MONTREAL – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers can claim the West Division and the right to host the Western Final on Nov. 9 with a win or tie on Saturday afternoon.
It won’t come easy, though, as the East Division champion Montreal Alouettes await.
Given the importance of the outcome, Blue Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea will certainly try to get the ball into the hands of Most Outstanding Player candidate Brady Oliveira. Oliveira leads all rushers with 1,318 yards and is set to face a defensive front surrendering 119.4 per game.
While their spot in the Eastern Final has been wrapped up for several weeks, there are still areas of improvement for the Als. It’s going to take a complete team effort to shut down Oliveira, beginning with Lwal Uguak and Derek Wiggin on the line of scrimmage. At linebacker, Tyrice Beverette and Darnell Sankey have been among the best at the position with 207 combined defensive tackles but Bryce Cosby and Geoffrey Cantin-Arku should take on greater roles this week with head coach Jason Maas monitoring playing time.
Oliveira presents just one half of the offensive problem the Als have to deal with. Quarterback Zach Collaros has completed the most passes of his career this season with 318 and can set a new career high in yards with 248 on Saturday.
Collaros has found success in spreading the football around but has been particularly fond of finding rookie Ontaria Wilson and veteran Nic Demski, who are 57 and 60 yards away, respectively, from 1,000.
The game will also be extra special for Montreal native Kevens Clercius as he returns home to finish his first CFL regular season.
The Bombers’ pass game will get a good test given the Als have thrived all season long on stopping opposing air attacks. Much like the rest of the lineup, an eye is going to be kept on the usage of the team’s defensive backs but Marc Antoine-Dequoy, Kabion Ento and Wesley Sutton should all see action in their final tune up.
Fortunately for the Als, Maas has the luxury of splitting playing time under centre with Cody Fajardo and Davis Alexander having both seen a fair share of action this season. It’s Fajardo getting the start but snaps could be split.
The targets are also likely to be divided up. Of note, Austin Mack is back in, joining mainstays Kaion Julien-Grant, Tyler Snead, Cole Spieker and Charleston Rambo. Nate Behar could also see more balls thrown his way to spread the workload around.
As impressive as the Als have been in defending the pass, the Bombers have been better. The group of Tyrell Ford, Evan Holm and Deatrick Nichols have held opposing quarterbacks to an average of 232.7 yards per game. Ford leads the team with seven interceptions.
At running back for Maas’ team, Walter Fletcher checks back in after missing last week’s game against BC. Fletcher owns 711 rushing yards but was held to just 36 on 12 carries when the two teams met all the way back in Montreal’s Week 1 win.
Defensive lineman Willie Jefferson, who’s also impacted the pass game with a team leading 10 knockdowns, will be relied upon to close gaps on Fletcher. Linebacker Redha Kramdi is hoping to put a bow on a successful regular season that’s seen him record 52 defensive tackles and a pair of sacks.
As he’s preached all season long, O’Shea and his players are leaning on what’s made them successful over the long haul as they enter a game with plenty at stake.
A win or tie and Winnipeg hosts the Western Final against either Saskatchewan or BC.
Montreal can go into the Eastern Final having knocked off the West’s current best.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. Fans in Canada can watch on CTV and RDS. American and international viewers will find the game on CFL+.
