WINNIPEG — A season of promise and renewal ended in disappointment for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers posted a 38-22 victory in Saturday’s CFL Western Final.
On the strength of four touchdown passes by Zach Collaros, who hit Kenny Lawler for three of those majors, Winnipeg captured its fifth consecutive West Division title.
“I’m just heartbroken,” said Logan Ferland, the West Division’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman.
“The guys in this room, we’re family. It’s disappointing, to say the least. It’s hard to find the words.”
The Blue Bombers will meet the East Division-champion Toronto Argonauts in the 111th Grey Cup Game, to be played on Nov. 17 in Vancouver.
Toronto defeated the host Montreal Alouettes 30-28 in the Eastern Final.
“Next week, somebody’s going to have this same feeling,” Roughriders Head Coach Corey Mace noted. “That doesn’t make it any easier, though.
“I’m just sick for these guys.”
Saskatchewan advanced to within one victory of a Grey Cup appearance while rebounding from back-to-back six-win, non-playoff seasons.
In Year 1 under Mace, the Roughriders placed second in the West before registering a 28-19 playoff victory over the visiting B.C. Lions on Nov. 2.
Then came a matchup with the arch-rival Blue Bombers, who became the first team in nearly 50 years to win a fifth consecutive division title. Edmonton won six in a row, beginning in 1977, while celebrating Grey Cup titles from 1978 to 1982, inclusive.
Winnipeg won championships in 2019 and 2021 before losing in the down-to-the-wire Grey Cup Games of 2022 and 2023. The Blue Bombers rolled to another league-final berth in machine-like fashion, amassing 482 yards of net offence.
“That has just been their DNA, just from watching film and looking at their previous games from previous seasons,” Roughriders rookie linebacker C.J. Avery said after registering a team-high 10 defensive tackles.
“They’re a well-executing team with great players on that (offensive) side of the ball. They did what they do when they win.”
Winnipeg opened Saturday’s scoring when Collaros hit Lawler for a 31-yard touchdown at 9:35 of the first quarter. Sergio Castillo added the convert before 32,343 spectators at a sold-out Princess Auto Stadium.
Collaros and Lawler struck again on the following Winnipeg possession. A 65-yard bomb to Lawler was immediately followed by a 24-yard scoring connection, which came at 12:25 of the second frame. Castillo’s convert gave the Bombers an early 14-0 lead.
“Winnipeg’s a team that if they come out hot and they’re out in front of you, then it’s going to be hard to fight back in the game,” Roughriders defensive tackle Micah Johnson said.
“They got out and started fast and we were kind of against the ropes the whole game. It was a heavyweight fight and they came out and hit first.”
Saskatchewan got on the board at 14:41 of the first quarter when a 40-yard field goal by Brett Lauther made the score 14-3.
Lauther added a 33-yarder at 2:21 of the second quarter to make it a one-possession game, only to have the Blue Bombers gear it up once more.
Collaros completed his third TD pass of the first half — a seven-yarder to Nic Demski — at 3:28 of the second quarter. Castillo’s extra point made it 21-6.
Lauther answered with his third field goal, from 44 yards, before Castillo was successful from 30 on the final play of the first half to give Winnipeg a 24-9 advantage.
“Hats off to them,” Johnson said. “They came out and they took it.
“There’s a lot of things we could have done better, but they came out and earned that. They won that. They took it from us.”
The teams traded TDs in the third quarter. Saskatchewan scored on a one-yard run by A.J. Ouellette before Collaros found Lawler for a 57-yard scoring bomb.
Winnipeg reached the end zone again at 3:28 of the fourth quarter when Brady Oliveira ran in from three yards out. In so doing, Oliveira exceeded 100 rushing yards for the day en route to finishing with 119 on 20 carries.
“I would say they definitely had our number tonight,” middle linebacker Jameer Thurman said. “When you get that momentum, it carries through the rest of the game.”
Saskatchewan concluded the scoring with a 19-yard TD pass from Trevor Harris to Samuel Emilus, who scored with 23 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bombers proceeded to run out the clock.
