Bombers just good enough to win

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This article was published 23/08/2024 (397 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a quiet night for Kenny Lawler until the game was on the line.

The veteran receiver, playing in his second game back from a broken arm, reeled in a 10-yard catch for a touchdown in the dying seconds to edge the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 26-23, in front of a sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night.

Facing a second-and-goal from Hamilton’s 10-yard line, with 21 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Zach Collaros delivered a sharp pass to Lawler, who before the game-clinching score had just one catch for seven yards. It capped off a drive that began on Winnipeg’s 38-yard line, lasted 11 plays and registered 62 yards, as the Bombers staved off a late comeback by the Ticats, who had erased a 13-point lead, only to give it up at the worst possible time.

“Basically, it came down to who wanted it more, what’s in your heart,” Lawler said after the game. “We had to go out there, put our hard hat on and pull it out, and that’s what happened.”

The win improved the Bombers to 5-6 on the year, one point shy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders for first place in the West Division. The loss dropped the Ticats to a league-worst 2-9 record, their playoff hopes all but gone now.

Let’s dive deeper into this one.

A scary moment

There was a scary moment fewer than five minutes into the game, with Bombers offensive lineman Stanley Bryant requiring medical attention before being taken off the field on a stretcher.

The Bombers were five plays into the game’s opening drive when Bryant made his way to the sideline. He dropped to a knee, got up and then fell back on one knee, leading the club’s medical staff to take the field, where they worked on Bryant before transferring him to a stretcher a short time later.

Surrounded by players from both teams, Bryant was given an IV, had a cold towel over his head and was drinking fluids. He looked visibly exhausted and at one point was vomiting.

The delay lasted 16 minutes, ending with Bryant being carted off the field to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd.

“That was tough,” Bombers centre Chris Kolankowski said. “I’ve honestly never experienced that as a player. I’ve played a lot of football and, luckily, that’s the first time that’s happened. It was just about breathing, thinking about it and looking at the guys around you and rallying for him.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea said after the game that Bryant was likely affected by heat stroke, made worse by the fact he was sick all week. O’Shea added that Bryant called from the hospital to say he was doing OK, although there was no word on when the Bombers all-star tackle might return.

The 38-year-old has rarely missed game action during his hall of fame career, including never once missing a game due to injury in his nine seasons in Winnipeg.

Meanwhile, the Bombers would also lose fellow O-linemen Gabe Wallace, putting them at just five healthy bodies and forcing them to get creative. Kendall Randolph moved from right guard to tackle. Receiver Kevens Clercius and fullback Bailey Feltmate also chipped in as additional blockers on the line.

“This is a gritty win,” added Kolankowksi. “Guys stepped in and did their job.”

Offence still starved for points

It was another sluggish performance from the offence, with the group putting up 321 yards in an effort that was good enough to win this week but still isn’t going to scare anyone across the league.

The Bombers entered the game averaging the fewest points in the CFL, with 19.8 per game, as well as a league-low 15 touchdowns. Just consider: at this point last season, the 8-2 Bombers had scored a league-best 30 touchdowns.

Finding the end zone has been the biggest issue this season and something the offence has vowed to fix the last several weeks. The Bombers had two trips to the red zone before Lawler’s score, turning one into an 18-yard field goal from Sergio Castillo, with Collaros throwing his 10th interception on the other.

“As you get down the stretch, later in the season, you don’t want to look too far ahead but you look at the playoffs, you got to score,” said Bombers running back Brady Oliveira, who had 120 rushing yards on 18 carries. “The skill that we have on the offensive side of the ball, we need to finish with six (points). There’s still lots of season left.”

Collaros finished the game 18-for-36 passing for 177 yards, one TD and three interceptions. One of those picks happened late in the fourth quarter, resulting in a Hamilton field goal and 23-19 lead, forcing the Bombers to drive the field for a TD. Collaros is now tied with Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell with a league-high 12 interceptions.

A special play

With the Bombers clinging to a 6-3 lead late in the second quarter, and the offence struggling to put up points, it was Winnipeg’s special teams that finally got the club’s engines revving.

It started with a punt from Jamieson Sheahan on Winnipeg’s 28-yard line and ended with linebacker Michael Ayers recovering a fumble and returning it 27 yards for a touchdown. The score was set up by a massive hit from linebacker Tony Jones, who delivered every last bit of his 6-2, 235-pound body into Hamilton returner Jordan Bryd to pop the ball loose.

“I’m running down the field and the returner takes off to my left, and I’m inside out, so I’m tracking him from there when I hear just a big boom,” Ayers said. “I’m looking around like, ‘Whoa, who just made that hit? And then I see the ball and it was scoop and score time now. And I took it for the touchdown.”

“I’m looking around like, ‘Whoa, who just made that hit? And then I see the ball and it was scoop and score time now. And I took it for the touchdown.”–Michael Ayers

For the 25-year-old Ayers, it was his first TD since high school, in what is his first CFL season, signed by the Bombers in February as a free agent. He’s made quite the impact in his rookie campaign already, entering the game as the team’s leader in special teams tackles with 11.

It was the first touchdown of the season for special teams, in what’s been an up-and-down season for the group. While kicker Sergio Castillo has been consistent, the Bombers are still trying to find the answer in the return game, averaging the second-lowest average in punt return (9.4) and kickoff return (19.8) yardage.

The TD not only put valuable points on the board, but it also shifted momentum back in Winnipeg’s favour after Collaros’ first interception. The Bombers would add another field goal before the break to take a 16-3 lead at halftime.

A thrilling finish

The start of the second half told a much different story. Playing for their playoff lives, the Ticats erased the Bombers lead by the end of the third quarter.

The comeback began with a six-play, 54-yard drive that was capped off with a 10-yard rushing TD by running back Greg Bell to cut Winnipeg’s lead to 16-10. After trading field goals to make it a 19-13 ball game, the Ticats would take their first lead, as Bell rushed for his second TD, this time for six yards, to give the visitor’s a 20-19 edge through three quarters.

That set the stage for a quiet fourth quarter, with the frame going scoreless until the final few minutes. That’s when all hell broke loose, leading to the Lawler score and a 26-23 win.

“You just got to keep going. What are you going to do, quit?” Collaros said. “You got to have belief in what you’re doing. The guys did a great job of digging deep there, against a good defence all night long, and making plays in a way they need to be made.”

It was a relatively off night for Winnipeg’s defence, a group that has been dominant in recent weeks. The Ticats finished with 285 net offensive yards. Nick Hallett had the lone sack.

Up next

The Bombers head to Saskatchewan next week for the annual Labour Day Classic game against the Roughriders. It’s the first of back-to-back games against their prairie rivals, with the Banjo Bowl tilt the following weekend in Winnipeg.

The Roughriders have been struggling of late, winless in their last five games (0-4-1), their last victory coming against the Bombers, 19-9, in Week 7. The Bombers have won two of the last three LDC but have just three victories in the last 18.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton