REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers continued to prove they have one of the best defences in the CFL with a 23-8 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday.
Trailing 8-7 at the half, the Bombers defence shut out the Riders in the second half while the Winnipeg offence scored 16 unanswered points to earn the victory. The Bombers limited the Riders to 258 yards of offence.
“It was a big game and we were just sticking to the game plan, doing what we have to do,” said defensive lineman Willie Jefferson, who played three seasons for the Riders before signing with the Bombers in 2019. “We were getting off the field, getting two-and-outs and making it hard for (Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo) to find his reads. We were just in his face so he had to throw the ball on the move.
“We played a hard game, defensive-wise. Our offence stayed on the field and was able to put up a couple points and give us a break. But when the defence got on the field we tried to be nasty, we tried to be tough, we tried to be relentless and keep them out of field goal range. We did our job.”
In the second half the Bombers got touchdowns from backup quarterback Sean McGuire and receiver Nic Demski, along with a Marc Liegghio field goal, to hand the Riders their first loss of the season.
The win moves the Bombers (4-1) into first place in the West Division with the Riders (3-1) sliding to second place.
McGuire capped a seven-play, 87-yard drive at 4:43 of the third quarter with his second rushing major of the game.
Bombers tailback Andrew Harris had runs of 20 and 15 yards in the drive. Winnipeg took advantage of two Rider penalties totalling 39 yards, including a pass interference penalty that placed the ball on the one-yard line.
Harris ran for 95 yards in the encounter, the exact total needed to move into seventh place overall in the CFL career rushing list. Harris now has 9,214 career rushing yards, one more than Joffrey Reynolds. Mike Pringle is the all-time leader with 16,425.
After Liegghio’s 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Bombers put the game away when Zach Collaros combined with Demski on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 5:12 left in the game. Demski was returning after missing two games with a hip injury.
Fajardo, who entered the game leading the CFL in completion percentage at 78.9 per cent, struggled against a ferocious Winnipeg defence. Fajardo finished the game 23 of 39 passing for 211 yards and three interceptions.
“It’s probably the worst game I’ve played as a professional,” said Fajardo. “For me, after you throw three picks you might as well keep slinging it. If you throw four picks, you throw four picks. If you throw five picks, you throw five picks.
“I’m never worried about statistics. I’m trying to do everything in my power to help my team win and I definitely didn’t put us in a good situation today.”
Collaros, who lost the Riders starting QB job to Fajardo in 2019 after suffering a concussion in the season opener, completed 19-of-27 passes for 245 yards. He had one touchdown pass and one interception.
The Bombers started the game committed to the run with Harris carrying the ball on six of the first nine plays. Harris gained 30 yards on the six carries with a long run of seven yards.
Winnipeg got on the scoreboard first following a Brandon Alexander interception that gave the Bombers the ball on the Rider 45-yard line. Collaros struck quickly, connecting with Kenny Lawler on a 40-yard reception along the sideline. Following a four-yard reception by Darvin Adams to take the ball to the Rider one-yard line, McGuire snuck into the end zone for his first CFL touchdown.
The final minute of the half was somewhat confusing after Liegghio missed a 47-yard field goal that Jamal Morrow returned 75 yards to the Winnipeg 37-yard line.
However, the officials penalized the Riders for roughing the kicker, although replays appeared to show Liegghio starting to run downfield after the kick, tripping and falling to the turf. The call was confirmed by the CFL control centre, which led Riders coach Craig Dickenson to challenge the call.
After the review, the call was overturned, giving the ball to the Riders with 17 seconds remaining. After a 12-yard completion to Jordan Williams-Lambert, the half ended with Brett Lauther kicking a 33-yard field goal to give the Riders an 8-7 lead.
Both quarterbacks were banged up in the first half. Collaros went to the dressing room after the first quarter but returned for the next offensive series. Fajardo was injured on a scramble in the second quarter and appeared to hurt his right shoulder.
The teams meet again Saturday in Winnipeg.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
