Jets preparing for NHL draft
Winnipeg Watch
The Winnipeg Jets are looking ahead to the NHL Entry Draft, which begins Friday.
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Zach Collaros threw three touchdown passes and ran for a critical TD himself to lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 36-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Thursday. The veteran quarterback, who was 25 of 30 for 334 yards, connected on two touchdown strikes to Nic Demski, one for eight yards and another for 60. Keric Wheatfall hauled in a 52-yard TD pass. Demski, who was a game-time decision with an injured ankle, extended his reception streak to 74 consecutive games. The Blue Bombers upped their record to 3-0 in front of a seventh consecutive sellout at Princess Auto Stadium. Edmonton remained winless at 0-3. Winnipeg has won its last 13 meetings against Edmonton and are 16-2 against the club since 2017. 'We're not a broken football team, I can tell you that,' Elks head coach Mark Kilam said after their latest loss. Story continues below advertisement 'We're a tough group that was in this game to the final five-and-a-half minutes. The five-and-a-half minutes is the difference between our group and Winnipeg's group; a group that has been to the Grey Cup five years in-a-row. We have to figure out a way to win games at the end of the game. That was the difference in this game.' Fans got an exciting finish. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Winnipeg led 23-13 at halftime, but Elks quarterback Tre Ford came out firing in the third quarter, hitting Kaion Julien-Grant with a 68-yard touchdown pass at 2:01. Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard followed that up with a 41-yard field goal to tie the game 23-23. Winnipeg responded by marching down to Edmonton's 22-yard line, but only came away with a 30-yard Sergio Castillo field goal at 2:36 of the fourth. The Bombers then chewed up the clock midway through the quarter, putting up an 11-play, 86-yard drive that Collaros capped by escaping from pressure and running 13 yards into the end zone with 5:42 left. Castillo added a 23-yard field goal with 1:20 remaining. Ford was 18 of 29 for 252 yards and no interceptions. 'We've got to be able to convert on those second and longs,' Ford said. Story continues below advertisement 'Not saying we've got to do every single one, but we've got to win some of them, which is going to extend some drives — lead to possible points. And we had some good field position in some of those situations too and we weren't able to get points, so we've got to play a little bit better offensively.' Elks backup Cody Fajardo scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. Blanchard was also good on field goals from 38 and 29 yards and made his two converts. Castillo also booted a 35-yard field goal and made three of four convert attempts. Both teams scored on their second possession of the game. Fajardo busted over on a one-yard quarterback sneak, but Winnipeg responded with Demski's eight-yard TD catch. Castillo missed the convert attempt to give the Elks a 7-6 lead. Blanchard booted a 38-yard field goal one minute into the second quarter. The Bombers replied with Collaros sailing the ball to Wheatfall along the sidelines, who got by his defender and ran into the end zone at 2:39. Three minutes later, Collaros threw a deep pass to Demski, who bumped off his defender and sped into the end zone for a 60-yard score. Castillo was good on his convert to make it 20-10. Story continues below advertisement Both teams were then hit by fumbles. Edmonton didn't capitalize but Winnipeg used its turnover for Castillo's 35-yarder that made it 23-10 with under two minutes left in the first half. Collaros was 16 of 18 passing for 232 yards and three touchdowns at halftime. After Julien-Grant's TD catch, Bombers defensive back Evan Holm intercepted Ford midway through the third, but he was called for pass interference. Ford was sacked by Kyrie Wilson on the next play. Up next Bombers: Will visit the Calgary Stampeders on July 3. Elks: Host the Ottawa Redblacks on July 6.
