Bombers bounce league leaders

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This article was published 16/08/2017 (2444 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An already tight Western Division got even tighter Thursday night, as the Bombers knocked off the undefeated Edmonton Eskimos 33-26 in front of an announced crowd of 30,554 at Investors Group Field.

It was another tight affair for the Bombers, who weren’t perfect but stayed resilient throughout, gutting it out for four quarters to extend their winning-streak to four games against a battered Eskimos club that had 20 players missing from their lineup due to injury.

“We’re where we want to be, right in the thick of it in our conference,” said quarterback Matt Nichols, who tied a career-high mark for passing yards with 390 (he threw for the same in last year’s West semifinal vs. B.C.). Nichols completed 80 per cent of his throws, tossing for one touchdown and running for another.

The offence finished with a season-high 560 yards, with 171 yards rushing eclipsing last week’s total of 141 in a win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But it was running back Andrew Harris who would pave the way for the Bombers, finishing the night with a combined 225 yards. Harris rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries — an average of 9.5 per run — and had another 120 through the air on eight receptions.

“Probably not since junior… maybe not even junior,” Harris said when asked the last time he eclipsed 100 yards in rushing and receiving in the same game. “Some games they just come to you naturally.”

The victory improved Winnipeg to 6-2 on the year and the Bombers are now just two points back of top spot in the West Division. The Eskimos remain ahead of them after snapping a season-long unbeaten streak to sit at 7-1. The Calgary Stampeders (5-1-1) are in third place and the B.C. Lions (5-3) in fourth, with both teams facing off tonight.

Winnipeg orchestrated a near picture-perfect drive to open the game, moving effortlessly down the field, including two runs from Nichols for 22 yards. But a needless trick play on first-and-goal from the six-yard line led to a chip shot for kicker Justin Medlock, who put the Bombers up 3-0 with a 21-yard field goal that would last to the end of the first quarter.

The Eskimos were in good shape to tie it early in the second quarter, after Bombers defensive tackle Cory Johnson batted down a Mike Reilly pass on second down to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt. But the kick by backup kicker Hugh O’Neill sailed wide left, falling into the arms of Lankford, who returned it back into enemy territory.

It wouldn’t count, however, as the Bombers were flagged for an illegal block on Kyle Knox, bringing the ball back to their own five-yard line.

With Winnipeg pinned deep, Nichols moved the ball downfield with a 23-yard catch by T.J. Thorpe that provided some breathing room and then another from Harris that travelled 20 yards. Nichols then hit Clarence Denmark for 17 yards, positioning the Bombers in range for at least a field goal.

They’d leave with nothing after Harris’ run for a first down ended with the ball being stripped from his hands, with Edmonton recovering it for the first turnover of the game.

The defence would hold Edmonton on the next drive, forcing a two-and-out deep in their own end.

With good field position at their own 44-yard line, Winnipeg went right back to Harris, who punched the ball through the line for a 15-yard gain, the play ending with three defenders on his back. Another solid run from Timothy Flanders, this one for 21 yards — and catches from Matt Coates, who replaced an injured Julian Feoli-Gudino after he pulled up lame in the first quarter, for 12 yards, and Thorpe for 14 — set up a first-and-goal for the Bombers from the Edmonton four.

Harris got a shot to punch it in but it was backup QB Dan LeFevour finding the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the season and a 10-0 lead.

“It means they got faith in me to continue to carry the ball but I got to be better in those situations,” said Harris on his fumble, the Bombers’ lone turnover of the game. “I got to tip my hat to (Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul) LaPolice to give me the ball right after and the team having faith in me.”

Harris celebrated the drive with three somersaults — a mocking of Edmonton’s TD celebration — while the offensive line took part in a more familiar ritual by jumping into the arms of expecting fans in the front row behind the end zone.

Indeed, the good times were rolling for Winnipeg and it looked like it would continue, with the fans returning the favour for their team’s strong play with a level of energy that hasn’t been seen in these parts for some time.

The guests at IGF were so loud at points it drowned out the referee’s whistle — enough to seemingly throw off the visitors. But that raucous roar turned to a dead silence after receiver Duke Williams, with the Eskimos facing a second-and-25 and two guys in his face, managed to somehow come up with a 41-yard grab.

Still, the defence forced two incomplete passes from Reilly and the Eskimos settled for an O’Neill field goal from 33 yards out, making it 10-3 Winnipeg with 2:33 left in the second frame.

The Bombers and their fans would return to form on Edmonton’s next possession after Chris Randle picked off Reilly, who has thrown three interceptions in the last two games after having just two through the first six. Three plays later, Nichols hit Darvin Adams for a 25-yard touchdown to give Winnipeg a 17-3 lead at halftime.

Reilly rebounded from an ugly first half to throw for a fifth straight game with at least 300 passing yards, finishing with 356 and two touchdowns. Those scores came in his first two drives of the third quarter, with one connecting with former Bomber Kenny Stafford for a 40-yard strike, the other to Williams from 33 yards out that was eerily similar to his circus grab earlier in the game.

This time the play included an off-balance toss from Reilly that sailed through the hands of defenders Taylor Loffler and Brian Walker and off Williams’ helmet before dropping into his hands while he lie on the ground.

The Bombers had answered back from the Stafford TD, with Nichols capping off a drive with a one-yard TD run, and relied on Justin Medlock, who finished the night four-for-five and now has 16 field goals in his last three games, to kick a 24-yard boot on the drive after the Williams’ score to make it a 27-17 Bombers through three quarters.

That set up a close finish.

A Cory Watson reception for 72 yards set up Reilly for a one-yard TD to make it a one-score game, 30-23. Both teams exchanged field goals late and an onside kick by O’Neill failed.

“Every game is going to be tough like and it’s great for us to be in a tough game like that for four quarters and play well for four quarters and come out with the win,” said Nichols.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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