Blue Bombers earn their seventh consecutive berth and clinch a playoff berth with a dominant 55-27 victory over Elks-Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back in the postseason and were in a dominant position on Friday night.

A sold-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium saw Bombers QB Zach Collaros have his best game of the season, throwing for six touchdowns and 432 yards as the Bombers routed the Elks 55-27.

The victory will be the Bombers’ seventh in a row and will take them to the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.

The Bombers scored points on all of their first four offensive possessions and had 34 points at halftime.

“At this time of year you have to play really clean and focused football,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “And I thought it was mostly true. I really liked the way the offense responded every time Edmonton gained momentum in the second half. The attack came out pretty well and responded right away. It’s great team football.”

It was also their 12th straight win against the Elks, dating back to 2019.

“It’s amazing that we obviously got the win,” Collaros said. “It was great that we scored a lot of tries. Brady’s touchdown – I’ll never forget that. Seeing it on the jumbotron was just amazing. Catching Kenny (Lawler) was like a mistake in the matrix, at least from my point of view.

“I mean, DB (defender) looks surprised too. We were all surprised. The guys play all night long.

For Collaros, it was his first game in his career with six tries, which was only one result worse than the club record. He is the first player to throw six TD passes in a single game in the CFL since 2015.

“It was fun to watch,” O’Shea said. “He was just so-so. And the guys around him were right and on the right track too. It was pretty cool to see that. This is exciting to watch. Like you got caught. The coaching staff, especially me, you have to focus too because you kind of watch it as a fan and you go, oh my God. And yes, Zach was on fire today.

Popular now

• Photos of Hurricane Helene show Florida reeling from ‘catastrophic’ wave

• During his meeting with Zelensky, Trump said he had a “good relationship” with Putin

With the Bombers playoffs starting again, it was a remarkable turnaround for a team that started the season with an 0-4 record.

“You just practice one day at a time and try to win every game,” Collaros said. “You try not to look too far ahead so it’s not something you think about, but again you think about winning every week. So if you do it well enough, execution, we like our chances in matches.

Winnipeg wasted no time getting on the board as Collaros found Nic Demski for a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the game.

After a Sergio Castillo field goal on the Bombers’ next drive, Collaros hit Keric Wheatfall for a 61-yard pass and the Bombers took a 17-0 lead after one quarter.

They kept their foot on the gas in the second quarter when Collaros crossed to Brady Oliveira for a 33-yard touchdown, then the defense came out on the field when Tyjuan Garbutt returned a 62-yard foul for a score as the Bombers led 34-6 at halftime .

Collaros continued to give his all in the second half, scoring two touchdowns from Kenny Lawler and another from Demski.

Lawler threw for 130 yards on eight receptions, and Demski had 117 yards on just four catches.

Oliveira had another productive game, rushing for 86 yards on 16 carries.

Winnipeg improved to 9-6 on the season, building a four-point lead over the BC Lions and securing first place in the West Division heading into the Hamilton vs. BC game later that evening.

The Bombers return to action on Friday, October 4 when they travel to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats.

© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.