Blue Bombers win West Division with walk-off field goal
MONTREAL – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers needed a win or tie to claim the West Division on Saturday afternoon, and despite rain and wind picking up in the final seconds, they successfully kicked a walk-off field goal to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 28-27 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Zach Collaros completed 24-of-32 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown, Kenny Lawler added 105 yards on four receptions, and Nic Demski scored a touchdown while adding 90 yards for the Bombers.
Cody Fajardo threw for 171 yards and a touchdown, Walter Fletcher rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown, and Cole Spieker caught three receptions for 71 yards in the loss.
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The road team got on the scoreboard first as Sergio Castillo successfully kicked a 25-yard attempt after missing one earlier in the game, but Jose Maltos answered for the Alouettes as his 45-yard kick tied the game and gave Montreal their first points.
In the second quarter, Castillo got back into his usual rhythm as he slid his kick attempt just inside the left upright from 47 yards out to re-take the lead.
But the home team took the lead back with force, as Sean Thomas Erlington exploded for 30 yards before Fajardo connected with Kaion Julien-Grant for 26 yards, ending the drive with a reception from Charleston Rambo for his fifth touchdown of the season and the lead back.
Winnipeg continued to put points on the board, but were unable to convert plays for seven points, and settled for another field goal from Castillo, this time from 53 yards out.
One of Montreal’s strongest defensive players, Tyrice Beverette, brought down Collaros to force a punt and give the Als one last offensive drive before the half, and Maltos put a 35 yard attempt through the uprights as the clock expired with Montreal leading by four points.
Coming out of the half Montreal extended their lead to double digits, as a drive was sparked by a 47-yard reception from Spieker put the Als at the Winnipeg 11-yard line, and Walter Fletcher cut past a kick out block to punch in a three-yard touchdown.
While Winnipeg had a solid drive that saw them get to Montreal’s 10-yard line on their next drive, they once again relied on Castillo to secure them points, which he did with a 15-yard chip shot.
The Bombers defence did their job forcing a two-and-out on the next drive, and Winnipeg found a spark on offence as Kenny Lawler beat his defensive back for a 72-yard gain, and Nic Demski closed out the drive with a nine-yard touchdown, making the game a one-point affair.
With Davis Alexander coming in to replace Fajardo, he looked solid to start the fourth quarter as he found Tyjon Lindsey for 39 yards, before Alexander took the touchdown in himself to put the Als back up by eight points in the final frame.
Winnipeg responded with just over eight minutes to play as Lucky Whitehead returned a punt 54 yards to the Montreal 18-yard line, and a 16-yard reception from Keric Wheatfall put Terry Wilson in position to rush in a touchdown.
Attempting to tie the game up, Winnipeg’s two-point conversion was batted down by Dionte Ruffin, but after back-and-forth drives between the two teams, the Bombers found themselves back on the field with two minutes left on the clock to be able to make up for that two-point gap.
Castillo attempted to put the Bombers ahead with a 61-yard kick attempt, but the swirling winds that had been a problem all game at Percival Molson pushed the kick just left.
The wind also impacted the final punt from the Alouettes, as the speed picked up and caused the kick to fall the side and out of bounds.
With six seconds left to play, and the weather picking up as it started to pour rain, Castillo came out one last time, and this time got his redemption from 51 yards out as he successfully kicked a walk-off winner and the Bombers claimed the West Division.
