OUT OF THE TUNNEL: HERE WE GO

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

It’s the game that Zach Collaros didn’t get to play in a year ago but next Sunday he will get his chance, albeit it in a different coloured jersey.

The former Saskatchewan Roughrider quarterback will bring his Winnipeg Blue Bombers into Mosaic Stadium on Sunday for the 2019 CFL West Final with a date to the Grey Cup in Calgary on the line.

Collaros was steady and mistake-free in the Bombers’ 35-14 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday, with the dagger coming on a 71-yard touchdown pass to Darvin Adams.

It was an incredibly patient effort by the Bombers across the board especially on defence. They weren’t exceptional but they were solid in shutting down Stampeder quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stamps woes with the running game continued. 

It’s the second straight year that Winnipeg won a West Semi-Final on the road doing the trick last season in Regina. For Collaros, it will be a chance at redemption. In the final week of 2018, Collaros suffered a concussion on a hit by the B.C. Lions’ Odell Willis. It was bad enough that it kept Collaros out of the West Semi-Final that was eventually won by Winnipeg.

This time he will bring Winnipeg into Mosaic Stadium with even bigger odds on the line.

Collaros will get a shot to prove to Rider fans that he is a quality quarterback and can lead a team to a Grey Cup but it won’t be in his hands. The Riders will have to face a very different Bomber offence than the one they saw in the middle of this season. This time it’s not based on the legs of Chris Steveler, but it will be a varied attack that loves to chew up the clock.

Saskatchewan won two of three battles with both of the victories coming at Mosaic Stadium and the Green and White should take this one too, but it will be tight.

The Riders will be healthy and will have the West nominee for the league’s Most Outstanding Player, Cody Fajardo, running a dynamic offence that has a 1,000-yard receiver in Shaq Evans and a pair of receivers, Naaman Roosevelt and Kyran Moore, that were a combined 50 yards away from 1,000. Give the nod to Saskatchewan. 

This game won’t be won through the air so it’s the running game that will prove to be the key for both teams. It’s a battle of the CFL’s top two rushers, Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris and Saskatchewan’s William Powell as well as the CFL’s top two rushing quarterbacks, Fajardo and Streveler. This is a saw-off.

Both offensive lines are two of the best and this is even as well. 

Defensively it will be a great matchup. The Riders were tied for the league lead in sacks and Winnipeg is also able to get after the quarterback. Both units were the top two teams in the league in rush yards against. Winnipeg forced the most turnovers in 2019 but Saskatchewan doesn’t give up the ball. In a head-to-head matchup, the Riders get the edge because of their offence doesn’t give up the ball and they will be able to get to Collaros. 

Like any playoff game, it will come down to three or four plays. Game in and game out it has been the Saskatchewan Roughriders coming up with those key plays and it will happen again. The Collaros redemption tour will end at Mosaic Stadium with the Riders winning 29-17.

One last note, this is the game Rider fans want and it looks like the weather is going to be great. There are currently hundreds of tickets available so let’s sell out Mosaic Stadium.

The East Semi-Final was also a surprise with the Trevor Harris playoff magic coming alive. He led the Edmonton Eskimos to a 37-29 victory over the upstart Montreal Alouettes and will face the CFL’s top team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final on Sunday.

Harris completed 92% of his passes for 421-yards and a touchdown in the victory.

Look for the Eskimos to do it again in Hamilton next week. They will be the first West crossover team to win the East and head to the Grey Cup.

It will be a nightmare for the citizens of Calgary but a dream for the Grey Cup committee and the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup.

This Week in Canada West:

In the rematch of the 2018 Hardy Cup championship, it was the Calgary Dinos coming up with the victory this time 29-4 over the Saskatchewan Huskies.

It wasn’t pretty with the Dinos holding a 4-1 lead at halftime, but in the second half their offence came alive. They finished with 442 yards of offence while their defence held the Huskies to under 300 including holding the country’s leading rusher, Adam Machart to (just) 112-yards rushing.

Calgary will now host the Ontario champions, McMaster Marauders in the Uteck Bowl. McMaster upset the Western Mustangs 29-15 in the Yates Cup.

The Mitchell Bowl will see the Montreal Carabins head to Raymond Field in Wolfville, Nova Scotia to face the Acadia Axemen.

The undefeated Axemen knocked off the Bishop’s Gaiters 31-1 in the Loney Bowl while Montreal upset the number one nationally ranked Laval Rouge et Or in the Dunsmore Cup 25-10.

This Week in the PFC: 

The Saskatoon Hilltops will head on the road this week in search of their 15^th Canadian Bowl championship and their sixth in a row. 

This Saturday they will take on the Langley Rams in a rematch of last year’s title game. The Hilltops are the heavy favourites having crushed the Rams 55-21 last year and beating up the London Beefeaters in last week’s national semi-final 51-1.

Canadian to Watch in the NCAA:

WR – Brendan O’Leary Orange (RS.-Sr.)
Nevada (Mountain West)
6′ 4″ 210lbs.
Toronto, Ontario
High School – Canada Prep Academy

 It’s been a tough 2019 season for O’Leary Orange as he’s seen action in just four games. He caught his first pass of the season this past weekend in the Wolf Pack’s 17-13 victory over San Diego State. In the fourth quarter, O’Leary Orange caught a 50-yard pass to set up the game winning touchdown.

In both 2017 and 2018 O’Leary Orange had four receiving touchdowns and was one of the team’s top receivers in 2017.

He is one of the top receiving prospects in the upcoming 2020 CFL Draft.

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)