Percival Molson Stadium is a 109-year-old facility nestled at the base of Mount Royal in downtown Montreal and the ancient home of the Alouettes offers one of the most-picturesque settings in the Canadian Football League.
And early Saturday evening it was also arguably the scene of one of the most bizarre endings in the loop’s long history.
Words truly don’t properly describe the scene and, after watching replays of the final minutes over and over again, I’m not sure the visuals provide enough evidence in what was a ‘had-to-be-there’ moment that was pivotal in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers clinching first place in the West Division with a 28-27 victory.
Leading 27-25 with 64 seconds remaining, the Als — scrimmaging from their own 19-yard line — ran for two yards on first down, then let the clock run before calling a timeout prior to second down. Montreal rushed again for two yards on second and eight and were stopped again by the Blue Bombers defence, forcing a punting situation on third-and-six with 17 seconds remaining.
At that moment it was like Mount Royal had come alive, as a wind and rainstorm suddenly appeared from the mountain, enveloping Molson Stadium in a shroud of swirling leaves in a bizarre wind that seemed to be blowing in all directions.
Turning to colleague Jeff Hamilton of The Free Press I said, “What the (censored) is happening right now?”
That was followed by a Joseph Zema punt that looked to be knocked down by the wind and then blown out of bounds near the Alouette bench. Total distance travelled: 21 yards.
The Blue Bombers then ran one play, with Brady Oliveira rushing for two yards before Sergio Castillo, who was staring into the same wind that had killed Zema’s punt, then crushed a 51-yarder with no time remaining (and after a superb job by holder Jamieson Sheahan to corral a low snap) that gave the visitors the win and first place.
We have signed Mother Nature to a one-day contract. #ForTheWind pic.twitter.com/bSl4jcLaRh
— y – Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 27, 2024
Willie Jefferson called it ‘Divine Intervention.’ Zach Collaros described the weather phenomenon as something from the Wizard of Oz. Blue Bombers President and CEO Wade Miller — who was in attendance — said, “that’s what clean living gets you.”
TSN’s Duane Forde added, “I am somewhat speechless. Maybe you had to be in the stadium to appreciate how the weather completely changed for exactly that window of time.”
And: “It’s official: God is a Bombers fan.”
“That ending was wild,” said Nic Demski. “There were so many emotions that just happened right there, so many ups and downs. I just remember we had a chance every opportunity we got back on that field and the majority didn’t go our way, but the one that mattered, did.
“Kudos for our defence for getting that two-and-out and then kudos to the wind for playing a big factor in this game. It was insane. At the end of the day the football gods shone down on us, and we’re just blessed to be here.”
ICYMI, here is our game recap from Saturday night:
And what follows is the rest of this week’s UPON FURTHER REVIEW…
IT’S SO EASY TO CHEER FOR CASTILLO… because he is one of the most-popular players in the locker room and a man with such a positive outlook. And then seeing the disappointment on his face when his 61-yard attempt with 1:12 remaining was a bit short and left, well, it was clear he thought he had let the team down with that miss.
And then the pure joy on his face after the winner — and how the bench emptied to maul him in celebration — was an epic moment.
Remember, the wind wasn’t blowing in any one direction as he stepped up with no time remaining and a 51-yarder in even perfect conditions is hardly a gimmee.
“It was swirling, and I was like, ‘All right, if this is how it’s going to go, this is how it’s going to go,’” said Castillo of the wind. “I prayed to God for a game winner today and we got it.
“When the rain came, one of my favourite Bible verses is ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ We planted the seed of hard work. The rain was coming and that means the harvest is coming. That’s the way I saw that. Even though there was a crazy wind I just saw the rain which meant the harvest is coming.”
THREE NUMBERS WHICH STOOD OUT… after a second glance at the stats package, which can be found here:
1 There was some criticism of the Blue Bombers offence early — right up until halftime when the team was trailing 13-9 after settling for three field goals and missing a fourth, along with a punt, in five possessions in the first 30 minutes.
Yet by game’s end Collaros had thrown for 331 yards and completed 75 percent of his passes while hitting Nic Demski and Kenny Lawler for 54 and 72-yard gains, respectively, as the offence put up 28 points and 384 yards of net offence against one of the stingiest defences in the CFL.
