Published Aug 07, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n We like to say football is the No. 1 team game of them all, that it takes 12-man units in all three phases of the game to produce a CFL winner.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. 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Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Occasionally, though, one or two individuals rise like cream to the top, the difference between the sour taste of defeat and the sweetness of victory.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are coming off a game like that.<\/p>\n Without Trey Vaval and Willie Jefferson, the Bombers would be on a four-game slide and lugging a losing record, along with a plane full of self doubt, into Calgary this weekend.<\/p>\n The slight kick returner and towering defensive end were the long and the short of Friday\u2019s 40-31 win over Toronto, Vaval with two return touchdowns of 90-plus yards, Jefferson with a performance that left fans, the Argos O-line and statisticians alike buzzing.<\/p>\n Jefferson\u2019s eye-popping outing produced the highest player rating of the season, 99.3 out of 100, from those who grade individual performance, earning him player-of-the-week honours and a touch of self-satisfaction, too.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s No. 1, as of this year,\u201d the quarterback\u2019s worst nightmare was telling me the other day. \u201cI had the opportunity to get some knockdowns, get my hands up. It was a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n Good is a word.<\/p>\n Jefferson\u2019s night included eight plays in which he hurried or hit Toronto\u2019s Nick Arbuckle, including a sack that forced a fumble, which was scooped up and taken for a touchdown by teammate Jay Person.<\/p>\n He also swatted four Arbuckle passes out of the air before they could get downfield and do who knows what kind of damage, making for an Uncle Willie\u2019s buffet of big plays.<\/p>\n The stats geeks called it \u201cone of the most dominant defensive performances in CFL history.\u201d<\/p>\n Jefferson knows he\u2019s had better. A three-sack game or an outing with an interception and a sack or two come to mind.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Given the circumstance his team was in \u2013 three straight losses by two touchdowns or more \u2013 it couldn\u2019t have come at a better time.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old says he hadn\u2019t heard the outside noise about his lack of big plays this season, but he had noticed his own teammates calling on him to do his thing to help end the skid.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need one of those big plays,\u201d is what he recalled hearing. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, if it comes it comes.\u2019 It\u2019s not something that you can force. I can try to impose my will on a player, but I try to do my thing within the defence.\u201d<\/p>\n Vaval\u2019s contribution last week tipped the scales just as dramatically, even if he weighs in at 80 pounds less than Jefferson and stands eight inches shorter.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old rookie says he found himself reliving the two returns in the first day or two of practice this week.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI can re-imagine the game \u2013 I feel like I\u2019m still kind of there,\u201d Vaval said. \u201cBut now we\u2019ve passed all that. We\u2019ve got a game in a couple of days. We don\u2019t worry about last week.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to forget when you\u2019ve been flooded with love from back home.<\/p>\n The kid from Blue Springs, Mo., made some history here, too, becoming the first player in Blue Bomber history to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in the same game.<\/p>\n Vaval had been putting some pressure on himself to make a big play. So he made two, taking a huge weight off his slender shoulders just seven games into his pro career.<\/p>\n \u201cThat made feel a lot happier,\u201d he said. \u201cSo this week I\u2019ll be a lot more relaxed, tracking the ball down.\u201d<\/p>\n Which brings us to Calgary.<\/p>\n What, pray tell, do these two do for an encore?<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Jefferson knows he\u2019ll be facing more experienced blockers than Toronto lined up. Communication breakdowns left him untouched on some plays last week.<\/p>\n He also knows Vernon Adams is no Arbuckle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be totally different,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cVA is a little bit more elusive. They both have had times when they\u2019re hot and times when they can be better. VA coming off his injury\u2026 he\u2019s confident, excited to be back in the lineup. We\u2019ve just got to get to him early. And often. We\u2019ve got to get in his face, get some hands up in his face, knock some balls down, get him on the ground\u2026. and get him frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n Let him get come confidence and rhythm and it\u2019s another story, as the Bombers found out in two games last month.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can be really good,\u201d is how Jefferson put it.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n As for Vaval, he\u2019ll just try to read his blockers, evade tacklers and get as much as he can out of every return, without the weight of expectation he\u2019d been carrying.<\/p>\n His perfect encore?<\/p>\n \u201cAnother two this week,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019d be pretty cool. Whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody can expect that kind of lightning to strike twice, just like nobody should count on Jefferson for a repeat performance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just got to keep winning,\u201d Jefferson said.<\/p>\n The Bombers will most likely have to get back to doing it the old-fashioned way on Saturday.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll find out if they still can.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-53685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Trey-Vaval-1-scaled-e1749861303627.jpg\")
Winnipeg Blue Bombers kick returner Trey Vaval. Photo by Cameron Bartlett \/Winnipeg Blue BombersArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.2.5\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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