Redha Kramdi downplayed the significance of his return for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“I don’t think I have that big of an impact,” said Kramdi on Tuesday, who watched the club go 2-4 while he was sidelined with a cast on his left hand.
It sounded silly at the time, and it’s even sillier now considering how exceptional the 29-year-old safety from Montreal was in Saturday’s 22nd edition of the Banjo Bowl.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Trey Vaval (23) and Nuer Gatkuoth (40) celebrate a win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders with the Banjo Bowl trophy following CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Kramdi caused two turnovers — a forced fumble and an interception — to lead the Bombers to a 19-6 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a sell-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.
“(Defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger) gives me a lot of freedom. And I get to do the fun stuff on the defence,” said Kramdi after the win.
“I just get to roll around and be wherever I want, honestly. So it’s cool. All praise to JY, honestly. He’s given me the keys to the car and I’m just driving. Had a nice race today.”
Kramdi’s INT — only the second of his six-year career — couldn’t have come at a better time.
Trailing 16-6 with seven minutes remaining, the Riders were marching and looked poised to make things interesting down the stretch. Riders quarterback Trevor Harris fired a pass to receiver Johnny Johnson III but defensive back Jake Kelly got a hand on it and the ball fell into Kramdi’s lap.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Redha Kramdi (6) intercepts the pass as it bounces off Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Johnny Johnson (88) during second half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Harris, who is having a career year at 40, had a frustrating day, completing 24 of 45 throws for 231 yards and the turnover.
“Our defence played lights-out. They were hitting from the first snap to the last snap. Just played really physical,” said running back Brady Oliveira. “Man, you saw Redha’s presence back out there. I mean, that guy’s a stud, man. It’s really fun to just be on the sidelines and just see him work, but also see the entire unit work.”
The Bombers are now 14-8 in the annual Battle of the Prairies in Winnipeg and improved to 7-6 on the year. The Riders, who won last week’s Labour Day Classic 32-26 in overtime in Regina, fell to 8-5 with the loss.
The last time the Riders were held to six or fewer points? The 2023 Banjo Bowl when the Bombers smacked them 51-6.
The Bombers had 10 pass knockdowns on Saturday and defensive lineman Jake Ceresna helped them put things away with a late sack.
JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (8) gets sacked by Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Mike Rose (42) during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
“If you hold Trevor Harris to six points, pretty good. He’s one of the all-time greats. It’s an honour to play against him, honestly. But you hold him to six points, pretty cool,” said Kramdi.
“You look at the games we lost, defensively it’s always a hiccup here, a step late there. It’s all small stuff. It’s not like a major correction. So in the locker-room, if you guys were in here, everyone knew we could (play at this level). I’m just happy and thankful we got the chance to showcase it today.”
Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros didn’t finish the game. He left with five minutes in the third after being intercepted by Riders defensive back Seyi Oladipo Jr. Collaros chased after the defender and helped force him out of bounds before retreating to the locker room. Head coach Mike O’Shea did not provide an injury update after the game.
Collaros connected on 13 of 19 passes for 175 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Bombers were up 13-3 when he got hurt.
Dru Brown came on in relief and completed four of five passes for 46 yards.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Trey Vaval (23) returns the punt against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during first half CFL football action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
“You want to go and honour him, you want to make sure, first and foremost, that he’s OK,” said right guard Patrick Neufeld on Collaros.
“But the biggest thing is to honour him, and honour the way he plays. I wouldn’t want anyone else but Dru in there and he did a great job controlling the offence, controlling the huddle, and getting us a win.”
It was an innocent-looking play that took Collaros out of action. He did, however, get sacked four times. Brown was also taken down for a loss in the third.
“We won. There’s always going to be stuff to clean up,” said O’Shea.
Oliveira was held to a season-low 28 yards last week but managed 100 on 14 carries on Saturday. It was the Winnipegger’s first time hitting the century mark against the Riders since the 2023 Banjo Bowl.
JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Ridge Texada (26) defends against Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Shemar Bridges (84) during first half CFL football action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Oliveira also made history on the night by becoming the first Canadian to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in five consecutive seasons.
“Obviously this is an incredible milestone, something I’m extremely proud about. No one else has ever done it. But I’ve been very fortunate to have great offensive lines in front of me, year after year,” said Oliveira.
“I’m proud. But I still think there’s still lots for me to do.”
Receiver Tommy Nield caught the game’s lone touchdown in the second quarter to give the Bombers a 7-0 advantage. It was his first touchdown of the season, and first as a member of the Blue and Gold.
Nield left Saskatchewan in the off-season to sign a lucrative two-year deal with Winnipeg.
JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Dru Brown (4) runs for the first down against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during second half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
“He’s had a couple of tough outings and there’s been some defensive plays made on him that make it tougher,” said O’Shea.
“It was nice for Tommy, I’m happy for him, but he also has to understand that he’s a good football player. So, he can’t get down, you gotta keep plugging and he does.”
Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo drilled all four of his field goal attempts to extend his streak to 26 straight makes.
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The Bombers needed to win by at least seven points to claim the season series with their West Division foe, and they did just that. Since they’re not facing each other a third time in the regular season, the tiebreaker between the two is decided by point differential in their head-to-head meetings.
“It’s big. Every game going forward is big,” said Nield.
JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (8) throws against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.
“We’re just trying to keep stacking good days and the rest will take care of itself.”
The Bombers are on a bye next week before hosting the Toronto Argonauts (7-6) on Sept. 25.
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Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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