STAMPS’ LOSS OPENS DOOR FOR RIDERS TO WIN WEST
QB Collaros ignites Winnipeg offence, Bombers prevail on last-second field goal
WINNIPEG 29, CALGARY 28
The Calgary Stampeders need the Edmonton Eskimos to do them a favour.
The Stamps (11-6) lost 29-28 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7) on Friday night, and that means that the Saskatchewan Roughriders can finish first in the West Division if they win both their remaining games this season.
Those games happen to be against the Eskimos, so the Stamps are going to be hoping their provincial rivals can pull off an upset and help them out.
On Friday, the Stamps just didn’t have quite enough for a Bombers team that refused to give up.
In the end, the difference in the game was a last-second field goal from Bombers kicker Justin Medlock that pushed them to a victory over the Stamps.
From the very start, it always felt as if Friday’s game was going to be defined by the offences.
Not that the defences were bad, necessarily, but both offences seemed to be ready to strike at any moment.
The big story out of Winnipeg is the fact that Zach Collaros stepped in at quarterback and looked much better than anyone could have expected, considering he was sidelined by a concussion in Week 1 back when he was with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
He’s been with the Toronto Argonauts and now the Bombers in the time since, but can definitely still throw the ball and was remarkably composed throughout Friday’s game. If Collaros can keep it up, the Bombers could be more dangerous in the playoffs than they would have been with Chris Streveler.
The Stamps will be keeping a close eye on him.
On Friday, though, Bo Levi Mitchell kept up a month-long hot streak that’s reminding people why he has won two of the last three CFL Most Outstanding Player awards.
On the Stamps’ very first drive, Mitchell casually picked the Bombers apart. He mixed up his receivers and got running back Ante Milanovic-litre involved, too, before eventually connecting with Hergy Mayala for a 22-yard touchdown.
The pace slowed a bit after the first drive, and there was no more scoring until early in the second quarter, when Bombers Medlock put one through the uprights to cut the margin to 7-3 for the Stampeders.
With 3:40 left on the clock in the second quarter, the Bombers began a long drive that saw Collaros confidently finding his receivers, setting up Nic Demski for a three-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left until the half.
Suddenly, the Bombers were up 10-8 and it felt like they had the momentum.
That feeling didn’t last long. When Mitchell got the ball back, he ended the half just the way he started it: Marching his troops down the field and into the end zone, connecting with Eric Rogers to put the Stamps up 14-10 at halftime.
When the teams re-emerged from their locker-rooms for the third quarter, the pace only picked up.
The Stamps made a series of curious decisions after the Bombers’ first drive of the half, including Lorenzo Jerome opting to field Medlock’s punt on the one-yard line and then the choice to have Rob Maver punt instead of taking a knee.
The Bombers took advantage of the Stamps’ mistakes as Collaros delivered a perfectly-placed pass to Kenny Lawler in the end zone.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, though, the Stamps responded quickly, and two drives later Mitchell again connected with Rogers to put Calgary back in front 20-17.
The only problem was that kicker Rene Paredes missed the convert — he had also missed a field goal earlier — and Janarion Grant did what he always seems to do against the Stampeders: He ran it back 125 yards and into the end zone.
This time, though, it only counted for two points.
To their credit, the Stampeders didn’t get rattled.
The next time they got the ball in their hands, it was more of the same until Mitchell found Mayala in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown that extended the Stamps lead to 28-19 at the end of the third quarter.
The game was far from done, though.
The Bombers would hit back with a touchdown of their own when Collaros found Darvin Adams, and that made for a tense final stretch.
At that point, though, the defences seemed to lock in as both offences searched for the little bit of magic that would separate them from the group on the other side of the field.
In the end, that magic came from the foot of Medlock, who kicked a 34-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to give the Bombers the win.
Now, the Stamps need to beat the B.C. Lions next week and hope that the Eskimos can take one of two from the Riders.
Otherwise, the Stamps aren’t finishing first in the West and aren’t getting a first-round bye.
They know how much harder that will make their quest for a Grey Cup.