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have prided themselves on their ground game for a long time. In Thursday night's showdown against the visiting Edmonton Elks, it was an air show that got it done. The running attack sputtered for most of the evening with reigning Most Outstanding Player Brady Oliveira missing a second consecuvtive game with a shoulder injury. Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros made up for it with his arm in a big way by completing 25-of-30 attempts for 334 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and a rushing touchdown — his first since Week 15 in 2023 — to lead the Bombers to a 36-23 victory over the winless Elks. John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed 25-of-30 passes for 334 yards, three touchdown passes, and a rushing touchdown in the Bombers 36-23 win over the Edmonton Elks, Thursday at Princess Auto Stadium. Collaros passed for 300-plus yards four times last season. The victory pushes the Bombers to a perfect 3-0 while the Elks continue their slide as they fall to 0-3. Winnipeg has now won 13 consecutive against Edmonton — their longest win streak against any opponent in franchise history — and is 16-2 against them dating back to 2017. The Bombers had 10 rushing yards at the half, but backup tailback Matthew Peterson – a second-year Canadian out of the University of Alberta – picked it up late to end with 65 yards on 12 attempts. American rookie Quinton Cooley chipped in 19 on four rushes. The Elks opened the scoring midway through the first on a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by goalline sneak by backup quarterback Cody Fajardo. After that, the first half was all Big Blue. The home side found paydirt on three drives in a row to take a 23-13 advantage into half. John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Nic Demski had a pair of touchdowns in the first half of the Bombers victory over the Elks. Collaros's first strike was an eight-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski — who was a game-time decision after missing practice all week with an ankle injury — from eight yards out. Kicker Sergio Castillo missed the convert, which he did once last season. Winnipeg jumped out in front on their first touch of the second quarter after Collaros dropped a perfect pass into the arms of Keric Wheatfall on a go route for a 52-yard touchdown to go up 13-10. A tough act to follow, but Demski did just that as he hauled in a pass at the Edmonton 20 and did the rest for a 60-yard touchdown. It seemed Winnipeg could do no wrong in the first 30 minutes as rookie returner Trey Vaval mishandled a punt near midfield and the Green and Gold recovered. No damage was done, though, as strong-side linebacker Redha Kramdi hit Elks running back Justin Rankin with a peanut punch to force a fumble to give it right back to the Blue and Gold. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. It looked like the Bombers were going to run away with things until Edmonton kicked off the second half in style with quarterback Tre Ford chucking a 68-yard touchdown to receiver Kaion Julien-Grant to cut Edmonton's deficit to 23-20. It was redemption for Julien-Grant — who led all receivers with 115 yards — as he had a ball bounce off his hands in the corner of the end zone at the end of the second quarter. Two drives later, Julien-Grant had another deep ball thrown in his direction, but he tripped after some minor contact with Bombers halfback Evan Holm. Holm intercepted it, but a questionable pass interference penalty was called to spoil the turnover. The call allowed the Elks to kick a field goal to make it a 23-23 draw with 5:39 left in the third. John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Edmonton Elks' Javon Leake runs for a first down in the first half against the Bombers, Thursday. Edmonton was backed up in their own end on their next possession and Ford made a crucial mistake with an inaccurate throw to the sideline that should've been picked off by second-year corner Terrell Bonds, but he did not maintain possession of the ball when he hit the ground. Ford ended the night with 252 passing yards and one touchdown while completing 18-of-29 attempts. The most athletic pivot in the CFL only managed six rushing yards on one carry. He was sacked three times, with linebacker Tony Jones, linebacker Kyrie Wilson, and defensive end Willie Jefferson all taking turns dropping the Canadian QB to the turf. His twin brother, former Bombers corner Tyrell Ford, made two defensive tackles. Air Collaros never got off the ground in the third frame but started to show signs of life at the start of the fourth by finding Canadian wideout Kevens Clercius for a 45-yard gain to set up a 30-yard field goal by Castillo to reclaim the lead at 26-23. Then, with just under six minutes left in the contest, the 36-year-old quarterback showed he can still make you pay with his legs as he closed out an 11-play, 86-yard drive with a 13-yard highlight-reel touchdown scramble to give the Bombers a 33-23 edge. He celebrated by hucking the ball to a lucky fan in the 12th row of Section 137. Despite only having five days to prepare for the Elks, the Bombers looked like a well-oiled machine. Demski led the Bombers in receiving with 97 yards and five catches. Dalton Schoen had his biggest game of the year with six snags for 75 yards, while Wheatfall added 62 on three catches. John Woods / THE CANADIAN PRESS Edmonton's Chelen Garnes (right) throws the Bombers' Quinton Cooley to the turf. Princess Auto Stadium was sold out for a seventh consecutive game. The Bombers will look to carry their momentum to next Thursday when they hit the road to play the Calgary Stampeders (2-1) at McMahon Stadium. Taylor AllenReporter 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. Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
