Trey Vaval’s two special teams touchdowns were the spark the Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed as they took down the Toronto Argonauts 40-31 at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday night.
Both of Vaval’s majors came in the first half, one off a kickoff and one off a punt, as the Bombers snapped their three-game losing streak to improve to 4-3.
Chris Streveler made the start behind centre for Winnipeg with Zach Collaros sidelined. The 30-year-old dual-threat completed 17 of his 21 passes for 173 yards, three interceptions and a rushing touchdown. Brady Oliveira rushed for 50 yards on 17 carries, and Nic Demski had 67 yards on five receptions, extending his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 78.
Willie Jefferson stood out on the Bombers’ front, racking up six pass knockdowns and a strip sack that led to a defensive score.
Nick Arbuckle led a fourth-quarter comeback attempt that fell short, completing 22 of his 39 passes for 327 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Damonte Coxie went off in the losing effort, posting a career-high 187 yards on nine grabs.
Cameron Judge had eight tackles, a sack and a pick-six, but it wasn’t enough as the Argos move to 2-6.
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The Bombers opened with quick hitters — something that worked for them late in their Week 8 loss to Toronto. After crossing midfield, the drive stalled and Sergio Castillo’s 45-yard attempt clanged off the right upright — his second miss of the season.
With both offences coming up empty to start, it was the Argos’ defence that struck first. Streveler looked short again, but Anthony Lanier II got a paw on the pass at the line and Cameron Judge — who picked off Collaros in the two teams’ first meeting — snagged the deflection for a 47-yard return and the game’s first touchdown. Lirim Hajrullahu hit the extra point to make it 7-0.
The Bombers responded immediately, as Trey Vaval broke through kickoff coverage and turned on the jets for a 93-yard return touchdown. Castillo hit the convert to tie the game 7-7.
Three possessions and three punts later, the Bombers found their rhythm on offence. Working through the ground game, Demski opened the drive with a 20-yard end-around, and Streveler capped it off by lowering his shoulder and powering into the end zone on a nine-yard run. Castillo made the convert as Winnipeg restored its seven-point lead to close out the first quarter.
Penalties plagued the Argos early, with five infractions for 50 yards in the first quarter alone.
The Bombers looked to keep the momentum rolling in the second, but their drive was cut short when Aaron Casey wrapped up Streveler on second down for his second sack of the night and his third in two games.
After the sack and ensuing punt, Arbuckle went to work. He hit Coxie for 11 to start and Dejon Brissett for 23 more to move the Argos into Winnipeg territory, but a rare drop from Kevin Mital stalled the drive. Hajrullahu connected on a 37-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.
The Bombers responded with a 47-yard field goal from Castillo, and they weren’t done. On the first play of the next defensive series, Jefferson blew past his blocker and hammered Arbuckle from the blind side, forcing a fumble. Jay Person scooped it up and rumbled 27 yards for the score, with Castillo adding the convert as Winnipeg’s lead expanded to 14 points.
With two minutes left, the pressure didn’t let up on Arbuckle, and another two-and-out quickly brought out the punt team. Vaval made them pay again, returning John Haggerty’s kick 96 yards for his second special-teams touchdown of the night. Castillo’s conversion capped a two-minute stretch in which Winnipeg scored 17 unanswered points.
The Argos would not go into the locker rooms quietly. With seconds left in the frame, Arbuckle launched a 56-yard bomb to Coxie — the explosive receiver’s league-leading ninth reception of 30-plus yards. Inside the red zone, Winnipeg got pressure up front to force an intentional grounding call, and Toronto settled for a 25-yard chip shot from Hajrullahu to make it 31-13 at halftime.
Toronto emerged from halftime with a renewed sense of urgency, as Arbuckle completed five of six passes for 55 yards to move inside the red zone. There, the Argos’ pivot sidestepped pressure from Jefferson and dropped a touch pass to a wide-open Coxie, who waltzed in for a 16-yard score. Hajrullahu added the convert to make it 31-20.
After Andrew Chatfield Jr.’s sack — the Argos’ third of the night — Janarion Grant’s 33-yard punt return set up Arbuckle in great field position. Coxie drew a pass interference call in the back of the end zone to bring Toronto to the one-yard line, but they could not punch it in from there after Khalan Laborn and Arbuckle got crossed up on the goal-line exchange. Hajrullahu trotted on once again for a chip-shot and once again converted to cut the lead to one possession.
Sparking the response, Nic Demski hauled in a 37-yard pass from Streveler to get the Bombers past midfield. The Argos’ front flexed from there, not breaking on back-to-back runs from Oliveira to force a 49-yard kick from Castillo, who pushed it through to make it 34-23.
Streveler would get another shot before the end of the third quarter, but his throw downfield was tipped by Mark Milton and picked off by Benjie Franklin. The Argos’ defensive back, who came up with a tipped interception last week, made a great play to scoop the ball out of the air with one hand. While Toronto went two-and-out after flipping the field, Vaval lost Haggerty’s punt in the lights, and it bounced out of the end zone for a point.
Feeling a shift in momentum, the Bombers took as much clock as they could to kick off the fourth quarter. In 10 plays, the Bombers burned five minutes as they worked into Toronto’s end, but Judge stepped up with a sack to stall the drive. Castillo stayed true on the 37-yarder, making it 24-37.
As the Argos looked to stage a comeback, Arbuckle turned to his favourite target, Coxie. The dynamic pass-catcher opened with a 16-yard catch to start the drive, and on the next play, reeled in a 56-yard moon ball for the major. Hajrullahu made the extra point, and it was suddenly a six-point game.
Looking to avoid the dangerous Vaval on the kickoff, Hajrullahu skied a short one, and Jonathan Edouard was first to the ball for an Argos recovery. But with a chance to take the lead, Arbuckle floated an errant pass toward the sideline and right into the waiting hands of Tony Jones.
With seven minutes remaining, the Bombers looked to ice the game. Oliveira broke free for the first time all game on a 19-yard screen pass, and Demski mixed in three solid gains in the air to get Winnipeg in the red zone. But while looking to hit Sterns with a jump ball in the end zone, Streveler instead found Tarvarus McFadden, who brought it down for the Argos’ third interception of the game.
The Argos had life, but the Bombers’ defence took it away quickly. Jefferson, who had been a pest for Arbuckle all game, got another knockdown at the line on second down to force a punt — Winnipeg’s seventh pass deflection of the game.
Toronto would get one more chance, but Jefferson once again came up with a deflection, and Arbuckle would turn it over on downs on the next play. Winnipeg added one more field goal from 31 yards out to make it 40-31 and effectively end the game.
The Argos return home in Week 10 to take on the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the first half of a Saturday doubleheader, while the Bombers meet the Calgary Stampeders in the second leg on August 9.