'They just took it from us': Collaros, Bombers spoil Riders home opener

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Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Samuel Emilus scored his first three career CFL touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Riders 45-27 on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. The accomplishment matches a team record set by Weston Dressler in 2007.

“It felt good. I’ve been waiting for that moment.” Emilus told reporters after the game. “I feel like we had that game, (but in the) second half they just took it from us.”

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros threw two touchdowns and scored a four yard major on the ground. Winnipeg’s back-up pivot Dru Brown scored a pair of rushing touchdowns on quarterback sneaks, as well.

The Bombers pulled away from the Riders in the 3rd quarter after a Janarion Grant’s 92 yard punt-return for a touchdown eluding eight would-be tacklers.

“That broke our backs. I think our guys stopped playing a bit. That’s on us to coach that out of them. When they see a flag out there, I think they instinctively slow down a bit. That was a tough reversal.” Head coach Craig Dickenson said following the loss.

Roughriders starting quarterback Trevor Harris, who was a game-time decision, showed few signs of injury in the contest. The veteran pivot completed 29 of his 41 pass attempts for 405 yards and three touchdowns. Harris also rushed three times for a total of 15 yards on the night.

“This one sucks. You want to win at home especially in an electric environment that the fans provided tonight.” Said Harris following the game. “When you have your first loss you learn a lot about your team and you see a lot of motivated guys in that locker room.”

Harris told reporters that on Tuesday of this week, he thought there was a five percent chance he’d play, but by Thursday he’d improved significantly. The 37-year old crediting an ARP machine and the team’s training staff for helping him rebound so quickly after suffering a hip-pointer injury in the team’s opening week victory over Edmonton.

“He played well. I thought he made good decisions, saw the field well, didn’t look too hobbled, moved pretty well.” Said Dickenson of his starting quarterback. “Trevor just saw the field well and played exceptionally. Those receivers made plays for him. Overall I think the offence gave us a chance.”

The Bombers opened the scoring 3:24 into the contest with a 36-yard field goal off the foot of veteran kicker Sergio Castillo. The Roughriders answered back less than a minute later. Trevor Harris engineered a drive that included a dazzling 38-yard catch along the sideline by Tevin Jones.

Jones, the second year receiver out of Memphis started at wide receiver in place of the injured Derel Walker. Walker was moved to the six-game injured list this week after a lower body injury suffered in the season opener against Edmonton. Canadian receiver Samuel Emilus capped off the play with his first career touchdown on a pass from Harris. The Riders led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was all Winnipeg. Collaros found Dalton Schoen just three minutes into the second quarter near the goal post to give the Bombers a 10-7 lead. Collaros then put together a ten play, 82 yard drive that took 7:42 off the clock and culminated in a four yard dash to the end zone by Collaros himself. The Bombers led 17-7.

The Riders weren’t willing to go into the locker room trailing by 10. Harris quickly put together a five play, 64 yard drive. Harris, starting out of the shotgun, dropped back and fired to Emilus again, for his second touchdown of the night. Blue Bombers lead the Roughriders 17-14 at halftime.

The Roughriders opened the third quarter strong. Trevor Harris put together an error free, 7 play, 84 yard touchdown drive. Samuel Emilus once again found the end zone to complete the hat-trick. The second year receiver from Louisiana Tech finished the night with 7 catches for 77 yards while teammate Tevin Jones had 9 catches for 121 yards and Shawn Bane Jr. had six receptions for 125 yards.

“We like him. We felt like he was a good player all along. He got some opportunities tonight and you saw what he can do.” Dickenson said of Emilus’ breakout performance.

“He’s been that good since the first few days of training camp and I think people are just finding out about him. He’s fun. He’s explosive.” Added Harris of Emilus.

Thanks, in part, to a defensive pass interference call, the Blue Bombers regained the lead just under three minutes later. Bombers back-up quarterback Dru Brown ran a perfect two-yard sneak to bring Winnipeg out front 24-21.

The Bombers scored 14 points in each of the third and fourth quarters. Head coach Craig Dickenson says the team was without five starters in the second half due to injury and the race is now on to get healthy before they face Calgary in week two. The Bombers have scored an eye popping 87 points through two games this season to start 2-0.

The Roughriders record now stands at 1-1.

“It’s a long season. There’s 16 more of these. We’ve got lots of opportunities to improve.” Said coach Dickenson.

The Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, June 24th.