The Blue Bombers were 50 percent in second-d0wn conversions (9-of-18) and averaged a healthy 8.3 yards on second downs.
2 Collaros’ 331 yards through the air allowed him to establish a new career high with 4,336 yards passing. And since Labour Day his TD-to-interception differential was 11:3, with it 17:15 overall.
He becomes the first Blue Bombers quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons since Khari Jones did it four years in a row from 2000-03, and only the third to accomplish that feat, including Dieter Brock from 1980-82.
His 4,336 yards this season is the ninth highest in franchise history after Jones (5,334 in 2002), Kevin Glenn (5,114 in 2007), Brock (4,796 in 1981), Tom Clements (4,686 in 1987), Matt Dunigan (4,682 in 1993), Kerwin Bell (4,647 in 1999), Jones (4,545 in 2001) and Matt Nichols (4,472 in 2017).
3 The Blue Bombers turnaround this year from 0-4 and 2-6 to a 9-1 run to end the season was one of the biggest in CFL history. According to league statistician Steve Daniel it marks the largest turnaround in franchise history and is rivalled only by B.C.’s 0-5/1-6 start in 2011 that saw them finish 11-7 and the 1985 Hamilton Tiger-Cats who were 1-6 and finished first at 8-8 as well as the 2014 Tabbies who opened 1-6 and won the division at 9-9.
THE BLUE BOMBERS GOT A SPARK… from Lucky Whitehead and the punt return team in the fourth quarter with a 56-yard punt return that led to a Terry Wilson QB-sneak score. It was Whitehead’s longest punt-return this season.
“Right on time,” said Whitehead with a huge grin afterward. “The boys were like, ‘We need something big right now’ and I was talking to myself running out there saying, ‘We need a big play.’ I caught a middle return, and I didn’t have to do anything — my boys all got on their guys and it was a straight seam. I’m more pissed that I didn’t take a peek after I made the detour from the punter to see if there was anyone coming behind me (he was tackled by Sean-Thomas Erlington at the Montreal 18-yard line).
“But it was a much-needed return right on time. We scored two plays after that, and it was a bit of a momentum shifter and some energy for the boys. I’m just so glad w were able to make a play on special teams.”
Whitehead, of course, was also on the field at the end of the game to field Zema’s punt — but never got his mitts on the ball with Mother Nature doing her thing.
“That was nuts. It was super-crazy,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘with this wind there’s no way he’s going to have a big kick’ and I was just going to make sure I secured it if he got a good kick and then get what I could. Then when it was short and in bounds still, I wanted to make sure the punter didn’t get down to cover it up. That’s why I was hauling ass before the ball went out of bounds.
“I checked the forecast before the game, and they weren’t calling for rain or wind. Then it got super-wild and that s–t was right on time, too.”
MOP WATCH… Brady Oliveira finished the night with 35 yards rushing on 11 carries and added another 11 yards on three receptions Those numbers boosted his season totals to a league-best 1,353 yards rushing and 476 through the air on a career-best 57 receptions.
That’s 1,829 yards from scrimmage following his 2,016 total a year ago.
His main contender, it would seem, for West honours in the MOP is Saskatchewan defensive back Rolan Milligan, Jr. who was a late scratch from the Roughriders roster after the Blue Bombers victory made the result of Sask-Calgary game afterward moot in terms of impact on the standings.
After the win in Montreal, Oliveira repeated his ‘whatever it takes’ mantra.
“Every week in my notebook — Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 — in preparing for the opponent that week I always write a message at the top,” began Oliveira, pulling the notebook from his bag to show the visual evidence to yours truly. “This week was, ‘Game 18: Montreal’ and underneath as you can see, ‘Whatever it takes.’
“If you think about this season with us starting 0-4 and then 2-6 and how we found a way to fight, to be resilient and to play for one another and get the job by any means. That was everything about that today. That was ‘Whatever it takes’ on full display.”
AND FINALLY… thanks again for reading this far and if you want to relive that unbelievable finish — I sure have, a few times — here’s the video evidence: