Big Blue ride wind to win – Winnipeg Free Press

MONTREAL — For at least one night, anyways, we can say the football gods bleed Blue and Gold.

How else do you explain the final moments of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ 28-27 win over the Montreal Alouettes in front of a sold-out crowd at Molson Stadium Saturday if not for some kind of divine intervention?

To recap, the Bombers looked well on their way to losing a must-win game — including their grip on first place in the West Division — only for the unthinkable to occur.

Trailing 27-25 with fewer than 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Alouettes were readying to punt the ball back to Winnipeg when Mother Nature decided to make her grand entrance at the most opportune time for the Bombers.

A steady wind that was blowing all game suddenly ramped up a few notches, creating what would best be described as a tornado of leaves that would blanket the turf.

Heavy rain and some hail soon followed, creating impossible conditions for punter Joseph Zema to execute a game-defining kick.

Predictably, the punt went disastrously, with the weather conditions causing the ball to connect oddly off Zema’s foot, travelling 21 yards before rolling out of bounds at Montreal’s 44-yard line.

It wasn’t done there, either, with the howling wind only picking up as Sergio Castillo took the field to attempt a game-clinching 51-yard field goal.

With the fierce wind at Castillo’s back and zeroes on the clock, the Bombers kicker pulled through in the biggest way possible, drilling the ball right through the middle of the uprights for a one-point win.

Castillo raised his arms to the sky — he would say in the locker room afterward that he had prayed for a game-winning kick earlier in the week — and was soon swarmed by his teammates in celebration.

The victory wrapped up the regular season, with the Bombers finishing first place in the West Division with a record of 11-7.

It’s the fourth straight year Winnipeg has claimed the West, which comes with an important break this week before hosting the Western final on Saturday, Nov. 9, against the winner of the divisional semifinal between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a closer look at Saturday’s win in the latest edition of Bombers Breakdown.

1) I’ve seen a lot of crazy endings in my years covering the CFL, but this one takes the cake. I was getting ready to write about how the Bombers had blown their shot to wrap up the West when I noticed a swirling cyclone of leaves sweeping in from behind the press box.

As quarterback Zach Collaros said after the game, it felt like a scene from the Wizard of Oz. I don’t think it’s unfair, and perhaps even a little bit irresponsible, not to recognize the Bombers were gifted the game and, ultimately, the division thanks to the weather. That should really go over well with CFL fans who believe the Bombers get all the breaks.

2) While Castillo certainly finished the hero, it looked early on like some of the issues that were plaguing him against the Toronto Argonauts in Week 19 — when he missed a pair of field goals in a narrow 14-11 loss — might still be lingering.

Castillo missed his first field-goal attempt, kicking wide-right from 49 yards out on Winnipeg’s first offensive drive. He rebounded nicely from there, connecting on kicks from 25, 47, 53 and 15 yards, respectively, before falling yards short on a 61-yarder on the series before the game-winner.

Head coach Mike O’Shea claimed the wind gave as much as a 10-yard advantage to Castillo, but it was hard to justify that after Castillo said they struggled to predict the wind all game.

3) I won’t name names, but there are a few guys in the locker room that just don’t fully understand O’Shea’s preference in winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half with the desire and plan to take the wind in the fourth quarter if the weathercast calls for it.

Saturday offered tangible proof of the benefits of such a thought process, with O’Shea guessing right and the move paying off. However, it can also be argued that maybe the game isn’t so close if Winnipeg doesn’t gift the Alouettes two extra possessions.

4) Winnipeg had two main objectives in this game: to win, first and foremost, and also to put forth a complete effort in what was the final tune-up ahead of the playoffs.

While they narrowly achieved the first, I’m not sure the Bombers can look at that game and be all that happy with how they played. After all, Winnipeg needed that game and the Alouettes didn’t, and yet Montreal, despite resting a few starters, landed several shots and should have won.

The Alouettes had a similar goal in trying to improve their play leading into the playoffs after winning just twice in their previous six games. They showed enough to suggest they’ll be ready to defend their Grey Cup title.

5) The offence was able to move the chains for much of the game, but a lack of finish defined Winnipeg’s attack, particularly in the first half.

Collaros, who eclipsed 300-yards passing for just the fourth time this season, said after the game that they can’t expect to win settling for field goals, and while it didn’t end up biting them this time, you can’t take that chance in the playoffs.

6) I expected a heavy dose of running back Brady Oliveira. Montreal had been allowing nearly 120 rushing yards against per game — third-most in the CFL — and Oliveira is the league’s leading rusher for a second straight year.

But Oliveira was hardly a factor, rushing just 11 times for 32 yards, including only four times in the second half. I wondered if that was by design from offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce, who might be saving Oliveira for the playoffs or perhaps is finally interested in pushing the ball deep.

You get the impression from Collaros’s post-game interviews that he’d like to test downfield a lot more. The Bombers haven’t been able to stretch the ball much in the last two playoffs and it’s hurt them. Maybe this is consciously addressing that.

7) The knock on the defence was allowing a handful of chunk plays to Montreal’s skilled group of receivers, surrendering five plays of more than 25 yards through the air.

You’d also prefer not to give up a TD on the first drive of the second half, nor allow No. 2 QB Davis Alexander to come into the game cold for starter Cody Fajardo just before the fourth quarter and drive the field for another score.

They would make up for it down the stretch, forcing the Alouettes into three two-and-outs in their last four drives, opening up the door for a comeback.

8) Kenny Lawler had his third 100-yard game, and second in a row, pacing all receivers with 105 yards on four receptions, including a 72-yard gain that set up a Nic Demski TD that sparked the comeback.

Lawler also dropped a ball in the end zone on the second series and took another offside penalty that you just know drives the coaching staff insane. The Bombers need Lawler at his best, so it’s a good sign he’s trending in the right direction.

9) Demski and Ontaria Wilson had 90 and 83 receiving yards, respectively, leading both to eclipse 1,000 yards on the season.

Demski has now reached the milestone in back-to-back seasons after hitting the mark for the first time in his career last year. As for Wilson, he’s the third Bombers rookie in more than a decade to reach 1,000 yards, joining Dalton Schoen (2022) and Chris Matthews (2012).

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Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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