VANCOUVER — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened their offense by improving to 5-0 on the season with a 43-22 win over the BC Lions.
The two-time defending Gray Cup champions recorded 429 yards against a BC defense that averaged just 244 yards allowed per game, a day after Lions defensive back Marcus Sales called his former CFL club’s offense “vanilla” and said BC feels they can beat Winnipeg “pretty bad” on Saturday.
After the game, defenseman Willie Jefferson said he would call Winnipeg’s offensive performance “chocolate melba.” We had some sprinkles in there, some whipped cream, cherry on top. It just wasn’t vanilla, I can tell you that.”
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros passed for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while Janarion Grant returned the game’s opening kickoff to give his team an early 7-0 lead.
“You can’t go out there and do shit,” Collaros said. “Every game is the biggest game and that’s how we treated it all week.”
“I think their quarterback was the Houdini guy tonight,” Lions coach Rick Campbell said. “He made some key plays where we did our job defensively. But then he got moving and made some key first downs and a touchdown.”
Dru Brown added a quarterback sneak for a major as well as taking over the center role for the Bombers late in the fourth quarter. Mark Liegio chipped in with three field goals.
In their first loss of the season, the Lions (3-1) got two touchdown receptions from Dominique Rimes and one from Josh Pearson. First-year starting quarterback Nathan Rourke went 16-for-25 through the air, passing for 278 yards with two interceptions. Michael O’Connor took over under center for the Lions late in the fourth quarter. He went 4-for-7 for 27 yards and threw one interception in his first action of the young season.
“I think we were a lot closer than the score,” Rourke said. “I’m glad it happened at the start of the season. We can make the adjustments sooner.
The Blue Bombers’ dominance began with the first play of the game, Grant’s 97-yard punt return for a touchdown.
The Lions’ opening drive was stalled when Jackson Jeffcoat picked off a pass intended for Keon Hatcher. That set up a nine-play drive that was capped by Zach Collaros’ 12-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen deep in the end zone.
The Bombers extended their lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter after Brown capped a 77-yard drive with a one-yard quarterback run.
“They made more plays than we did today and that’s all that matters,” said Lions defensive back TJ Lee, who finished with five tackles. “I like how my guys responded, they didn’t beat each other up in times of adversity. We embrace each other in times of adversity, letting each other know that we will ride for each other.”
The Lions faced a penalty to start the second quarter. Accurate passes from Nathan Rourke to James Butler and Dominque Rhymes moved the ball up the middle of the field before a Willie Jefferson sack sent Stefan Flintoft on the field for the game’s first touchdown.
After a 45-yard field goal by Liegio late in the second, the Lions responded by firing up the home crowd. Rourke capped a two-play touchdown drive with a 66-yard bomb for Josh Pearson’s first career CFL touchdown reception. Winnipeg’s next drive was stopped by back-to-back offensive penalties before Rourke hit Rhimes in the end zone 36 yards.
The Blue Bombers added a late field goal and took a 27-14 lead into the halftime locker room.
Winnipeg extended its lead in the third. Liegio split the uprights again from 46 yards, then Collaros hit Schoen in the end zone for a second time, upping the lead to 37-14.
Early in the fourth quarter, Rourke connected with Rhimes for his second touchdown of the game, and Jevon Cotoi caught a pass in the end zone for two points. Winnipeg registered its third touchdown when Collaros connected with Greg Ellingson from 15 yards out.
NOTES: BC linebacker Beau Locombo left the game late in the first quarter with an elbow injury and did not return … Winnipeg will host the CFL’s only other undefeated team, the 4-0 Calgary Stampeders, next Friday at IG Field. .. Lions have bye week.. Saturday’s Family Day festivities included a halftime mascot football game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 9, 2022
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