Game Recap | Western Final SSK Wpg

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It’s a gaudy and telling number which says absolutely everything about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers dominance over the last half decade — for a fifth straight season this franchise is headed to the Grey Cup.

Savour the moment, Bomber Nation, because it’s historic.

And yet, that wasn’t the number the Blue Bombers were fixating on inside a jubilant locker room after a Saturday’s 38-22 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a sold-out Princess Auto Stadium crowd of 32,343.

Instead of five, the number tossed about most was this:

One.

“Obviously it’s a nice little accolade to go to the last five Grey Cups,” said receiver Nic Demski, “but Osh (head coach Mike O’Shea) said it best when we were breaking it down (before the game): this isn’t about going to our fifth straight Grey Cup. This is about going to our Grey Cup and making our story and making our memory and having this locker room hoist it at the end of the year.

“That’s what we’re focussed on and that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Blue Bombers will meet the East Division champion Toronto Argonauts next Sunday in Vancouver in the 111th Grey Cup after they edged the Montreal Alouettes 30-28 in the Eastern Final. The victory came at a cost, with starting quarterback Chad Kelly suffering a broken tibia late in the Argos win. Winnipeg will be chasing a 13th Grey Cup title in franchise history; Toronto is seeking championship #19.

That will be part of the backstory leading up to next Sunday but in the moment it’s what the Blue Bombers did against the Roughriders in what was a thorough beat down. Winnipeg jumped out to a 14-zip lead in the first quarter and carried a 15-point advantage into the final frame before the Riders added a late score that was essentially scoreboard cosmetic surgery.

Zach Collaros threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns — three to Kenny Lawler, the fourth to Demski — while Brady Oliveira rushed for 119 yards and a score while the defence was positively stifling.

“This never gets old. It’s a great feeling. But we fought for it, right?,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson. “I’m extremely proud of the process we went through, the gameplan that J.Y. (defensive coordinator Jordan Younger) put together, the way he stuck to his plan and believed in us.”

More on the Blue Bombers Western Final victory from our view in the press box…

NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE TDS: 

Lawler stepped up under the bright lights, pulling in four catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns covering, respectively, 31, 24 and 57 yards.

Dominant doesn’t even seem a worth adjective to describe his handiwork.

“As an ultimate competitor I feel every game’s a game, man,” said Lawler. “Every game could be your last game so why wait for a playoff game? For me, this season has been a crazy ride. I missed the first eight-nine games with a broken arm, come back and have to knock the rust off and get straight to work.

“It ain’t about the game. It’s about what we do within the week to prepare everything we’ve got to do for one another to really succeed, to really move the ball up and down the field.

“The game… we were just locked in. Locked in.”

A BLUE AND GOLD BRICK WALL:

Winnipeg’s defence showed all sorts of different looks to Riders veteran QB Trevor Harris, from Nick Taylor and Brandon Alexander lining up at safety, to a variety of defensive fronts, to, well, you name it.

And it was a brilliant gameplan by Younger, along with Richie Hall, James Stanley and Darrell Patterson.

Winnipeg’s ‘D’ sacked Harris twice, forced three turnovers and limited Harris to 283 yards passing — a good chunk coming late drive with the game essentially already decided.

“I’ve said it more than once: Jordan Younger deserves all the flowers,” said dime back Redha Kramdi, who was one of several defenders who authored a superb game. “We’re a defence that allowed 19 points (all year) in the CFL with a team that started 0-4 and 2-6 start.

“I’ll repeat it and stand on the highest building on the world and scream it: the flowers need to go to Jordan Younger and that defensive staff of James Stanley, Richie Hall and Coach DP. They do an amazing job.

“We do what we do on the field, but they’re the ones pushing us and spending hours and hours and hours to put us in the positions to look good.

“I love this staff. I love this team.”

THE LAST WORD:

A tough day for local sports media and football reporters across the CFL with news of the passing Saturday morning of long-time Winnipeg Sun scribe Ted Wyman.

The club issued this statement Saturday morning.

And afterward both Collaros and O’Shea spent time in their media conferences to pass along their condolences.

“It’s a great reminder you’ve got to make the most of every day,” said O’Shea. “When these things hit you get that immense gratitude for a Day 2, 3, 4 week. You try to change things and try to keep moving forward and slowly go back to that routine of grinding and grinding and grinding and not living every day like you should.

“It’s a harsh way to get a reminder.”

KEY MOMENT

The Blue Bombers led 31-16 early in the fourth quarter when the Roughriders — trying to find some magic — opted to gamble on a third-and-three from their own 24-yard line with over 12 minutes remaining.

A Harris-to-Kee-Sean Johnson pass attempt was broken up by Tyrell Ford. Two plays later — the first a 21-yard bulldozing run by Oliveira, the second a Oliveira TD run from three yards out — and the Blue Bombers had squeezed the life out of the visitors.

KEY STAT: 482

So many gaudy numbers are candidates here but this stands out the most: the Blue Bombers racked up 482 yards net offence — 301 through the air and an additional 194 along the ground — as the attack averaged 8.6 yards per play.

All that stands out because the Roughrider defence has been so stout all year

NEXT

The Blue Bombers are off to the 11th Grey Cup next Sunday in Vancouver to face the Toronto Argonauts, with a scheduled start of 5 p.m. CST.

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