On Friday night at IG Field, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers wrapped up the regular season against the BC Lions for the third and final time. This time, the Blue Bombers faced a returning Nathan Rourke. The series was split heading into the matchup, but the Blue Bombers showed by they are the best in the west.
Winnipeg’s defense came up with a big play to start the game as Casey Sayles stripped the ball out of Nathan Rourke’s hands, and recovered it.
The Blue Bombers began their first series with a couple of running plays by Rasheed Bailey for six yards, and backup quarterback Dakota Prukop for 21 yards. Two plays later, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros faked a handoff, freezing the Lions’ secondary before throwing a 22-yard pass to Dalton Schoen for a 7-0 lead with 8:45 left.
Then, on the Blue Bombers’ seventh play of their next drive, quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 26-yard pass to Greg Ellingson. Three plays later, Collaros scrambled out of the pocket to find Rasheed Bailey for an 11-yard touchdown, extending their lead to 14-0 with 1:05 left.
BC quarterback Nathan Rourke played one more series for the Lions. He got the Lions down to their 49-yard line to end the first quarter. Next, Rourke led the offense down to the Blue Bombers’ 30-yard line before Sean Whyte made a 37-yard field goal, cutting Winnipeg’s lead 14-3 with 12:06 left. Vernon Adams Jr. took over quarterback duties in the Lions’ next series as Rourke finished 7/11 for 68 yards.
Meanwhile, Dakota Prukop took over for Zach Collaros in the second quarter. For the rest of the second quarter, the kickers did the scoring. Winnipeg kicker Marc Liegghio made a 13-yard field goal for a 17-3 lead with 2:04 left, but BC kicker Sean Whyte got those three points back with a 19-yard field goal as the Lions trailed the Blue Bombers 17-6 at halftime.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros went 4/5 for 68 yards, and two touchdowns, while running back Brady Oliveira had nine carries for 72 yards as part of the Blue Bombers’ 234 yards on offense. Meanwhile, Vernon Adams Jr. was 8/14 for 93 yards as part of the Lions’ 173 yards on offense.
In the second half, both teams made more roster changes to give their backups a chance to play. In the third quarter, Winnipeg added to their lead on a one-yard touchdown by Mike Miller, making it 24-3 with 5:27 left. Afterward, BC kicker Sean Whyte made a 44-yard field goal to cut the Blue Bombers lead 24-9 with 2:32 left.
After Winnipeg went two-and-out, the Lions had the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Despite both teams’ efforts, there were no points scored in the fourth quarter, and the Blue Bombers won the game 24-9 for their 15th win of the year. In addition, the Blue Bombers win the season series 2-1 over the Lions.
Winnipeg quarterback Dakota Prukop went 4/10 for 110 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had nine carries for 72 yards, while wide receiver Dalton Schoen had two catches for 84 yards, and one touchdown. Winnipeg’s defense allowed 297 yards, with 47 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, six pass breakups, and one fumble recovery.
BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was 11/21 for 130 yards. Running back Bruce Anderson III had ten carries for 30 yards, while wide receiver Keon Hatcher had five catches for 59 yards. BC’s defense allowed 342 yards, with 41 tackles, one sack, and six pass breakups. The Lions will play the Calgary Stampeders in the Western Semi-Final next Sunday at 4:30 pm on ESPN2.
