MONTREAL – The weather aligned perfectly in the final seconds for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday afternoon, as even with the wind and rain in full force, they were able to kick a 51-yard field goal to walk off and win the West Division.
Montreal led by as many as double digits, and even saw two different quarterbacks take the field, but the Bombers fought until the final whistle, and their persistence paid off.
Here are CFL.ca’s three key stats from the Blue Bombers’ win over the Alouettes in Week 21.
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5 – SERGIO CASTILLO FIELD GOALS
The most memorable kick of the game will be Sergio Castillo‘s 51-yard walk-off winner that clinched the Bombers the West Division, but Castillo was responsible for 15 total points for Winnipeg in the game and made three different kicks of over 47 yards in the win.
Castillo not only had the decision of the game on the line with his final kick attempt, but also had to face the wind and rain after his previous attempt from over 60 yards went just left due to the wind. Heading into the last regular-season game, Castillo had connected on 80.7 per cent of his field goal attempts, going 46 of 57, a new career high.
Now, thanks to Castillo’s consistency even with weather and distance as obstacles, the Bombers get to host the Western Final.
3 – BOMBERS RECEIVERS WITH OVER 80 YARDS
Zach Collaros connected with multiple different players in order to move the Bombers downfield and into scoring position, which is part of what makes Winnipeg so dangerous, as they have multiple options when it comes to receiving threats, which was on display against Montreal on Saturday.
Kenny Lawler, Nic Demski, and Ontaria Wilson – who hit 1,000 yards on the season against Montreal – all recorded at least 80 yards each in the win, with Lawler recording 105 yards while Demski tallied 90 and a touchdown, both recording their yardage on just four receptions each.
Wilson added another 83 yards on eight receptions for Winnipeg, and recorded the highest yards after catch of any Bombers receiver with 38.
104 – WINNIPEG PUNT RETURN YARDS
The Bombers were within two points thanks to a final touchdown from Terry Wilson, but the drive all started thanks to Lucky Whitehead returning a punt 54 yards to the Montreal 18-yard line, which then lined up Collaros to toss a 16-yard reception to Keric Wheatfall.
Whitehead’s punt returns on average against Montreal went for 17.3 yards, and his returns all season have set the Bombers up for success offensively, including a crucial return down by eight points in the final minutes against Montreal.