Blue Bombers hold off Alouettes in regular season finale
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers won their final game of the regular season but it came at a cost. Quarterback Chris Streveler left early with injury in a 19-10 win over Montreal at Princess Auto Stadium. With scoring at a premium, the Bombers were able to edge their opponent in a defensive battle and end the regular season with a hard-fought result at home.
Knowing that a road game awaits them in the playoffs no matter the result, head coach Mike O’Shea rested quarterback Zach Collaros and a number of other key starters. Streveler got the start under centre for Winnipeg but exited the game with a lower body injury in the first quarter. Terry Wilson took the reins the rest of the way, going 11-21 with 79 yards and an interception. He ran for 30 yards and the game’s only touchdown late in the first half.
With their East Division semi-final game at home already locked in, Montreal’s Jason Maas also elected to rest some personnel, including Davis Alexander. McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 17-34, throwing for 182 yards and an interception. The result brings Montreal’s winning run to halt at five games.
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Starting in place of star running back Brady Oliveira, Matthew Peterson picked up 26 yards on the game’s opening drive. Sergio Castillo made a 48-yard field goal to put the home team up early.
Streveler was knocked out of the contest after taking a sack from Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and injure his left leg. Wilson would man the controls the rest of the way for Winnipeg.
Wilson wasn’t able to move the chains after coming onto the field, with Winnipeg punting it away. They got the ball back in not time however, after Tony Jones read the eyes of Bethel-Thompson, recording his second pick of the season. A 22-yard pass to Jerreth Sterns was Wilson’s first completion of the game, setting up the hosts in the red zone. Unfortunately Wilson’s third throw of the drive ended up in the hands of Marc-Antoine Dequoy in the end zone, making it interceptions on back-to-back possessions. With Montreal succumbing to a two-and-out, neither team was able to record any points off of the giveaways.
On the ensuing drive, Winnipeg was also unable to move the chains, resulting in a long-range Castillo attempt. His 58-yard try was not on target, with Charleston Rambo running it out of the end zone to avoid a rouge, keeping it a 3-0 game after the opening quarter.
Starting their next drive at the six-yard line, Montreal’s offence had their first fruitful offensive series. Bethel-Thompson completed six passes while Stevie Scott III found some running room during an 87-yard drive. Jose Maltos Diaz finished it off with a 25-yard field goal to tie things up at 3-3 early in the second quarter.
It appeared as though Winnipeg’s follow-up possession would be a two-and-out, but Montreal’s Shawn Oakman was penalized for offside with Winnipeg’s punting unit on the field, giving them a fresh set of downs. After the Bombers worked their way to Montreal’s 24, Dequoy sacked Wilson for a loss of 12 yards, leading to Castillo’s second field goal of the day to put Winnipeg up 6-3. On the following drive, a Joseph Zema punt gave Montreal a rouge to shrink Winnipeg’s lead.
Late in the quarter, Evan Holm pried the ball out of Tyson Philpot‘s grasp, forcing a fumble with just over a minute remaining in the half. Cam Allen recovered the football, returning it 42 yards to setup Winnipeg in the red zone. Wilson was just shy of the pylon on a 14-yard scramble, bringing the Bombers to the doorstep. On his third attempt from a yard out Wilson was able to break the plane. Castillo’s extra point made it 13-4 for the Blue Bombers at the half.
Coming out of the break on offence, a sustained drive from the Als resulted in three more points on the board for the visitors. A pair of incompletions kept Montreal just outside the red zone, bringing Maltos Diaz onto the field for a 32-yard kick.
The Bombers responded with a productive drive of their own, with Wilson running for a pair of first downs. He was brought to the turf by Joshua Archibald on a sack for a loss of seven, bringing the field goal unit onto the field. Castillo hit the left upright on a 50-yard attempt to keep the scoreline at 13-7 late in the third. Montreal was unable to do anything after taking over at their 30, punting it back to Winnipeg.
A Peterson fumble forced by Geoffrey Cantin-Arku and recovered by Najee Murray gave Montreal possession at midfield at the end of the third quarter. Bethel-Thompson fired off a 22-yard pass to Rambo but the Als eventually settled for a 35-yard field goal to bring them to within three of their opponent.
Following a few scoreless drives, the Bombers found a breakthrough late in the fourth. Michael Chris-Ike found a gap through the middle and ran 65 yards to bring his team into the red zone. A pass interference call against Montreal in the end zone was reversed following a challenge from Maas, resulting in a Castillo chip shot which gave Winnipeg a six-point lead.
A perfect punt by Winnipeg’s Jamieson Sheahan placed the Als on their own two-yard line, meaning they would have to go the length of the field to tie up the ballgame after the three-minute warning. Instead, Montreal turned it over on downs and Castillo made no mistake with a nine-yard field goal to make it a two-score game as the home team would win 19-10.
Next for the Alouettes comes the East Division semi-finals on Saturday, November 1. In that matchup they will either welcome the Bombers to Montreal for a rematch, or host the BC Lions, with playoff seeding to be finalized after the final regular season game.
