The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-6) visited Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night against the Edmonton Elks (5-9) for their first meeting of the season. Tre Ford returned as the starting quarterback for Edmonton looking to extend their winning streak to three games. On the other side, Winnipeg was looking to extend its winning streak to six games.
First Quarter:
Winnipeg got the ball to start the game on their 32-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed two passes for 23 yards to reach their 55-yard line. After a procedure penalty on Winnipeg that backed them up five yards, running back Brady Oliveira rushed for a gain of 15 yards, and Zach Collaros threw a five-yard pass to Ontaria Wilson to bring third down. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 49-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 11:32 left of the first quarter.
On Edmonton’s first possession of the game, Quarterback Tre Ford and running back Kevin Brown led the offense down to the Blue Bombers’ 37-yard line. On the next play, Tre Ford scrambled and started to run when Winnipeg defensive back Deadrick Nichols tackled the ball out of his arm and recovered it on their 37-yard line.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw two passes for 24 yards, and had one carry for two yards, while running back Brady Oliveira had one carry for two yards before the drive stalled. Kicker Sergio Castillo attempted a 53-yard field goal but the ball hit the right upright with 3:45 left.
Both teams went two-and-out on their next drives. With 36 seconds left, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford threw the ball in the direction of John Rankin but the ball bounced off his helmet and Winnipeg linebacker Tony Jones made a nice diving interception with 14 seconds left.
On the last play, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Kenny Lawler was intercepted by Darrius Bratton on their 17-yard to end the first quarter down 3-0.
Winnipeg had 77 yards on offense (52 yards, passing, 25 yards rushing), four first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized one time for five yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 5 of 9 passes for 52 yards, one interception, and one carry for two yards.
Edmonton had 35 yards on offense (18 yards passing, 17 yards rushing), three first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team did not get any penalties. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 2 of 5 passes for 18 yards, and one interception.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, both offenses struggled to gain any traction. Winnipeg had 26 yards on three drives, and the Elks had 61 yards on two drives with 5:49 left before halftime. On Edmonton’s third drive of the game, the offense marched down to the Blue Bombers’ 34-yard line with 2:06 left.
Then, Edmonton running back Kevin Brown had the ball punched out by Winnipeg defensive end Celestin Haba, and the football was recovered by Winnipeg linebacker Tony Jones on their 34-yard line with 1:53 left before halftime. The offense could not take advantage and went two-and-out before punting the ball back to Edmonton with 58 seconds left.
Edmonton tried to get within field goal range but Winnipeg’s defense did a good job covering their guys. Quarterback Tre Ford was only able to complete one pass for 16 yards to Gavin Cobb. On the last play of the second quarter, Edmonton punter Jake Julien punted the ball 67 yards to Lucky Whitehead in the end zone. Whitehead took it out for a gain of 9 yards and Winnipeg led Edmonton 3-0 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Winnipeg had 121 yards on offense (84 yards passing, 37 yards rushing), six first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized four times for 43 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 9 of 15 passes (60%) for 84 yards, one interception, and one carry for two yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had seven carries for 35 yards and one catch for three yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made three catches for 28 yards, and Nic Demski made two catches for 20 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made one sack, forced four turnovers, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one interception.
Edmonton had 143 yards on offense (60 yards passing, 87 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), 9 first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized two times for 20 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 6 of 12 passes (50%) for 60 yards, one interception, and two carries for nine yards. Running back Justin Rankin had seven carries for 49 yards.
Wide receiver Gavin Cobb made two catches for 22 yards, and Eugene Lewis made one catch for 13 yards. Edmonton’s defense made one interception.
Third Quarter:
Winnipeg got the ball to start the third quarter from their 31-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros started the drive by completing two passes for 19 yards to reach their 50-yard line. Next, running back Brady Oliveira had three carries for 33 yards and Zach Collaros rushed for a gain of 7 yards to reach the Elks’ 20-yard line.
On the next play, Collaros had pressure in his face when he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ontaria Wilson extending their lead 10-0 with 9:53 left capping off a six-play drive for 79 yards in under five minutes.
Edmonton started their next drive from their 27-yard line. Quarterback Tre Ford began the drive by completing two passes for 32 yards to reach the Blue Bombers’ 51-yard line.
Next, running back Justin Rankin had a carry for two yards before Tre Ford threw an eight-yard pass to Tevin Jones to reach the Blue Bombers’ 41-yard line. Running back Justin Rankin rushed for a gain of 10 yards to set them up on the Blue Bombers’ 31-yard line.
Edmonton got creative using the flea-flicker play when Tre Ford handed the ball off to Justin Rankin, who then tossed it back to Ford. Ford had pressure on him and he threw the ball short to Eugene Lewis. Lewis came back to make the catch with two Winnipeg players on him but he scored a 31-yard touchdown. The Elks trailed the Blue Bombers 10-7 with 5:27 left of the third quarter to cap off a six-play drive for 83 yards.
Winnipeg’s offense was back out on the field starting at their 43-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw two passes for 11 yards, wide receiver Lucky Whitehead had one carry for two yards, and running back Brady Oliveira had one carry for seven yards to reach the Elks’ 47-yard line but short of the first down. Kicker Sergio Castillo attempted a 55-yard field goal but for the second time in this game, the ball hit the right upright with 1:59 left to play in the third quarter.
Edmonton running back Justin Rankin started the next drive with a couple of good blocks for a gain of 53 yards to reach the Blue Bombers’ 27-yard line. Rankin would get an additional five yards but quarterback Tre Ford was sacked by Tony Jones for a loss of six yards. On the last play of the third quarter, kicker Boris Bede made a 35-yard field goal and the game was tied 10-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros rushed for a gain of 21 yards to reach the Elks’ 49-yard line. He would then complete an eight-yard pass to Kevens Clercius. On the next play, Edmonton linebacker Derrick Moncrief sacked Collaros for a 7-yard loss to force third down.
Edmonton started their next drive on their 15-yard line. Running back Justin Rankin got a good block from his right side to rush for a gain of 35 yards to reach their 50-yard line.
On the next play, Tre Ford’s pass was intercepted by Michael Ayers for a 17-yard return to reach the Elks’ 36-yard line with 10:46 left of the game. That would be it for Ford as McLeod Bethel-Thompson took over the rest of the game.
Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira started the next drive bursting through a hole that the offensive line created for him for a gain of 30 yards to reach the Elks’ six-yard line. Then, Collaros handed the ball off again to Oliveira, who broke a couple of tackles to score a six-yard touchdown giving Winnipeg a 17-10 lead with 9:33 left of the game.
Edmonton went two-and-out on their next drive before punting the ball back to Winnipeg. Winnipeg started on their 20-yard line. Running back Brady Oliveira had three carries for 11 yards, and quarterback Zach Collaros completed 5 of 6 passes for 49 yards, plus a roughing the passer penalty on Edmonton got them to the Elks’ 15-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 23-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead with 2:19 left of the game.
Edmonton went two-and-out on their next drive. On third down, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw an eight-yard pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. short of the first down and Winnipeg’s offense was back out on the field from their 45-yard line with 1:46 left of the game.
Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira had two carries for seven yards to reach the Elks’ 38-yard line. Next, Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Kenny Lawler was incomplete but a defensive pass interference penalty on Kai Gray gave the Blue Bombers a first down on the Elks’ five-yard line. Then, running back Brady Oliveira scored a five-yard touchdown for a 27-10 lead with 1:02 left of the game capping off a three-play drive for 40 yards.
Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and the Elks started from their 32-yard line. Bethel-Thompson threw four passes for 40 yards to reach the Blue Bombers’ 35-yard line before kicker Boris Bede made a 45-yard field goal and the Elks trailed the Blue Bombers 27-13 with six seconds left.
On the kickoff, Edmonton kicker Boris Bede kicked the ball into the end zone and out of bounds for a single point. It was now 27-14 Winnipeg. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros took a couple of kneel-downs to end the game. Winnipeg defeated the Edmonton 27-14.
Final Stats:
Winnipeg had 348 yards on offense (191 yards passing, 166 yards rushing, 9 yards lost), 20 first downs, 3 for 4 in the red zone, and the team was penalized six times for 58 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 19 of 27 passes (70.3%) for 191 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and three carries for 30 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had 18 carries for 127 yards, two touchdowns, and two catches for 11 yards.
Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made five catches for 55 yards, and one touchdown, and Keric Wheatfall made three catches for 43 yards. Kicker Sergio Castillo made 2 of 4 field goals with a long of 49 yards. Winnipeg’s defense made 38 tackles, two sacks, forcing six turnovers, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and nine tackles on special teams.
Edmonton had 364 yards on offense (179 yards passing, 195 yards rushing, 10 yards lost), 18 first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team was penalized six times for 93 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 10 of 17 passes (59%) for 131 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two carries for nine yards, while McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 5 of 10 passes (50%) for 48 yards. Running back Justin Rankin had 14 carries for 157 yards.
Wide receiver Dillon Mitchell made three catches for 44 yards, and Eugene Lewis made two catches for 44 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Boris Bede made 2 of 2 field goals with a long of 45 yards. Edmonton’s defense made 41 tackles, one sack, one interception, and six tackles on special teams.
These two teams will meet again next Friday at 8 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