“They did a good job of making things difficult for us,” Harris said after going 25-for-44 for 283 yards. “They contested every play we had.”
Despite Saturday’s outcome, the Roughriders will still have a presence in Vancouver during Grey Cup week.
Mace (Coach of the Year), Rolan Milligan Jr. (Most Outstanding Defensive Player) and Logan Ferland (Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman) are finalists for league awards, which are to be presented on Thursday.
As well, long snapper Jorgen Hus is the Roughriders’ nominee for the Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award.
EXTRA POINTS
• Kian Schaffer-Baker led the Roughriders’ offence on Saturday, recording 12 receptions — a franchise single-game playoff record — for 162 yards. The 12 catches put him in a four-way tie for the fifth-most in CFL history during a playoff game. Don Narcisse set the Roughriders’ previous post-season record of 10 catches on Nov. 15, 1992 at Edmonton. The 12 receptions by Schaffer-Baker were the most in a game by a Roughrider since June 29, 2012, when Weston Dressler caught a dozen passes for 180 yards against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
• Adam Korsak ran six yards on a fake punt to extend a possession that concluded with Ouellette’s one-yard TD run. Korsak’s run was the first by a Roughriders punter since Sept. 26, 2009, when Jamie Boreham took off on a five-yarder in Edmonton. Korsak’s six-yarder was the longest by a Saskatchewan specialist since Paul McCallum gained 17 on a fake punt against the host Lions on Oct. 30, 2004.
• Lauther finished the season by making his final 27 field-goal attempts. In the playoffs, he is 18-for-20 on three-pointers since becoming the Roughriders’ full-time kicker in 2018.
• Avery became the 11th Roughrider to hit double digits in defensive tackles in a playoff or Grey Cup game. Deon Lacey set the team record of 12 in the 2021 Western Semi-Final against the visiting Calgary Stampeders. Avery’s 10 tackles tied him with C.J. Reavis (Aug. 22 at Toronto) for the Roughriders’ season high.
• Roughriders defensive tackle Caleb Sanders blocked a kick for the second time this season. He blocked a field-goal attempt in the regular season and a punt on Saturday.
• Lawler, who caught four passes for 177 yards on Saturday, became the first Bomber to reach 100 receiving yards against Saskatchewan in playoff or Grey Cup competition. The previous high of 93 yards was set by Darvin Adams in the 2019 Western Final.
SUMMARY
SASKATCHEWAN 22 at WINNIPEG 38
FIRST QUARTER
Wpg — TD Lawler 31 pass from Collaros (Castillo convert) 9:35
Blue Bombers moved 75 yards in seven plays
Wpg — TD Lawler 24 pass from Collaros (Castillo convert) 12:25
65-yard bomb to Kenny Lawler was followed by sliding TD catch
Sask — FG Lauther 40 14:41
22-yard pass interference penalty against Winnipeg put Saskatchewan in field-goal range
SECOND QUARTER
Sask — FG Lauther 33 2:21
Three-pointer set up by Sanders blocked punt
Wpg — TD Demski 7 pass from Collaros (Castillo convert) 3:28
48-yard run by short-yardage quarterback Terry Wilson set up Bombers’ third major
Sask — FG Lauther 44 12:29
A.J. Ouellette ignited Roughriders’ possession with a 26-yard run
Wpg — FG Castillo 30 15:00
Bombers moved 47 yards in eight plays before going ahead 24-9 on final play of first half
THIRD QUARTER
Sask — TD Ouellette 1 run (Lauther convert) 4:02
Korsak’s six-yard run on a fake punt extended a possession that ended with Ouellette’s one-yard scoring plunge
Wpg — TD Lawler 57 pass from Collaros (Castillo convert) 9:13
Lawler’s three TD receptions were the most against Saskatchewan in a playoff game
FOURTH QUARTER
Wpg — TD Oliveira 3 run (Castillo convert) 3:28
Oliveira scored one play after his 21-yard run
Sask — TD Emilus 19 pass from Harris (two-point convert failed) 14:37
Roughriders moved 80 yards in nine plays, one of which was a 15-yard run by Harris on second-and-10
