Running back Zander Horvath and quarterback Kaidon Salter ran wild as the BC Lions shocked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 35-19 at Princess Auto Stadium Thursday evening.
Horvath had a hat-trick of touchdowns on the evening punching in a short yardage score in the first half before breaking off two massive scores in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. With James Butler out of the lineup, Horvath took over and exploded for a season high across the league with 191 yards on 17 carries.
Salter made his first career start in the CFL. The passing game wasn’t clicking early, but the rookie out of Colorado University managed to get the offence going with his legs. Salter and Horvath got the Lions’ offence going, running through the Bombers’ defence. 105 yards on the ground at the break was topped off with a late first half touchdown run by Horvath to take an unexpected 7-6 lead to the locker room.
Salter went seven for 15 in the passing game for 96 yards, but his legs caused issues all night for the Blue and Gold defence. The rookie quarterback scrambled his way to 160 yards on the ground on just 10 rushes. Salter would record his first touchdown pass to Jermaine Jackson, while also pulling in a two-point conversion reception.
Keon Hatcher Sr. was Salter’s go to option, but the trusty wideout was only able to bring in one of the six targets for 32 yards. The veteran wideout also notably through the two-point convert to Salter late in the fourth quarter. Kieran Poissant brought in all four of his targets to tie Hatcher Sr. for the receiving lead with 32 yards.
It was defensive dominance in the first half with 305 yards of total offence and just 13 points on the board. The run game was churning for both teams, as four ball carriers had over 25 yards at the break. Winnipeg had a balanced, efficient attack but BC’s defence stood strong in the red zone.
Brady Oliveira was the focal point for the Bombers’ offence as he was used early and often, as he rumbled his way to 107 yards. The star running back added one catch for nine yards on the night.
Dru Brown left the game in the fourth quarter after taking a hit as he scrambled close to a first down. Brown had an effective night going 18 for 21 through the air for 180 yards and a touchdown pass. Rookie signal caller Taylor Elgersma came in to finish out the game and went one for four through the air completing his only pass for 10 yards.
Tim White recorded the only touchdown for the Bombers, as he brought in all five targets for 51 yards. Ontaria Wilson led the game in receiving with 67 yards on four receptions
The defensive juggernauts were on full display Thursday evening as Winnipeg’s Jake Ceresna and Willie Jefferson, and BC’s Mathieu Betts all recorded a sack to co-lead the CFL with six on the season. Bombers’ linebacker Tony Jones racked up six tackles as he takes over the league lead in the category, with the Leos’ linebacker Darnell Sankey tying for a game high eight defensive stops.
The Bombers four-game winning streak against the Lions comes to an end at the hands of the rushing rampage of the Leos.
RELATED
» Depth Charts: BC | WPG
» Game Notes: Lions at Blue Bombers
» BC, Winnipeg by the numbers
SCORING PLAYS
- Sergio Castillo 16-yard field goal (05:16, Q1) | BC 0 WPG 3
- Sergio Castillo 12-yard field goal (01:23, Q1) | BC 0 WPG 6
- Zander Horvath one-yard touchdown run (00:00, Q2) | BC 7 WPG 6
- Sergio Castillo 32-yard field goal (08:51, Q3) | BC 7 WPG 9
- Sean Whyte 43-yard field goal (06:50, Q3) | BC 10 WPG 9
- Dru Brown two-yard touchdown pass to Tim White (00:00, Q3) | BC 10 WPG 16
- Sean Whyte 42-yard field goal (10:25, Q4) | BC 13 WPG 16
- Sergio Castillo 49-yard field goal (06:18, Q4) | BC 13 WPG 19
- Kaidon Salter 24-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Jackson (04:50, Q4) | BC 20 WPG 19
- Zander Horvath 58-yard touchdown run, Kaidon Salter two-point conversion (02:48, Q4) |BC 28 WPG 19
- Zander Horvath 35-yard touchdown run (2:09, Q4) | BC 35 WPG 19
NEXT UP
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will have an extended long weekend as the team goes on bye in Week 10. The Bombers are back in action in Week 11 when they host the Ottawa REDBLACKS at Princess Auto Stadium. The Blue and Gold had a 17-point fourth quarter comeback victory at TD Place Stadium in Week 7 stunning Ottawa 36-34 in overtime.
The BC Lions head into Week 10 hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at BC Place. In their Week 3 matchup, Bo Levi Mitchell dominated with five touchdown passes as the Leos were defeated 41-27 at Hamilton Stadium.