Surging Blue Bombers blitz Elks, clinch playoff spot

WINNIPEG — Zach Collaros had a feeling during warm-up that it could be a special game between his Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Elks on Friday.

He was correct.

Collaros threw a career-high six touchdown passes to ignite the Bombers in a 55-27 victory over the Elks that extended their win streak to seven games and clinched a playoff spot for the eighth consecutive season.

“We give a handshake to each other, half the warm-up is done, and you kind of feel everybody is just really locked in, a really high sense of focus,” Collaros said.

“I did actually really feel that. I typically don’t enjoy being the guy to have to hype everybody up, but I had to share that with them.”

Winnipeg’s first four series of the game resulted in touchdown catches by Nic Demski, Keric Wheatfall and Brady Oliveira, plus a field goal by Sergio Castillo.

The explosion of points had the team’s third straight sellout crowd of 32,243 at Princess Auto Stadium cheering wildly as the CFL West Division-leading Blue Bombers improved to 9-6.

The Elks dropped to 5-10 and have a flicker of a chance to still make the CFL playoffs.

Collaros completed 21 of 26 pass attempts for a season-high 432 yards with the six TDs and no interceptions. His career best for passing in a game is 439 yards.

“We come in as a little circle and you can just see the look in his eyes and just the message he gave us, ‘that something’s different in the air,’” Demski said of Collaros.

“From that moment on it’s like, yeah OK, he’s locked in. And he came out and proved it.”

Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who got the start ahead of Tre Ford, had a tough night against Winnipeg’s stifling defence. He was 19-of-34 passing for 223 yards with three TDs and no picks.

“Execution, man,” Bethel-Thompson said. “To come in and have a performance like that is extremely disappointing and embarrassing. It’s not who the heck we are.”

Edmonton interim head coach Jarious Jackson wasn’t pinning the blame on his quarterback. He also wasn’t backtracking on his decision to start Bethel-Thompson over Ford.

“McLeod’s still our quarterback,” Jackson said. “I thought he played well. Early on, we’ve got to help him with some of the calls and some of the things that we’re doing offensively.”

He was glad to see his team battle in the second half and believes they can build on that.

Winnipeg led 17-0 after the first quarter, 34-6 at halftime and 41-20 heading into the fourth.

Demski had a pair of TD receptions for 40 and 11 yards, while Kenny Lawler added two majors with catches of six and seven yards.

Lawler finished with a game high of 130 yards off eight catches and Demski had four receptions for 117 yards.

Wheatfall took a pass and turned it into a 61-yard major and Oliveira grabbed a short toss and deked and dashed 33 yards into the end zone.

Winnipeg defensive end TyJuan Garbutt scooped up a fumbled Edmonton pass attempt and ran 62 yards for a TD.

Castillo connected on field goals from 39 and 33 yards and made seven converts.

Edmonton kicker Boris Bede booted an 18-yard field goal at 10:10 of the second quarter to get the visitors on the board. He added a 24-yarder as time expired on the first half and made three converts.

Eugene Lewis, Tevin Jones and Dillon Mitchell each had TD catches for the Elks.

Edmonton’s fortunes turned early.

On Winnipeg’s first series of the game, Lawler fumbled a catch the Elks recovered but a review deemed Lawler had been down by contact.

Three plays later, Collaros fired the ball 40 yards to Demski in the end zone and Castillo hit the convert to begin spinning the numbers on the scoreboard.

Edmonton’s first four possessions ended with three punts and a turnover on downs.

Collaros used the turnover for a TD pass to Wheatfall and 17-0 lead at 12:49 of the first quarter.

Oliveira and Garbutt’s scores made it 31-0 at 6:45 of the second.

Three field goals ended the first half.

Lewis, Lawler and Jones provided three touchdowns for the third-quarter scoring that cut Winnipeg’s lead to 41-20.

Demski added his second TD of the game 23 seconds into the fourth, followed by Lawler’s stretching grab in the end zone at 7:06 to boost the lead 55-20.

Mitchell recorded his 37-yard TD catch as time expired.

UP NEXT

Elks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Blue Bombers: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.