Blue Bombers tear apart Roughrider in one-sided banjo bowl – TSN.ca

WINNIPEG — It was more than the one-sided result that made Zach Collaros proud of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offense on Saturday. That’s how they did it.

The Bombers quarterback threw for four touchdowns as the two-time Gray Cup titleholder netted on his first eight possessions in a stunning 54-20 win over a Saskatchewan Roughriders squad battling a gastrointestinal virus.

“I think it’s special,” Collaros said of the six touchdowns and two field goals scored while in possession.

“It was really efficient. We were really good on the first down and we had a handful of second-and-ones.”

The Bombers (12-1) actually finished the CFL competition on nine drives out of 10 in front of a sold-out crowd of 33,234 fans at IG Field for the 18th edition of the Banjo Bowl.

Collaros completed 21 of 25 pass attempts for 273 yards and no interceptions. He was replaced by Dru Brown in the last quarter with nine minutes remaining.

After Winnipeg kicker Marc Liegghio finally punched three minutes from time, Brown threw his first CFL touchdown pass, an 11-yarder to Dalton Schoen with 42 seconds left.

Winnipeg won the three-game CFL season series against Saskatchewan (6-7) after beating the Riders 20-18 at last weekend’s Labor Day Classic. The third game will take place in Winnipeg on September 30th.

Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo said it was a tough outing before the team even stepped onto the field.

“It started with us going into the dressing room and it looked like a sighting there,” Fajardo said. “The amount of people getting sick, throwing up and coming out both ends was pretty ridiculous.

“I have a lot of heart for these guys. Our entire offensive line was sick and they went out. We put them on IVs just to get them on the field. We had nothing else to do.”

Fajardo, who said he just felt weak and didn’t throw up, was 15 of 18 as he passed 124 yards with no TDs and no picks. Jake Dolegala replaced him late in the fourth.

Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson estimated that 15 players and seven or eight coaches had contracted some type of virus unrelated to COVID-19. He was one of them.

Dickenson said he went to a Mexican restaurant in Winnipeg on Friday night and had a burrito. His stomach felt later than at night in the hotel. He threw up five times and knew it was more than food poisoning.

“It was a nasty thing. I was probably the sickest I’ve been in about 12 hours,” he said.

When he spoke to the team’s coach, he was told that many players were in the same boat. It meant the roster was juggling.

Backup quarterback Mason Fine couldn’t get dressed, so third-stringer Dolegala was flown in, Dickenson said. A few players dressed but didn’t play, including receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker. Offensive lineman Josiah St. John failed to finish the game.

“That group in there gutted it,” Dickenson said. “We’re not happy with the result and we feel like we’re a better team, but that was an exhausted group. Of those who played, half were sick.

“You’re going to need your best team and your boys healthy to even stay at Winnipeg, let alone beat them in their place. But I’m proud of her. They gutted it and did their best in really difficult circumstances.”

Winnipeg led 6-0 after the first quarter, 27-10 at halftime and 37-20 after the third.

Bombers receiver Nic Demski caught TD passes from 16 and 18 yards. Rasheed Bailey hauled in a 34-yard TD reception and Brendan O’Leary-Orange recorded his first CFL TD with a 10-yard catch. Backup Bombers quarterback Dakota Prukop ran at two TDs from three and one yards.

Liegghio started field goals from 45 and 23 yards and made six of his seven conversion attempts.

Saskatchewan receiver Mario Alford recorded a 92-yard kickoff return for a TD and Fajardo pushed in for a one-yard TD. Kicker Brett Lauther connected on field goals from 53 and 34 yards and two converts.

Demski said he wasn’t aware that some of the roughriders were sick.

“I spoke to a couple of guys I knew after the game and they told me that,” he said. “Hopefully they all get better and kudos to them for coming out and playing a tough game.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 10, 2022