For anybody questioning if the Bombers reign of dominance in the CFL was coming to an end, the Blue and Gold had an emphatic message for the doubters Thursday night.
The Bombers blitzed the B.C. Lions 50-14 in front of 30,874 fans at IG Field.
The game was a complete reversal from the June 23 meeting between the two teams when the Lions won 30-6 and sacked Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros seven times.
This time, Collaros threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns and was not sacked at all.
“I think it felt good cause we executed our game plan,” said Collaros. “Anytime you can do that, stay on the football field, create explosive plays, all those things, it’s fun. Obviously, we got to do a better job of finishing the game, turning the ball over there late twice. It’s not our standard.
“It was a pretty clean game other than those two plays and we’re happy with it for sure.”
“That was fun man,” said running back Brady Oliveira. “From the start to the finish a total team effort. We started fast. We played an entire 60 minutes. Offensive line did a great job tonight from start to finish.
“It’s hard to win in this league and against a good opponent especially, we put it on them and it feels good.”
The Bombers offence put up 50 points on a Lions defence that had two shutouts and only allowed 94 points in all of their first seven games combined.
“I thought our guys played very well,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “I thought to a man they worked really hard to win their one-on-ones. I thought the receivers played fast and sometimes made some tough catches. It’s good. I thought Zach was his usual self, and overall, I think the whole team just played a pretty darn good game.”
After being held out of the endzone in their last meeting against BC, the Bombers needed just two plays to score in this one as Collaros threw a bomb to Dalton Schoen for a 71-yard touchdown.
On the next drive, Collaros went long again, finding Kenny Lawler for a 57-yard major and the Bombers took control early and never looked back.
Lawler (200 yards) and Schoen (137 yards) both had monster nights receiving as the offence looked like the powerhouse it was hyped up to be heading into the season.
“Just everybody was working well,” said O’Shea. “I think that’s what it’ll look like tomorrow on film is all 12 guys doing what they’re supposed to do at a high level. I thought the execution was really good.”
Brady Oliveira also rushed for a touchdown in the first half and the Bombers built up a 27-4 halftime lead. The running back added another touchdown later in the game, and finished with 67 yards on just nine carries.
Nic Demski also found the endzone, catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from Collaros in the third quarter and Schoen added another major in the fourth quarter on a pass from backup quarterback Dru Brown, who came in the game once the rout was on.
The Lions could never get anything going on offence as quarterback Dane Evans was picked off twice and threw for just 113 yards and eventually left the game early. He was intercepted by Demerio Houston, his CFL-leading sixth pick, and Brandon Alexander.
The two teams are now tied at the top of the West Division with a 6-2 record and will meet for the third and final time in the regular season on October 6 in BC.
Winnipeg is now 12-1 coming off a bye week since 2017.
Next up for the Bombers is a date with the 0-8 Edmonton Elks on Thursday, August 10 with kickoff scheduled for just after 8 p.m.
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