On Saturday night at BC Place, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers took on the BC Lions in a David versus Goliath match between two unbeaten teams. The Lions were looking to make a statement, but the Blue Bombers had the last laugh.
On the kickoff, Winnipeg’s kick returner Janarion Grant sliced his way through the Lions’ special teams and ran for a 97-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. On the Lions’ first possession of the game, they made it to the Blue Bombers’ 30-yard line before Nathan Rourke’s pass intended for Keon Hatchers was intercepted by Jackson Jeffcoat.
The Blue Bombers’ defense allowed 338 yards, with 34 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, three pass breakups, three interceptions, and one fumble recovery.
Winnipeg’s offense took their time to reach the Lions’ 12-yard line. From the shotgun, quarterback Zach Collaros had to quickly get rid of the football with a Lions player on him. He threw it towards the far-left side of the field, where Dalton Schoen fought off a Lions defender to make the catch for the touchdown. It was now 14-0 Blue Bombers with 5:48 left in the first quarter.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros went 23/30 for 288 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and one carry for eight yards. Meanwhile, Dalton Schoen led the receivers with eight catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blue Bombers’ defense forced a three-and-out, and the Lions punted the ball back to Winnipeg. Johnny Augustine and Greg McCrae led the way down to the Lions’ one-yard line. Then, backup quarterback Dru Brown scored a touchdown on a quarterback sneak for a 21-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
Winnipeg added three more points to the board in the second quarter on a Marc Liegghio 45-yard field goal for a 24-0 lead with 4:04 left. Then, the Lions struck back when quarterback Nathan Rourke dropped back to pass and threw a bomb to Josh Pearson with a nice over-the-shoulder catch for a 66-yard touchdown, cutting the Blue Bombers’ lead 24-7 with 2:38 left.
That was Pearson’s only catch in the game; he finished second out of all the Lions’ receivers. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke was 16/25 for 278 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. On the kickoff, Blue Bombers’ kick returner Janarion Grant appeared to have scored another touchdown with a 90-yard return, but a penalty wiped out the touchdown.
After the Lions’ defense forced a three-and-out, the Lions’ offense was back on the field. On first-and-ten from the Winnipeg 25-yard line, Nathan Rourke did a pump fake before throwing a 36-yard touchdown to Dominique Rhymes. They trailed 24-14 with 56-seconds left. Just before halftime, Blue Bombers’ kicker Marc Liegghio made a 23-yard field goal for a 27-14 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Marc Liegghio made his third field goal for 46 yards, extending Winnipeg’s lead 30-14 with 9:35 left. The Lions went three-and-out on their next drive, giving the ball back to the Blue Bombers.
Blue Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros threw a couple of long passes to reach the Lions’ four-yard line. Collaros scrambled out of the pocket to avoid a sack and found Dalton Schoen for the second time for the touchdown, making it 37-14 with 3:49 left in the third quarter.
The Lions went three-and-out, and the Blue Bombers had the ball to begin the fourth quarter, facing a 3rd and 21. Winnipeg punted the ball back to the Lions to start the fourth quarter. On the first play, Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke had to get rid of the ball quickly with the pocket collapsing. He threw the ball up in the air, where Dominique Rhymes made an excellent jumping catch for a 31-yard touchdown. British Columbia went for a two-point conversion and got it now trailing 37-22 with 14:14 left in the game. Dominique Rhymes led the Lions’ receivers with six catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
On the Lions’ next possession, Nathan Rourke’s pass was intercepted by Donald Rutledge, and he took it to the Lions’ 15-yard line. The Blue Bombers put the game away when Zach Collaros faked a handoff and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Greg Ellingson. Marc Liegghio missed the extra point, which made it 43-22 with 11:20 left. The Lions’ defense allowed 429 yards, with 59 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble.
After the last score, Nathan Rourke played one more series than backup quarterback Michael O’Connor took over for the rest of the game. The Blue Bombers won the game 43-22.
For the second week in a row, the Blue Bombers gave up 22 points. As a result, the Blue Bombers are now tied with the Stampeders for first place. Meanwhile, the Lions are tied for second place with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
This was the Lions’ first real test of the season, and it didn’t go well. They have a lot of work to do if they are going to remain competitive with the best teams right now in the CFL. The Lions are off next week and will play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Week 7 on Thursday night at 10 pm on ESPN+.
For the Blue Bombers, they won the boxing match and showed the Lions why they are still a threat to win another championship. The Blue Bombers visit the Edmonton Elks next Friday at 9 pm on ESPN2.
