Winnipeg Grey Cup bound after beating Roughriders
REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers advanced to the Grey Cup with a 20-13 win over the host Saskatchewan Roughriders in Sunday’s Canadian Football League West Division final game.
The Bombers meet the East Division’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in next Sunday’s championship game in Calgary.
The Ticats downed the Edmonton Eskimos, 36-16, in Sunday’s East final.
Kenny Lawler caught a touch- down pass for Winnipeg and Justin Medlock kicked field goals from 44, 43, 32 and 13 yards for the win.
Saskatchewan’s Brett Lauther kicked field goals from 12, 13, 33 and 42 yards in front of an announced sellout of 33,350 at Mosaic Stadium. Saskatchewan topped the West division with a 13-5 record, ahead of the Calgary Stampeders (12-6) and the Bombers (11-7).
The Roughriders had a bye week while the Bombers defeated the Stampeders 35-14 in the division semifinal last week.
Winnipeg last played in a Grey Cup in 2011 when the Bombers fell 34-23 to the host B.C. Lions. The Blue Bombers haven’t won the CFL’s championship trophy since 1990.
Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros completed 17 of 25 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown pass.
The West final was his third straight start as a Bomber since he was acquired in a trade Oct. 9 from the Toronto Argonauts.
Saskatchewan starting quarterback Cody Fajardo played
Sunday with an injured oblique muscle. He couldn’t run the football as aggressively as he did in a 611-yard regular season. Fajardo was 27-for-41 in passing for 366 yards.
The one-two punch of Collaros and rushing quarterback Chris Streveler that was so effective in a semifinal win over Calgary was deployed less Sunday perhaps due to Streveler’s injured foot.
Streveler, who rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown against Calgary, threw one incomplete pass in his only appearance in the first half.
Saskatchewan’s defence was ready for Streveler to run in the second half, holding him to five yards on three carries.
Down 20-13 Saskatchewan squandered two chances. From eight yards, Fajardo put a throw to the end zone off the crossbar, then Winnipeg denied Fajardo on a one-yard plunge.