Banjo Bowl briefs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2014 (4031 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GAME BALLS

OFFENCE:

The Rider ground game goes nowhere without the bulldozers up front. Xavier Fulton, Brendon LaBatte, Dominic Picard, Dan Clark and Ben Heenan pushed the pile and opened holes for Saskatchewan, who cranked out 196 yards on 31 carries. Games are won and lost in the trenches and these guys owned it.

DEFENCE:

Saskatchewan corner Rod Williams was all over the field and, as a result, all over the stat sheet with five tackles, a key interception and a missed field-goal return for a score.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Weston Dressler did the spectacular, returning a Lirim Hajrullahu punt 75 yards for a TD, but it was the decisions he made on other kicks — letting kicks travel into the end zone and wisely conceding singles — that spoke of his understanding of field position.

RIDERS 30 BOMBERS 24

CRITICAL NUMBERS

196: Yards rushing by the Riders, led by Anthony Allen, who had 115 along the ground.

542: Yards rushing by the Riders in their three wins over the Bombers this season.

181: More math — 542 yards divided by three games an average of 181 yards rushing by the Riders in their three wins over the Bombers.

4-11: The Bombers fell to 3-3 at Investors Group Field this season and, since the doors swung open last year, are just 4-11 in their new building.

17: The margin of victory, combined, in the three Saskatchewan wins over Winnipeg in 2014.

107: Yards passing by the Riders against the Bomber defence, giving them just 426 in their three wins against Winnipeg, an average of 142 per game.

FLAG PARADE: The Bombers were nailed for 13 penalties totalling 158 yards and the bloated total included seven unnecessary roughness or roughing penalties at 15 yards each. Centre Steve Morley was also ejected in the fourth quarter — along with Saskatchewan’s Weldon Brown — for an additional 25 yards.

GOOD TREND: Winnipeg has now out-scored its opponents 37-4 in the first quarters of the last six games.

BAD TREND: The Bombers out-scored the Riders 8-0 in the fourth quarter, only the second time in their last eight games. Winnipeg has been out-scored 96-82 over that stretch.

FYI: The Banjo Bowl sell-out of 33,234 was the Bombers’ second of the season — both against Saskatchewan — and boosted their average attendance in 2014 to 29,958

OUCH REPORT: Rider starting QB Darian Durant exited the game in the third quarter with an apparent elbow injury which will be evaluated later in the week. He was replaced by Tino Sunseri, who went two of five for 30 yards in relief.

Afterwards Riders’ head coach Corey Chamblin said: “Guys took it as a slight and they got a little pissed, but we finished the game. I heard the whistle. That’s a part of football. There are going to be positives and negatives in every game.”

“Of course he’s going to be upset,” said Bomber head coach Mike O’Shea. “He’s lost his starting quarterback possibly. Did anybody hear a whistle? None of their players stopped either, so… he’s standing on that sideline where the whistle came from.”

MORE FUN AND GAMESMANSHIP: O’Shea was seen yelling at referee Al Bradbury before the game, not long after the Riders were introduced and stood at centre field waiting for the Bomber introductions. The same scene played out here earlier in August.

“It doesn’t make any difference in the game, but a memo came out from the league saying that the visiting team shall be introduced and run right to their bench,” O’Shea said. “So, once again Corey’s got some guys in some gamemanship. Good for him, Kudos for him.

NEXT: The Bombers now head to B.C. for a critical contest against the Lions on Saturday, 9 p.m.

–Ed Tait

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