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![\"JOHN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3611958_web1_JGW103_20250927_272059.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Trey Vaval (23) celebrates his opening kick return for the touchdown against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a part of a lot of games like this here in this building, and that was a lot of fun. It\u2019s been a while, yeah. But it was fun,\u201d said quarterback Zach Collaros.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we played a pretty complete football game \u2013 all three phases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collaros saw his first action since he left the Banjo Bowl with a head injury and was in his vintage Most Outstanding Player form by completing 20-of-25 passes for 367 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions.<\/p>\n
It was just the fourth time this season Collaros has managed to leave a game without committing a turnover. He also managed more completions (four) on the opening drive than his backup Chris Streveler had in all four quarters in last week\u2019s bizarre 26-18 win in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
The offensive line also did their part as Collaros never got sacked.<\/p>\n
\u201cZach\u2019s the ultimate competitor. Even when he\u2019s not playing and not feeling well, he\u2019s still helping with the game plan, still the first one in, last one to leave. He\u2019s the ultimate pro,\u201d said receiver Nic Demski.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you put that much detail in when you\u2019re preparing for games, even when you\u2019re not playing, you don\u2019t miss a step when you\u2019re back out there healthy. Kudos to him. For him to do this and lead our team to that success means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t As fantastic as Collaros was, the defence and special teams were equally as brilliant. Before everyone inside Princess Auto Stadium could even take their seats, Bombers returner Trey Vaval was sprinting down the sideline for a 98-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff to spot the home side an immediate 6-0 advantage. The red-hot rookie had a 128-yard touchdown return last week on a missed field goal. Vaval has four return touchdowns on the year and could very well be the Bombers\u2019 nominee for both Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.<\/p>\n \u201cI trust myself and my abilities,\u201d said Vaval. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised by what I\u2019m doing. I\u2019m not surprised by my blockers. That hole was big as putting a bus in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton arrived in town with the second-best offence in the CFL with a 30 points per game average. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and standout receiver Kenny Lawler \u2014 two names that belong in the race for this year\u2019s MOP award \u2014 were held in check all day. Lawler, a former Bomber who inked a $300,000 deal with the Ticats in free agency and is averaging career highs across the board, was targeted nine times which led all receivers but could only muster two grab for 34 yards. Lawler had just one catch for 11 yards heading into the fourth quarter when the score was 33-3.<\/p>\n Mitchell was held to 21-for-32 for 212 yards.<\/p>\n \u201cWe executed and limited Kenny\u2019s explosion plays,\u201d said dime back Redha Kramdi. \u201cYou gotta limit Kenny Lawler, who is the best receiver in the league, and give different looks to Bo to get him to hold on the ball a little bit. That\u2019s what we did, we did a good job. The result you saw was us executing the game plan. But there\u2019s still work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s only the second time this season Lawler has been held to two catches. He was moved all over the field to create different matchups, but it didn\u2019t make a difference: Bombers defenders Dexter Lawson Jr., Demerio Houston and Deatrick Nichols all took turns breaking up passes in his direction, with none bigger than the one Nichols had to close out the opening half. Trailing 19-3, the Ticats wanted to enter the break with some momentum, so they went for it on a third and four on Winnipeg\u2019s eight-yard line. Mitchell found Lawler in the middle of the end zone before Nichols came from behind to poke out the football.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a huge play. It was a gutsy play for them,\u201d said Nichols. \u201cThose are the plays that you take to heart. They\u2019re gonna go for it and throw it to their guy, and I just won, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Collaros marched the Bombers down the field on their first possession and capped it off with a 44-yard strike to Dillon Mitchell to put the Blue and Gold ahead 13-0. The play was Mitchell\u2019s first touchdown as a Bomber. It\u2019s been a tough go in Bomberland for Mitchell who was expected to do big things after signing for nearly $150,000 in the off-season after three standout seasons in Edmonton. He entered the weekend with 15 catches for 126 yards in seven games, but produced three for a season-high 67 yards against the Ticats.<\/p>\n Demski bounced back from having zero catches in Ottawa with seven for 114 yards including a 46-yarder. The Winnipegger has 424 catches for his hometown club which puts him ahead of Clarence Denmark for fifth all-time in franchise receptions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is pretty cool. To go into the top five, it means a lot just being from here and growing up in the city,\u201d said Demski.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m thankful for it, I\u2019m thankful for the trust from the organization and for my teammates for making it all possible.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the second and final meeting between the two clubs this season. The Ticats bested the Bombers 32-21 in Hamilton in Week 15.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t Streveler had three touchdown runs in the final two quarters, including an eight-yard scamper to put the finishing touches on a 104-yard, 12-play drive with less than two minutes left to make it 40-3. Bombers running back Brady Oliveira had 15 carries for 98 yards.<\/p>\n The victory allows the Bombers to stay as the No. 3 seed in the West. The B.C. Lions (8-7), who fumbled the season series against Winnipeg at the beginning of the year, are currently pencilled in as the crossover team. The Calgary Stampeders (8-6), who own the tiebreaker with the Bombers but have lost three in a row, are hanging onto the No. 2 spot, and the right to host the West semi-final, by a thread.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cEverything that we want is in front of us,\u201d said Nichols. \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bombers are on a bye next week and don\u2019t play again until Oct. 11 when they take on the Edmonton Elks on the road.<\/p>\n taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (8) throws for the touchdown to Dillon Mitchell (13) during first half CFL action against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Winnipeg on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 Dillon Mitchell (13) catches the touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Collaros (8) as Hamilton Tiger-Cats\u2019 DaShaun Amos (8) defends during first half CFL action in Winnipeg on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS
\nHamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell (19) looks downfield during first half CFL action against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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