WINNIPEG 鈥� 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.
鈥淲e 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,鈥� Collaros said.
鈥淚 did actually really feel that. I typically don鈥檛 enjoy being the guy to have to hype everybody up, but I had to share that with them.鈥�
Winnipeg鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淲e come in as a little circle and you can just see the look in his eyes and just the message he gave us, 鈥榯hat something鈥檚 different in the air,鈥欌�� Demski said of Collaros.
鈥淔rom that moment on it鈥檚 like, yeah OK, he鈥檚 locked in. And he came out and proved it.鈥�
Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who got the start ahead of Tre Ford, had a tough night against Winnipeg鈥檚 stifling defence. He was 19-of-34 passing for 223 yards with three TDs and no picks.
鈥淓xecution, man,鈥� Bethel-Thompson said. 鈥淭o come in and have a performance like that is extremely disappointing and embarrassing. It鈥檚 not who the heck we are.鈥�
Edmonton interim head coach Jarious Jackson wasn鈥檛 pinning the blame on his quarterback. He also wasn鈥檛 backtracking on his decision to start Bethel-Thompson over Ford.
鈥淢cLeod鈥檚 still our quarterback,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淚 thought he played well. Early on, we鈥檝e got to help him with some of the calls and some of the things that we鈥檙e doing offensively.鈥�
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鈥檚 fortunes turned early.
On Winnipeg鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 lead to 41-20.
Demski added his second TD of the game 23 seconds into the fourth, followed by Lawler鈥檚 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.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
