Bob Irving
CFL.ca
My CJOB broadcast partner Neil Lumsden and I looked at each other at the end of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-24 loss to the Toronto Argonauts Saturday night at Rogers Center and agreed we could not remember a game quite like it.
And between the two of us, we have been watching the CFL for close to 100 years (sorry Neil).
Pick your adjective: Bizarre, zany, peculiar, comical – they all work in describing what happened in front of 19,108 announced spectators.
So tiny was the gathering, that when a fan blew a whistle as Toronto kicker Noel Prefontaine lined up to kick a field goal that would break a 24-24 tie with 23 seconds left, you could hear the Fox-40 blast throughout the entire building.
Prefontaine not only missed the attempt, the ball hit the upright and came back onto the field of play, making it a dead ball. However, referee Andre Proulx ruled the whistle had disrupted the play and Prefontaine got a second chance.
He missed the kick again but this time it went for a single that proved to be the winning point.
If isn’t weird enough, how about what happened earlier in the fourth quarter.
Toronto’s Chad Owens fumbled a punt, prompting the ball to bounce into his own end zone, where James Green of Winnipeg recovered it.
However, (lots of “howevers” in this game), Green was called for “interference” because he illegally contacted Owens when the ball was on the ground, wiping out the Bomber touchdown. This extremely rare development didn’t please the Blue Bombers, in fact, not that much did on this night.
Head coach Paul LaPolice didn’t point a finger at the officials at game’s end. Instead, LaPolice blamed five Winnipeg turnovers, a handful of costly penalties, and some poor special teams play.
Let us not forget arguably the most bizarre development of the evening, the amount of injuries suffered by the Blue and Gold.
The Bombers lost seven very important players throughout the game, including quarterback Buck Pierce, who left late in the second quarter with rib problems, and starting tailback Fred Reid who left with a leg injury.
Pierce is day-to-day, while Reid will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.
To make matters worse, Pierce’s replacement, Alex Brink, was forced out of the game in the fourth quarter with a dislocated shoulder, while Reid’s replacement, Carl Volny was sent to the sidelines as well.
Volny also suffered a torn ACL, and will also miss the remainder of the season.
Also standing on the sidelines for most of the second half were Winnipeg’s two best linemen, defensive tackle Doug Brown and offensive guard Brendon Labatte with shoulder and neck problems respectively.
The seventh casualty was rookie defensive end Rodney Fritz.
It was a huge win for the Argos, keeping their flickering playoff hopes alive, and for the Bombers, a troubling loss.
While they were masters of their own demise in many ways, there were also countless unusual events that conspired against them.
The big question in Winnipeg as the Bombers get set for another first place showdown with the Montreal Alouettes on Friday is, who will be healthy enough to play?
