to play three-phase football and you need to win the field-position battle, you need to stay on the field on offence and you need to get off the field when you can, quickly, against their offence,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said after practice Thursday. “You certainly don’t want to make mistakes that extend drives for them, because they’re good enough on their own at extending drives.”

With that, here are five storylines to keep in mind for tonight’s game.

PUSH FOR FOUR

 

A victory would be the Bombers’ fourth straight this season and would push them to 6-3 on the season. Even if Winnipeg wins, it likely won’t mean a move into sole possession of second place in the West Division over the Edmonton Eskimos (5-3) because it’s more than likely Edmonton defeats the Montreal Alouettes Saturday night.

A win won’t just help in jockeying for position in the standings, but will also build on the momentum the Bombers have gained over the last month and will need if they plan on defeating the 7-0 Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg’s next opponent.

“The past is the past and the future is the future and we’ve got to go out and prove that we’re a good football team again,” said Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols. “It’s definitely a momentum sport and when you can get things rolling in the right direction, it just feels like you can continue the winning feeling. It tends to steamroll but it can go the other way, too.”

The Redblacks (5-3) are coming off a 24-17 win over the Alouettes and have now won three of their last four games, with the lone loss coming last week in a nail-biting 42-41 loss against the Toronto Argonauts.

HOT OUT OF THE GATE

If I had a nickel for every time a coach or player explained the importance of playing four quarters to win a game, I would have enough to retire. But as true as that cliché is, what happens in the opening 15 minutes tonight may dictate how each team will need to approach the final three frames.

Both clubs have been particularly impressive early in games but have been known to sputter in the second half. Winnipeg has an edge, posting a plus-96 scoring margin through two quarters but just a plus-1 in the final two. Similarly, Ottawa has outscored their opponents by plus-20 in the first half but are minus-1 in the second half.

Though starting strong is always a focus for any team, the Bombers are aware they’ll need to be on their toes early in this one.

“They have a really good game plan coming in as far as who they’re playing every week,” said Bombers middle linebacker Adam Bighill. “Maybe they have a few plays on their hot list that they will want to run first because they think they’re going to have success with them and obviously they have. They’ve gone down and scored a lot early on in the first quarter, first drive, and they do a good job in trying to find the weaknesses and expose defences.”

Over the past three seasons, the Bombers are 17-2 when leading after the first quarter and 24-3 when up at halftime. This season, the Redblacks are 3-2 when leading after the first quarter but 3-1 when up at halftime.

HARRIS AND HARRIS

 

Each team’s offence is built around a player with the last name Harris. For the Bombers, that’s running back Andrew Harris, who leads the CFL in rushing with 720 yards, 112 more than the second-place rusher William Powell of the Redblacks.

Harris will once again be a fixture in this game and if the Redblacks are unable to contain No. 33, it will be a long night for their defence and a memorable one for the Bombers tailback.

With 6,988 rushing yards in nine years in the CFL, Harris can reach a number of career milestones, including: seven yards to pass Earl Lunsford (6,994) for No. 14 all-time; 12 yards to become the 14th player to reach 7,000 for his career; 20 yards to pass Dick Shatto (7,007 career total) for No. 13 all-time; 73 yards to pass Jim Evenson (7,060) for No. 12 all-time.

For Ottawa, quarterback Trevor Harris — third among pivots in passing yards this season with 2,374 — will dictate his team’s fortunes.

Harris is coming off a scorching 487-yard passing performance over the Alouettes. His 54 attempts was the most thrown in Ottawa’s history and his 44 completions were just one shy of a CFL record for most in a single game, which is held by Henry Burris, who set the mark (45-for-53 passing) as a member of the Redblacks in a 39-17 win over Montreal on Oct. 1, 2015.

“Everything really runs through Trevor Harris, he’s executing at a really high level right now,” said Bighill. “Forty-four completions in a game say a lot about what they can do on offence.”

CRITICS DON’T MAKE SENSE

 

It wouldn’t be farfetched to suggest Matt Nichols might be carrying a chip on his shoulder heading into this one. At least that seemed to be the case Thursday, as the Bombers quarterback stood defiantly, offering up just a few words when asked how he makes sense of his critics, who have criticized his play this season despite leading an offence that currently scores more points than any other club in the CFL.

“I don’t care and it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Nichols struggled in last week’s win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, completing just 54 per cent of his passes (13-for-24 passing) for 180 yards, but he also threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions. He has been good enough to earn wins, claiming victories in four of his five starts this year, with wins being the most important statistic for h Nichols and his teammates.

“That’s just noise,” said tailback Harris, when asked about the claims Nichols needs a bounce-back game from last week. “He won the game. He made the throws he needed to. He controlled the ball when he needed to and didn’t turn the ball over. We know what kind of preparation he has and how he plays. Not every game is going to be perfect and 400 yards. There’s games where it’s tougher sledding and not everything is as easy as it should be.”

For those keeping score at home, the Bombers’ offence leads the league in points scored and touchdowns (27). Though Nichols hasn’t hit the 300-yard passing mark this year, part of that is because of Winnipeg’s dominant run game, which leads the CFL in rushing yards per game (152), average gain per rush (6.1), and touchdowns (13).

STRONG FOOT FORWARD

 

It’s not often that kickers make for must-see television. But it’s also rare to see a matchup like tonight’s.

Justin Medlock, the Bombers’ veteran kicker and arguably the most effective foot in CFL history, is matched up against 22-year-old rookie Lewis Ward, who is turning heads with his streak of consistency.

Medlock is sixth in the CFL in field-goal percentage, connecting on 18 of 21 attempts for a success rate of 85.7 per cent. Two of his misses, however, have come from 50 yards or beyond.

Lewis is atop the group at 96.2 per cent, making good on all but one of his 26 field-goal attempts (his season-long is from 47 yards). What’s most impressive is his current streak of 22 successful field goals, which is the most for any first-year player.

“I came in here expecting to do good things, coming off the career I had in university,” said Ward, who, in 44 games over five seasons with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees finished with an 83 per cent success rate. “But this has for sure taken off.”

Medlock has missed just one field-goal attempt — a 54-yard boot — in his last three games.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton