The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8) hosted the Calgary Stampeders (8-9) on Saturday night at Princess Auto Stadium in their second and final meeting of the season. This was also Winnipeg’s final home game of the season.
In the first quarter, Calgary had the ball on the 51-yard line. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw three passes for 33 yards as the offense moved the ball to the 12-yard line. On the next play, Adams Jr. threw a touchdown pass to Jalen Philpot, but it was called back due to a holding penalty, losing 10 yards. Adams Jr. would get those 10 yards back when he threw the ball to Tevin Jones. On third down, kicker Rene Paredes made a 20-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 4:18 left.
Winnipeg had the ball on the 40-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw a 52-yard pass to Dorian Singer to the 18-yard line. Then, Collaros faked a handoff to Brady Oliveira before throwing a touchdown pass to Ontaria Wilson for a 7-3 lead with 3:06 left on a two-play drive for 70 yards.
Calgary had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. Running back Deonta McMahon rushed for three yards, Tyreik McAllister rushed for two yards, and Vernon Adams Jr. threw three passes for 39 yards to the 33-yard line to end the first quarter. Calgary’s offense had 116 yards, 8 first downs, and 5 for 7 on second downs, while Winnipeg’s offense had 75 yards, 2 first downs, and 0 for 1 on second down.
In the second quarter, Vernon Adams Jr. was sacked by Michael Fletcher for eight yards. On third down, Rene Paredes attempted a 47-yard field goal. The ball hit the right upright and was no good. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros began the drive throwing two passes for 53 yards, including a 41-yard pass to Tim White to the 37-yard line. The drive stalled, and kicker Sergio Castillo made a 45-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 10:24 left.
Calgary had the ball on the 40-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. rushed for 17 yards, and Deonta McMahon rushed for five yards to the 48-yard line. Kicker Rene Paredes made a 55-yard field goal. The Stampeders trailed the Blue Bombers 10-6 with 7:36 left. Later, Winnipeg moved the ball to the 40-yard line when Zach Collaros overthrew Nick Demski, and intercepted by Calgary defensive back Ashton Miller-Melancon for 17 yards to the 35-yard line.
Late in the second quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made his third field goal for 43 yards. The Stampeders trailed the Blue Bombers 10-9 with 2:01 left. Winnipeg had the ball on the 40-yard line. Zach Collaros threw a 45-yard pass to Dorain Singer to the 25-yard line. Two plays later, he scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a touchdown pass to Nic Demski for a 17-9 lead at halftime on a three-play drive for 70 yards.
Winnipeg’s offense had 228 yards, 9 first downs, and 2 for 4 on second downs. Quarterback Zach Collaros went 9 of 14 for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira had two carries for 13 yards, and one catch for 12 yards. Wide receiver Dorian Singer made two catches for 97 yards, while Nic Demski made one catch for 25 yards and one touchdown, and Ontaria Wilson made two catches for 23 yards and one touchdown.
Calgary’s offense had 196 yards, 13 first downs, and 9 for 15 on second downs. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. went 15 of 22 for 148 yards, and one carry for 17 yards. Running back Deonta McMahon had eight carries for 33 yards. Wide receiver Clark Barnes made four catches for 44 yards, while Tevin Jones made four catches for 36 yards, and Damien Alford made three catches for 31 yards.
Winnipeg returner Trey Vaval began the third quarter with an 88-yard kick return for a touchdown. The Blue Bombers extended their lead to 24-9 with 14:37 left. Later, Calgary had the ball on the 38-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. began the drive by throwing a 25-yard pass to Jalen Philpot to the 47-yard line. Two plays later, Deonta McMahon rushed for 45 yards to the 18-yard line. The Stampeders moved the ball to the six-yard line, where Deonta McMahon scored the touchdown. The Stampeders trailed the Blue Bombers 24-16 with 7:32 left on a seven-play drive for 72 yards.
Winnipeg had the ball on the 32-yard line. Three plays later, Zach Collaros threw a short pass to Brady Oliveira. He ran for nine yards before Calgary defensive back Damon Webb stripped the ball out and recovered it on the 53-yard line. The Stampeders moved the ball to the eight-yard line, where Vernon Adams Jr. threw a touchdown pass to Deonta McMahon. They tried a two-point conversion, but came up short. The Stampeders trailed the Blue Bombers 24-22 heading into the fourth quarter on an eight-play drive for 57 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo made a 48-yard field goal for a 27-22 lead with 13:04 left. After Calgary went two-and-out, Winnipeg had the ball on the 48-yard line. Brady Oliveira rushed for four yards, followed by Zach Collaros throwing three passes for 33 yards to the 25-yard line. On the next play, Collaros was sacked by Miles Brown. Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 44-yard field goal for a 30-22 lead with 7:13 left.
Late in the game, Sergio Castillo made his fourth field goal of the night for 33 yards for a 33-22 lead with 1:42 left. Calgary had the ball on the 36-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. threw six passes for 66 yards and rushed for seven yards to the one-yard line. Then, Quincy Vaughn scored the touchdown.
They tried a two-point conversion, but Winnipeg’s defense stopped Deonta McMahon. The Stampeders trailed the Blue Bombers 33-28 with 19 seconds left on an 11-play drive for 74 yards. Calgary tried an onside kick, but Tommy Nield caught it to end the game. The Blue Bombers beat the Stampeders 33-28 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Winnipeg’s offense had 392 yards (349 passing yards, 61 rushing yards, 18 yards lost), 17 first downs, 8 for 14 on second downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times for 28 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 19 of 27 passes (70.3%) for 349 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for 14 yards. Running back Brady Oliveira had eight carries for 40 yards, and three catches for 29 yards.
Wide receiver Dorian Singer made five catches for 166 yards, while Tim White made four catches for 78 yards, and Ontaria Wilson made three catches for 23 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 51 tackles and one sack.
Calgary’s offense had 400 yards (283 passing yards, 125 rushing yards, 8 yards lost), 26 first downs, 18 for 28 on second downs, 3 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times for 25 yards. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 29 of 43 passes (67.4%) for 283 yards, one touchdown, and five carries for 38 yards. Running back Deonta McMahon had 13 carries for 77 yards, one rushing touchdown, two catches for 27 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Tevin Jones made six catches for 72 yards, and Jalen Philpot made seven catches for 67 yards. The defense made 28 tackles, two sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers visit the Edmonton Elks at 9:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Calgary Stampeders host the B.C. Lions on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
