WINNIPEG 鈥� Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros credited the raucous Banjo Bowl crowd for giving the Blue Bombers the edge they needed to tough out another close victory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust the adrenalin you get from it.鈥�
Collaros completed 24 of 31 passes for 231 yards, including a six-yarder to Kenny Lawler, and placekicker Sergio Castillo booted four field goals as the Winnipeg Bombers defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 26-21 on Saturday.
The victory moved the Bombers into a share of top spot in the CFL's West Division with the B.C. Lions 鈥� the Bombers won the season series against the Lions 鈥� while the Roughriders remain in third after failing to win for a seventh straight outing (0-6-1).
It was Winnipeg鈥檚 second straight win over the Riders.
"We talked about it earlier in the week, how hard it is to win back-to-back games against a single opponent,鈥� said Bombers running back Brady Oliveira, who was held to 43 yards on 11 carries.
鈥淟abour Day, Banjo Bowl, the atmosphere of both of these games, how big they are. It鈥檚 challenging, man. It鈥檚 challenging to win both of those games back-to-back. We executed the plays when they were called. It was another close one, but we fought, man. We fought hard and came out with the 鈥榃.鈥欌��
Backup quarterback Chris Streveler also scored a major on a two-yard run before he was knocked out of the game as the result of a roughing-the-quarterback penalty on Saskatchewan defensive end Miles Brown. Streveler was seen on crutches after the game.
Castillo kicked field goals of 46, 25, 35 and 39 yards to go along with a pair of converts.
Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea picked up his club-record 103rd victory, passing Bud Grant, in front of a sellout crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium.
鈥淚 think the statue is starting soon,鈥� Collaros said, referring to the possibility of an O鈥橲hea statue joining the one of Grant outside of the stadium.
鈥淭here's just so many people that have been here for a huge chunk of it, that make it very easy every single day, not only to be successful but just to come to work every single day,鈥� O鈥橲hea said. 鈥淢y wife's standing right there. My family's been there for all of it. The 60-something losses, that they feel, too. It is what it is.
"Over time, these numbers just add up. But I don't think we're a numbers-based team. We're a process-based team and we've got a room, a whole basement full of people that are all-in on the process. And the outcomes, they just happen.鈥�
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris completed 21 of 33 passes for 287 yards, including TD tosses of nine yards to KeeSean Johnson and eight to Samuel Emilus, with two picks.
It was Saskatchewan鈥檚 second straight loss to the Bombers after dropping a 35-33 decision in Regina last week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just frustrating because last week鈥檚 was a winnable game, this was a winnable game,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭he fact that we didn鈥檛 win is frustrating.
" 鈥� It gets tiring saying the same things every week with the close losses. It鈥檚 frustrating saying it out loud, let alone probably hearing it. It鈥檚 just one of those things where we鈥檝e just got to look in the mirror and take this bye week and find a way to get better and make sure we put ourselves in better situations.
鈥淚t was a tough one. This was a winnable game but that鈥檚 a good defence. Hats off to them, that鈥檚 a good football team. They鈥檙e playing good football and that鈥檚 a tough defence to play against. Maybe we鈥檒l see them again (in the playoffs).鈥�
Brett Lauther kicked field goals of 50 and 35 yards, while punter Adam Korsak added a 68-yard single.
鈥淓very time it鈥檚 a close game and you lose, it鈥檚 always tough to swallow,鈥� said Emilus, who caught four passes for 66 yards. 鈥淚 guess we鈥檝e just got to find a way to be better. We鈥檝e got to limit our mistakes. We鈥檝e been in every game and if we take even just one mistake away, we might get that victory. So, we鈥檝e just got to keep pushing and raise those levels.鈥�
Saskatchewan had taken a 17-13 lead on the Emilus TD early in the second half, but the Bombers fought back to take a 23-18 lead on the Lawler major. After another Lauther field goal, Castillo connected on a 39-yarder to give Winnipeg a 26-21 lead with 1:05 left in the game. Tyrell Ford鈥檚 second interception of the game snuffed out Saskatchewan鈥檚 last-ditch drive.
BLINK HONOURED
Charles (Blink) Roberts, Winnipeg鈥檚 all-time leading rusher, was officially added to the Blue Bombers Ring of Honour during a halftime ceremony.
"They appreciate my time here and I'm just happy to be here," the CFL Hall-of-Famer said before the game. "I regret not getting the Grey Cup when I was playing. They went on a successful run here after I left 鈥� I wish we had been able to get the Grey Cup here sooner, but better late than never."
With Roberts at running back, the Bombers lost both the 2002 and 2007 Grey Cup games.
Roberts said he was the most proud of his six 1,000-yard rushing seasons and making his mark on special teams early in his career
UP NEXT
Bombers: On their second bye week before returning to play the Elks in Edmonton on Sept. 21.
Roughriders: On a bye week before returning to take on the Stampeders in Calgary on Sept. 20.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 7, 2024.
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press
