Blue Bombers pick ‘Riders apart in Banjo Bowl

WINNIPEG – Redha Kramdi forced a fumble and made a game-saving interception to help the Winnipeg Blue Bombers edge the Saskatchewan Roughriders 19-6 in the annual Banjo Bowl at Princess Auto Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Kramdi added a major boost to the Bombers’ defence, returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for six games. All week, his teammates talked about his importance to the group, notably his playmaking ability and high football IQ.

Both were on full display Saturday as Kramdi forced a critical fumble midway through the first quarter with the Roughriders threatening, and then picked off Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris midway through the fourth quarter with the Bombers protecting a 10-point lead.

Winnipeg improved to 7-6 with the win and are back in the thick of the West Division playoff race. They still have work to do, with the Edmonton Elks (9-3) and Roughriders (8-5) ahead, and the B.C. Lions (6-6) and Calgary Stampeders (5-7) trailing. The Stampeders, Lions and Elks were all playing Saturday night.

The Bombers are now 14-8 in the Banjo Bowl and have won the annual Labour Day Classic rematch in nine of the last 11 years. Winnipeg also gets revenge for last week’s 32-26 overtime defeat in Regina.

With the season-series now tied one game apiece, and with no other games to be played this season between the two clubs, the Bombers claim the series tiebreaker owing to a higher point differential between the two games. Therefore, if the Bombers and Roughriders were to tie in the regular season standings, Winnipeg would earn the higher spot.

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros had been playing some of his best football in recent weeks, converting 70 per cent of his passes and has a five-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio over the past three games. He would last just three quarters before being pulled with an undisclosed injury, ending his day 13-for-19 passing for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Dru Brown took over in relief and finished 4-for-5 for 46 passing yards, with zero touchdowns or interceptions.

The Bombers recorded 291 net yards on offence, with Tommy Nield scoring the lone touchdown. Sergio Castillo rounded out the scoring with four field goals, connecting from 31, 45, 44 and 36 yards.

Running back Brady Oliveira bounced back from a season-low 28 yards on nine carries last week, registering 100 yards on 14 rushes. The last time Oliveira rushed for more than a 100 yards against Saskatchewan’s defence was in the 2023 Banjo Bowl.

The Winnipeg native also became the first Canadian in CFL history to record five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

The Roughriders dropped to 8-5 with the loss, but are still firmly entrenched in second place in the West, behind only Edmonton.