On Friday night at TD Place, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-0) escaped with a 19-12 win over the Ottawa Redblacks (0-2) in a week one rematch.
In the first quarter, the Redblacks’ offense marched down to the Blue Bombers’ 19-yard line before Lewis Ward made a 27-yard field goal, putting Ottawa up 3-0. After the Blue Bombers went two-and-out, the Redblacks got the ball back. They were able to get to the Winnipeg’s 30-yard line. However, Lewis Ward missed a 37-yard field goal wide right, and Janarion Grant returned it out of the endzone but was tackled down.
The Blue Bombers’ offense made progress and kept the ball for the rest of the first and early second quarters. Then, the Blue Bombers’ drive stalled, and Marc Liegghio punted the ball that went out of bounds in the endzone for a single point. The score was 3-1 Redblacks.
Ottawa’s offense went down the field on their next drive but stalled. Lewis Ward made his second field goal for 37 yards, extending Ottawa’s lead 6-1 with 11:37 left in the second quarter.
Late in the second quarter, Redblacks kicker Lewis Ward made a 32-yard field goal for a 9-1 lead with 1:54 left in the second quarter. Finally, Winnipeg’s offense got going. They drove down to Ottawa’s 13-yard line before Zach Collaros threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Greg Ellingson. The Blue Bombers went for a two-point conversion but failed, and it was 9-7 Redblacks at halftime.
The Ottawa Redblacks’ offense dominated the first half with 265 yards but only had nine points to show for it. Usually, when a team puts numbers up like that in the first half, they would usually have two or three touchdowns, and the game might have been over. But, instead, they let Winnipeg hang around, and that’s not something you want to do against the two-time champions.
In the third quarter, the Blue Bombers reached the Redblacks’ 23-yard line before Marc Liegghio made a 30-yard field goal, putting Winnipeg up 10-9 with 11:37 left. After the Blue Bombers’ defense shut down Ottawa’s offense, Winnipeg marched down to the Redblacks’ 14-yard line, and Marc Liegghio made a 22-yard field, extending Winnipeg’s lead 13-9 with 7:05 left.
Ottawa’s offense struggled early in the third quarter, but on this drive, they were able to get to Winnipeg’s 30-yard line, and Lewis Ward made his fourth field goal of the day for 38-yards to make it a one-point game 13-12, with three minutes left in the third quarter. However, the Redblacks’ defense shut down Winnipeg’s offense, and Ottawa got the ball back to start the fourth quarter.
The Redblacks reached Winnipeg’s 17-yard line and went for it on third down. However, quarterback Jeremiah Masoli had the ball knocked out by Jackson Jeffcoat, and the Blue Bombers recovered the ball.
The Blue Bombers took advantage of the turnover. Winnipeg marched down to the Redblacks’ 27-yard line before Zach Collaros threw a nice 27-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen. However, Marc Liegghio missed the extra point, making it 19-12 with 5:14 left in the game.
On Ottawa’s last drive of the game, they moved the ball to Winnipeg’s 17-yard line but failed to convert a third-and-ten, and the Blue Bombers’ offense took over and killed the rest of the clock for a 19-12 win.
Neither team looked good out there. They were missing too many passes that killed drives. Ottawa had the advantage early in the game, and it went away in the second half. You can’t keep relying on the kicker to save the day. You’ve got to get touchdowns, and the Blue Bombers were able to get two touchdowns that ended up being the difference maker.
Blue Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros went 15/22 for 228 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, while Brady Oliveira led the rushers with 14 carries for 48 yards. Greg Ellingson and Dalton Schoen combined for six catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Blue Bombers’ defense allowed 425 yards, 52 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, and four pass breakups.
Redblacks’ quarterback Jeremiah Masoli went 27/38 for 331 yards and three carries for three yards. DeVonte Williams led the rushers with 12 carries for 85 yards, while Nathaniel Behar led the receivers with seven catches for 91 yards. The Redblacks’ defense allowed 343 yards, 43 tackles, two sacks, one pass breakup, and one interception.
Next week, The Blue Bombers host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a Grey Cup rematch on Friday at 8:30 pm on ESPN2, while the Redblacks are off next week.
