WINNIPEG – There were plenty of reasons for Mike O’Shea’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers to be excited going into this game.
For one, star running back Andrew Harris, the team’s prized free agent signing, was playing his first game against his former team. The Bombers were also going up against the BC Lions, a divisional foe and a team they are directly jockeying for position with in the West Division.
Harris ended the game with 66 rushing yards on 12 attempts and added 50 receiving yards with a touchdown as well.
Winnipeg stormed out of the gate, jumping out to a 24-3 lead before BC rallied to close the gap to 24-20 at halftime. From there, the two teams exchanged the lead but the Bombers put an end to the the Lions’ rally attempt.
The back-and-forth contest went all the way until the final whistle. With 44 seconds remaining and BC on a third-and-one near the Winnipeg goal line, defensive back Mo Leggett came up with a big stop on a Chris Rainey rush attempt to end the threat and get the ball back, locking down the win for the Bombers. Leggett recorded his league-high seventh interception earlier in the game.
“He has that pick, he comes off of coverage and makes that interception early. I think he returned a missed field goal probably 55 yards. Has a little setback, comes back in the game, makes basically the play of the game. Coming off the block, spinning off the block, throwing himself into the path of Rainey, stopping him short on third-and-short. Gosh, that’s an unbelievable football play. I’m so proud of him.”
In a game that featured this much emotion with both teams battling until the last seconds, O’Shea is proud of how his team managed it all.
“I thought the guys handled it pretty well. There was a brief moment where I thought it got a little quiet but obviously I didn’t need to worry about that. They were prepared to win the game,” said O’Shea.
The Bombers pulled out all the stops in the victory including a fake field goal attempt that resulted in a 20-yard gain off a Weston Dressler rush but also an end-around trick play on the same drive that saw quarterback Matt Nichols haul in a touchdown pass.
It’s a play that’s always been available to the Bombers according to O’Shea, the team was simply waiting for when they saw the opportunity for it to be successful.
“They’re football plays. They’re designed because the coordinators see something that they can take advantage of and they’re practiced and executed, and if they’re executed then it results in a good looking play.”
With BC and Winnipeg now tied with nine wins apiece, next week’s rematch at BC Place now proves to be even more crucial for both clubs.
