The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-9) visited B.C. Place Stadium on Friday night against the B.C. Lions (10-8) in their second and final meeting of the regular season. This was also the regular season finale. The Lions rested a majority of their starters, including Nathan Rourke, as Kaidon Salter got the start, while the Blue Bombers had their starters play.
B.C. got the ball to start the game on the 31-yard line. Quarterback Kaidon Salter threw two passes for 43 yards to the 36-yard line. Then, Salter spotted a busted coverage when Major Williams tripped before he threw a touchdown pass to Nate DeMontagnac for a 7-0 lead with 12:43 left on a three-play drive for 79 yards.
Late in the first quarter, B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the 22-yard line. On the next play, Kaidon Salter’s pass intended for Jermaine Jackson was intercepted in the endzone by Major Williams with 1:02 left. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw two passes for 14 yards to the 44-yard line to end the first quarter. B.C.’s offense had 82 yards, three first downs, and 1 for 5 on second downs, while Winnipeg’s offense had 37 yards, three first downs, and 2 for 4 on second downs.
In the second quarter, Winnipeg’s drive stalled. B.C.’s offense had the ball on the 16-yard line. On the third play, running back Emani Bailey rushed for 26 yards to the 52-yard line. He would get another carry for two yards to the 50-yard line before the drive stalled.
For the majority of the second quarter, both teams went two-and-outs. With 5:50 left, Winnipeg faced third down. Punter Jamieson Sheahan punted the ball 46 yards to Seven McGee. McGee fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Nick Hallett at the 35-yard line. Two plays later, Zach Collaros’s pass intended for Nick Demski was intercepted in the endzone by Stantley Thomas-Oliver III with 4:58 left.
Late in the second quarter, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo made a 40-yard field goal. The Blue Bombers trailed the Lions 7-3 with 1:57 left. The Lions had the ball on the 40-yard line. Kaidon Salter threw three passes for 26 yards to the 39-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 48-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 16 seconds left. Just before halftime, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo had a chance to get the three points back, but he came up short on a 54-yard field goal to end the first half.
B.C.’s offense had 158 yards, 7 first downs, and 4 for 12 on second downs. Quarterback Kaidon Salter went 8 of 14 for 118 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two carries for 11 yards. Running back Emani Bailey had seven carries for 39 yards. Wide receiver Nate DeMontagnac made two catches for 49 yards and one touchdown, while Jaden Williams made two catches for 43 yards.
Winnipeg’s offense had 111 yards, 7 first downs, and 4 for 10 on second downs. Quarterback Zach Collaros went 7 of 16 for 83 yards and one interception. Running back Brady Oliveira had five carries for 32 yards. Wide receiver Tim White made two catches for 33 yards, and Dorian Singer made one catch for 24 yards.
In the third quarter, both teams struggled to move the ball. With 3:42 left, Zach Collaros got the win knocked out of him by Nathan Cherry, and Dru Brown replaced him after Collaros was ruled out for the rest of the game. Cherry was given a roughing the passer penalty. Dru Brown gave the team a spark when he threw a 36-yard pass to Dorian Singer to the 29-yard line. Two plays later, he threw a nine-yard pass to Brady Oliveira to the 30-yard line. Then, he threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Dorian Singer, tying the game 10-10 with 1:26 left on a five-play drive for 80 yards.
Kaidon Salter’s night was done, and he was replaced by Chris Oladokun. Oladokun threw a short pass to Emani Bailey for 52 yards, but it was called back by a penalty, and he rushed for seven yards to the 21-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg had the ball on the 47-yard line. Running back Brady Oliveira made a nice jump cut on his way to scoring a 63-yard touchdown to give the Blue Bombers a 17-10 lead with 13:50 left. With the 63-yard touchdown, Oliveira passed Jon Cornish for third on the all-time career rushing yards by a Canadian in CFL history.
Later, Winnipeg’s defense pressured Oladokun. He threw the ball intended for Nate DeMontagnac, and it was intercepted by Major Williams at the 24-yard line. Dru Brown threw five passes for 65 yards to the 21-yard line. Four plays later, Brown threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski for a 24-10 lead with six minutes left on a nine-play drive for 86 yards.
Late in the game, Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo made a 15-yard field goal for a 27-10 lead with 2:15 left. The Lions had the ball on the 35-yard line. On third down, Chris Oladokun scrambled with the football before getting tackled by Jake Ceresna, and Winnipeg took over at the 11-yard line. Three plays later, Brady Oliveira scored a four-yard touchdown for a 34-10 lead with 1:22 left.
The Lions had the ball on the 37-yard line. They moved the ball to the 13-yard line. On the final play of the game, Chris Oladokun threw a 12-yard pass to Emani Bailey to the one-yard line. The Blue Bombers defeated the Lions 34-10 to punch their ticket to the playoffs and eliminated the Calgary Stampeders. The Blue Bombers also split the season series with the Lions.
Winnipeg’s offense had 442 yards (290 passing yards, 161 rushing yards, 9 yards lost), 21 first downs, 11 of 20 on second downs, 2 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 35 yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 9 of 20 passes (45%) for 105 yards and one interception, while Dru Brown completed 11 of 11 passes (100%) for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Brady Oliveira had 15 carries for 149 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and two catches for 23 yards.
Wide receiver Dorian Singer made four catches for 119 yards and one touchdown, while Tim White made seven catches for 99 yards, and Nic Demski made three catches for 23 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 41 tackles, two tackles for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two interceptions.
B.C.’s offense had 287 yards (225 passing yards, 109 rushing yards, 47 yards lost), 14 first downs, 9 of 23 on second downs, 0 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 39 yards. Quarterback Kaidon Salter completed 12 of 21 passes (57.1%) for 177 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two carries for 11 yards, while Chris Oladokun completed 7 of 11 passes (63%) for 48 yards, one interception, and three carries for 26 yards. Running back Emani Bailey had 10 carries for 69 yards, and three catches for 21 yards.
Wide receiver Jermaine Jackson made seven catches for 69 yards, while Nate DeMontagnac made three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 39 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception.
The B.C. Lions will host the Western Semi-Final next Saturday at 4:30 pm on TSN and CFL+. They will either play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers or the Saskatchewan Roughriders. If the Roughriders lose on Saturday, the Blue Bombers will head to B.C., and Saskatchewan will head to Toronto. However, if the Roughriders win, Saskatchewan heads to B.C., and Winnipeg goes to Toronto.
