To the delight of a sold out Ig Field the Bombers made short work of the Riders sweeping the Labour Day Classic and the Banjo Bowl.
I spoke with some Rider fans in attendance to make sure they were having an enjoyable time and each one of them told me that except for the score, they were having fun. As I predicated, there were far more Bomber jerseys at the Labour Day Classic than there were Riders jerseys at the Banjo Bowl.
Game-Ball
Usually I like to highlight a player or two from the opposition that could have won a game-ball. But I tell you what. Watching the game live, the highlights afterwards, and scouring the game statistics there were not many players on Saskatchewan that deserve a game-ball.
About the only player for Saskatchewan that could be remotely in the conversation of a game-ball would be returner Mario Alford who returned the opening kickoff of the 3rd quarter to bring Saskatchewan within 10 points of Winnipeg.
When the Bombers blow out any team, but especially the Riders 54-20, the game-ball just cannot go to the opposition. So which Bomber players would be worthy of receiving the game-ball?
*You could give it to Zach Collaros who completed 21/25 passes! He amassed 273 yards passing and threw for a whopping 4 touchdowns! I guess that is what happens when your team only punts the ball one time in the whole game!
*So maybe the game-ball needs to go to Offensive Coordinator Buck Pierce? Tell me the last time a team only punted the ball away 1 time in the whole game while scoring 7 touchdowns?
*Zach would have had a lower completion percentage if it were not for guys like Schoen and Bailey who both made really tough catches and secured the ball after immediate heavy contact on multiple occasions. So either of those certainly could earn the game-ball!
*Oliveira had a nice game as well. While he did not jump off the sheet with a huge rush total, he provided timely rushes.
*Maybe you like Prukop? He handled short yardage plays and got the first down and more multiple times, including 2 rushing touchdowns.
*Maybe you go to Nic Demski with touchdown receptions.
*Maybe the game-ball should go to the whole offence!
*I have not even looked at the defensive side of the ball yet! Jefferson had 2 sacks and a forced fumble that was recovered by Jeffcoat.
The Bombers gave up only 104 yards rushing, and a mere 147 passing yards all game long. Maybe for all those Richie Hall haters – if you are still even around – Richie Hall should get the game-ball.
*The Bombers’ defence as a whole created turnovers! 1 forced fumble, 1 interception, and 2 turnover on downs.
So who gets the game-ball?
And The Game-Ball Goes To…
The one, the only, Sara Orlesky!
For your tireless work, for your excellent execution, for always being on point, for not getting rattled, for being the only reporter Zach Collaros would do an interview with after a freezing game, for representing Stonewall, Winnipeg, and Manitoba fabulously, Sara, you get the game-ball!
But do not call me copy cat! I did not see any of this on my hour and a half drive back home where I decided who would receive my game ball! It seems that Sara Orlesky was simply the obvious choice, no matter how good the Bombers played!
Jock
This is a hard one this week! While Saskatchewan did not play particularly well, they played equally as poorly all across the board. It was not like one phase of the team stunk more than the rest. I cannot even award the jock to a player who is on the sideline, as was the case last week.
No, like a parent who undisciplined his children until a major incident arose and they tried to make up all that discipline at once, Craig Dickenson banned all non-participating players from the sideline. Maybe Craig could get the jock for not understanding leadership the same way that Mike O’Shea does – as I wrote in last week’s Truth Bombs, “Truth Bombs: Winnipeg Is The Class Of The League And Saskatchewan Is A Hot Mess!”
Maybe the jock should go to whoever on the Riders decided to gamble on 3rd and 1 from the Winnipeg 40 yard line and then had Fajardo throw a pass! That maybe is not a terrible spot on the field to gamble from, but that is not a passing play (The commentators speculated that it could have been a broken quarterback run play – if that were the case somebody needs to go to Matt Dunigan’s ‘Sneak School.’) . On the following possession Winnipeg would really make them pay by finding Bailey for a touchdown!
