Bombers lose to Stamps on last-second field goal
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CALGARY -In the heartbreak of the moment, few members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers could see the positives that arose from their 36-34 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
They were crushed, still stinging from a last-second field goal that spoiled a marvellous second-half comeback, and nothing was going to ease the pain of their first defeat in eight games.
Still, this was an inspirational performance by the Bombers — in enemy territory at McMahon Stadium — and they showed the first-place Stampeders, and the rest of the CFL, that they are capable of big things this season.
I can say that.
Head coach Mike O’Shea would not.
“Play 60 minutes and have a smile on your face,” O’Shea said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We can’t start that slow and spot a very good team that many points in the first half.”
The Bombers entered the game on a seven-game winning streak but had to face a Calgary team that was on a nine-game run and was running away with the West Division at 10-1-1.
They may as well have stayed in the hotel, the way they performed in the first half.
Calgary took the ball from the opening kickoff and shoved it down the Bombers throats. The Stampeders, with their star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell leading the way, put up 10 points in the first quarter and increased their lead to 27-7 at halftime.
At that point it looked like the Bombers were completely outclassed. The Stamps had 280 yards of offence to the Bombers 134, had touchdowns from receivers Lemar Durant and Kamar Jorden and running back Jerome Messam, and looked like they would cruise to victory.
“We did make mistakes in all three phases in the first half,” O’Shea said. “Cover teams weren’t tackling, we weren’t playing tough enough and there were enough mistakes to put us in that kind of hole.”
One of the biggest mistakes was when defensive back Johnny Adams failed to pounce on a fumble by Calgary running back Jerome Messam — in fact he just waved at the ball — deep in Bombers territory. The Stamps got the ball back and kicked a field goal. The Bombers lost by two.
“If you think about it, a ball was loose and we could have picked it up,” defensive end Jamaal Westerman said. “That probably would have changed the game a little bit.”
The Bombers, who got their only first-half points on a Timothy Flanders 50-yard touchdown run on third down and one, were a different team in the second half.
Quarterback Matt Nichols and his offence came to life and started on a comeback trail that had to make everyone in the CFL take notice.
Trailing 30-7, Nichols led the Bombers on a drive that culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass to Clarence Denmark. Then in the fourth quarter he capped an 83-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that brought his team within 10 points.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Bombers linebacker Tony Burnett separated Calgary receiver Simon Charbonneau-Campeau from the ball, defensive end Shayon Green recovered and linebacker Khalil Bass took the ball from his hands and ran for a touchdown. Suddenly it was 30-27 and the Bombers were not done yet.
After a Rene Paredes field goal made it 33-27, the Bombers got the ball back with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter and drove 66 yards for a Julian Feoli-Gudino touchdown with 20 ticks on the clock. Justin Medlock’s convert gave the Bombers a 34-33 lead and it looked like an almost unimaginable comeback was complete.
But there were those 20 dreaded seconds left.
Calgary got the ball back with 16 seconds to play on their own 29, Mitchell completed two passes to the Bombers 45, and Paredes kicked a 52-yard dagger as time ran out.
“Awful way to lose,” Nichols said after his team fell to 8-5 on the season and lost for the first time since July 21.
“Our team did a good job of clawing back and throwing ourselves in a position to win the football game. But it’s a 60-minute football game.”
The bottom line is the Bombers lost but the message they sent to the Stampeders was heard loud and clear. They are a team to be reckoned with — even if that’s hard to see right now.
“We didn’t beat them, so I don’t think we showed them anything,” O’Shea said.
“Our guys know I’m proud of them, the way they played in the second half. I love the way they came out and the way they played. I love it. Let’s play 60 minutes.”
Defensive back Kevin Fogg was one of the few players able to see the bright side.
“We should still be encouraged, we have to stay encouraged,” he said. “We have to know what we’re capable of doing. I’m proud that we fought back. There’s no reason for us to hang our heads low. We lost but there’s still a lot of positive to come out of that second half.”
twyman@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/Ted_Wyman
QUARTER SCORES
Bombers 0 7 7 20 — 34
Stampeders 10 17 3 6 — 36
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER
Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is the favourite to be the most outstanding player in the CFL this season and he showed exactly why. Mitchell threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns, didn’t throw an interception and was never sacked. He also put his team in position for the winning field goal with two completions in 12 seconds late in the fourth quarter.
TOP DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Bombers LB Khalil Bass had five tackles, a forced fumble and scored a touchdown when he took the ball from the hands of teammate Shayon Green, who had recovered a Simon Charbonneau-Campeau fumble in the fourth quarter. LB Tony Burnett forced the fumble.
TOP SPECIAL TEAMER
Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes made five of his six field-goal attempts and nailed a 52-yarder as time expired to give Calgary the win. Honourable mention to Stamps Roy Finch, who had a staggering 297 combined return yards.
KEY PLAY
Mitchell hit Lemar Durant with a 22-yard pass over the middle to the Bombers 45-yard-line with four seconds left in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the Paredes heroics. Durant had to go low to make the clutch reception.
