WINNIPEG — It was a long time coming, in more ways than one.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers scored early and often to pick up a 37-11 win over the Ticats on Wednesday night at Investors Group Field, one that, at least for Bomber fans, was well worth the wait.
The Bombers won their second game in a row for the first time in more than two years, while fans had to wait two and a half hours longer for it to happen after lightning in the area delayed kickoff until shortly after 10 p.m. local time.
Four first-half turnovers by the Ticats and a near perfect 30 minutes from Matt Nichols gave Winnipeg a 34-0 lead at halftime, and the Bombers never looked back on the way to a decisive victory over a cross-division opponent, helping fans celebrate Milt Stegall night in style.
No. 85, the most celebrated receiver in Bombers’ history, had his name added to the Bombers’ Ring of Honour at halftime.
Thomas Mayo and a familiar face in Clarence Denmark stepped up to lead an injury-decimated Bombers receiving corps, while C.J. Roberts scored his first career defensive touchdown to help Winnipeg move to 3-4 on the season and into a tie with BC for second place in the West.
Mayo finished with 84 yards on seven catches with a touchdown while Denmark chipped in with 69 and a touchdown, also on seven catches, for a Bomber attack without the services of three of its top pass-catchers in Weston Dressler, Ryan Smith and Darvin Adams.
Severe weather including lightning sent the players back to the locker-rooms even before the opening coin toss and it wasn’t until two and a half hours later warm-ups resumed and the game could be kicked off.
The 17,000 or so Bombers fans that stuck around were rewarded for their patience early, when on the Ticats’ first possession Jeremiah Masoli was intercepted by the rookie Roberts and returned for the game’s opening touchdown.
Masoli and the Ticat offence turned the ball over six times in the Ticats’ previous meeting with Winnipeg, a 28-24 loss back on July 7, and early in Wednesday night’s contest the same issues plagued the quarterback filling in for the injured Zach Collaros.
Roberts simply jumped on Masoli’s pass attempted to the sideline for Brandon Banks and returned it to the house, giving Winnipeg an early 7-0 lead.
The Bomber defence came right out and forced a stop, while an explosive punt return by Kevin Fogg followed by a horse-collar tackle put Nichols and the Bomber offence on the field inside the Hamilton 15. On the very next play, Nichols found a wide open Denmark for an easy six points, the veteran taking no time at all to get in the end zone in his first game back in Blue and Gold.
Masoli appeared to be limiting the damage on the ensuing drive with three straight completions into Winnipeg territory; but with the offence in field goal range, the quarterback’s second turnover of the game soon followed when the ball was swiped out of his hands and recovered by Jake Thomas.
Nichols converted on second and six after finding Mayo in a soft spot in the zone for the first down at the Ticat 35, then another one to Mayo down at the 13. Soon after it was right back to Mayo in the back of the end zone to put Winnipeg ahead 21-0.
It looked like the Bombers were about to go up 28-0 when Kevin Fogg returned a punt 80 yards for the touchdown, but the play was called back on a blocking penalty, marking the second of the season the rookie return man and defensive back had erased by a flag.
Undeterred, however, Nichols completed passes to Mayo, Denmark and again Mayo, setting up the offence in goal-to-go from inside the five before Harris put an exclamation point on the possession with a powerful three-yard touchdown run, making it 28-0 for real.
Two more turnovers – a blocked punt and an interception tipped and caught by rookie national safety Taylor Loffler – set up a pair of field goals from Medlock to give the Bombers a 34-0 lead, one that would hold up to halftime and mark the largest Bomber lead through 30 minutes in 13 years (in 2003 the Bombers led the Stamps 42-3).
The Ticats got in the board early in the third quarter when Terrence Toliver’s 44-yard catch and run set up a one-yard plunge from Jeff Mathews. The ensuing two-point conversion by Andy Fantuz made it 34-8, capping off a nine-play, 95-yard drive spanning five minutes and change for the Ticats.
Kent Austin’s club would later add a field goal, but after drawing within 23 points any hopes of a comeback would be all but extinguished with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, when the Ticats turned the ball over for the fifth time of the ball game when Masoli was intercepted by linebacker Ian Wild.
The Bombers rounded out their scoring with Medlock’s third field goal of the night, which came at roughly 12:40 a.m. local time as the Bombers scored their 23rd point off turnovers in the game. They’d add one more turnover with a stop on third down.
While Winnipeg dominated on the scoreboard, it was mostly on the strength of five turnovers forced by the defence, which came into the weekend tied for the league lead with 15 thus far. The Bombers also had four quarterback sacks, including two from Justin Cole and the fourth of the year from Jamaal Westerman.
For the Ticats, meanwhile, it was their offence that lagged in Wednesday night. After coming back from a 25-point deficit and watching Masoli complete a record-breaking 23 straight passes in a win over Edmonton two weeks ago, no such comeback was in the cards for that unit this time, which was forced to punt seven times in addition to the turnovers.
The Tabbies have now turned the ball over 12 times over the last two games after Masoli finished with 309 yards on 26-of-45 passing with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Toliver added a game-high 120 yards on seven catches.
Hamilton expects to have its franchise pivot back in the huddle in Collaros when returning to action on Aug. 13 in Vancouver vs. the Lions.
The Bombers, meanwhile, look to continue their surge amid the West Division standings, eyeing their third straight win with a visit to Toronto on Friday, Aug. 12.
