MONTREAL – Go ahead and lock it in, Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans because it’s now official: keep your calendars clear for November 9th and the Canadian Football League’s Western Final at Princess Auto Stadium.
And now – after a thrilling 28-27 win over the Montreal Alouettes in front of a capacity crowd of 23,035 at Molson Stadium that locked up first place in the division for a fourth straight year – the Blue Bombers get a bye week to rest all their aches and pains while the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions meet in next Saturday’s Western Semifinal.
Just as important, it could be said, is the bye will now allow their loyal faithful get a few days to recover, too, from one of the most epic finishes in the long and storied history of the franchise.
“This is so huge, man,” said running back Brady Oliveira inside a raucous Blue Bombers locker room. “Another West Final at home… that’s something we’ve been working for all season.
“It doesn’t matter how we got it done, but we got it done. Some might say it was an ugly one, but we’ve got another one coming for our fans and Princess Auto Stadium – I swear it gets even louder for a West Final.
“We get a chance to rest, another week to prep which is ultimately huge and now if we win one more game we’re going to the Grey Cup again. I’m proud of this group and how we fought today. We’re resilient.”
More on the Blue Bombers’ first-place clinching win from our view in the Molson Stadium press box…
BREAKING NEWS… MOTHER NATURE IS DRAPED IN BLUE AND GOLDThe Blue Bombers overcame an 11-point deficit early in the second half and trailed by two – 27-25 – when Sergio Castillo was trotted out to attempt a 61-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining and when the kick fell short, it seemed like first place was about to slip away.
And that’s when Mother Nature did her thing.
The Blue Bombers defence held the Alouettes on their final possession and just as Joseph Zema lined up to punt, a swirling wind storm accompanied by rain appeared out of nowhere and limited the kick to 21 yards.
A short Oliveira run was then followed by Castillo crushing a 51-yarder with no time remaining.
#ForTheWind pic.twitter.com/1xb04cGyvm
— x – Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) October 26, 2024
“Going into the 61 yarder when I missed it I said, ‘We’re done,'” said Castillo. “I’m pissed. I’m walking down the sideline with my head down.
“The next thing I know, Osh (Mike O’Shea), Tanner (Cadwallader) and B. Cole (Brian Cole) were like, ‘It’s second down… we’re going to get another shot.’ Then I’m like, ‘Holy moly… ok… ok.’
“It hasn’t hit me yet. I was grateful for the opportunity. And for it to come down to that… it makes for good TV ratings, I guess.”
The timing of the windstorm was akin to an Act of God or…
“That was divine intervention,” said defensive end Willie Jefferson with a grin. “That’s exactly what we needed. Serge went out to kick that 60 yarder and it fell short by inches and then the defence went out there and did what we had to do to get their offence off the field and make them punt the ball.
“The wind started blowing, the rain started coming down – there hadn’t been much the whole game, really – and then for it to come when it did… like I said, divine intervention.
“And at that moment the wind was blowing in our favour to make their punt go short. Then Serge goes out there and nails it. Right on time, man, right on time.”
Crazy game. Crazy finish. Crazy league.
“It was quite a turn of events in the last five minutes of real time,” said Zach Collaros. “It was like the Wizard of Oz. We’re on the field and it starts to rain or hail a little bit and there was a lot of swirling wind. I thought, ‘Is this wind thing going to work against us in this moment?'”
“Crazy is a word to describe it,” added Oliveira. “And you had to be there to really understand that wind at the end. I was on the sideline beside Jake Dolegala and I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me with the weather conditions right now.’
“It started raining, there were all these leaves flying in the air and – maybe you didn’t get a chance to see it – but Jammer (Jamieson Sheahan) did an amazing job to get the snap down for Sergio to kick it through. Crazy game. Very, very crazy game.”
FIGHT TO THE FINISHThe result means the Blue Bombers finish the season 11-7 and after the 0-4 start and 2-6 mark through eight games ended the year with a 9-1 record in their final 10.
Collaros finished the day 24-of-32 for 331 yards and a TD toss to Nic Demski and, in the process, finished the year with 4,336 yards passing – a new career high.
“They’re a good football team. They’re the defending champions, they won the East and had the best record in the league,” said Collaros of the Alouettes. “So, we’re happy to come out of here with the win.”
1K CLUBTip of the hat to both Pokey Wilson and Nic Demski, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark Saturday afternoon with solid performances.
Wilson finished with eight receptions for 83 yards to give him 1,026 yards on the season on 71 receptions, while Demski had four catches for 90 yards and finished with a team-best 1,030 yards on a career high 76 receptions.
DEMSKI HEADS DOWN FIELD#CFLGameday on CTV & RDS ????: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/r5yVIdCV53
— CFL (@CFL) October 26, 2024
“With the circumstances we were in, I’d be lying if I said (the 1K number) wasn’t in the back of my mind,” said Demski. “But my whole goal this week was to go 1-0 to get first place locked up.
“To get both of those, it’s amazing. At the end of the day I’m just happy we got first locked up in the West. We have some time to rest, get together and get closer as a team before we play next week.”
THE LAST WORD:“This is fantastic. I mean, you’ve got to love this if you’re a fan of the CFL. It goes down to the last kick again and a lot of contests this season have been decided in the last three minutes and in the last minute and in the last 15-20 seconds which is phenomenal for our league.”
– Mike O’Shea.
KEY MOMENTThe winds howled, Molson Stadium was instantly overcome by blowing leaves that descended like a flock of locusts just before Zema’s 21-yard shank. And then Castillo absolutely crushes his kick for a memorable ‘W.’
KEY STAT: 4The Blue Bombers have locked up first place for four straight seasons, marking the first time the franchise has accomplished that feat in over 62 years and since five straight from 1957-62.
NEXT
The Blue Bombers will host the Western Final at Princess Auto Stadium on November 9th against either the B.C. Lions or Saskatchewan Roughriders, who meet next Saturday in the Western Semifinal in Regina.
Kickoff for the Western Final is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CDT.
