Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
WINNIPEG — The result didn’t go his way, but Chris Streveler will be telling people about his first CFL game for a long time.
The Bombers’ rookie quarterback became the first since Anthony Calvillo in 1994 with Las Vegas to start a regular season-opener straight out of college on Thursday night. Then, after two weather delays and nearly six more hours, he wrapped up the longest game in CFL history.
More importantly, Streveler proved he’s up to the task of being a CFL quarterback — even if the Eskimos pulled off an impressive come-from-behind 33-30 win.
“There were some good things that I personally and our offence can build on and also some things we are going to need to get better at,” Streveler told reporters post-game. “We were in the game at the end and had a lot of great plays on defence and a big special teams play. Offensively we made some plays but at the end of the day, we needed to make one or two more to wrap it up there at the end.”
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There are few situations more difficult to handle as a quarterback than what Streveler faced Thursday night. Armed with the task of kicking off the CFL season with no pro experience and battling a pair of rain delays, the 23-year-old had every excuse built in for not being able to remain in rhythm. But at the end, he gave his squad a chance to win and said all the right things when pressed by reporters after the contest.
“With the weather delays, I don’t think I ever imagined it going like that,” he said. “It definitely affects the flow of the night. I mean you go out there for seven minutes and then you come back in (to the locker room) but both teams had to do it so it’s not an excuse. I think we did a good job of relaxing while we were in here but then kicking it back in when we were ready to go back out. I don’t think that was an issue for us because we were ready to go back out.”
With Bombers fans nervously watching after an injury sidelined Matt Nichols for at least the first month of the season, Streveler may have provided a much-needed sense of relief. The University of South Dakota grad played through inclement conditions and overcame two lengthy delays to complete 13 of 23 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
Streveler also threw two interceptions, but his touchdowns to Weston Dressler, Darvin Adams and sophomore Drew Wolitarsky had the Bombers playing in front throughout most of the game.
“It felt really good, there is no doubt about that but I’m not really thinking about that now,” Streveler stated when asked about that first touchdown strike to Dressler. “I’m thinking about the couple of passes I could have made that could have given us a better chance to win.”
The Bombers fell down 10 early after surrendering a 101-yard touchdown to receiver Derel Walker but the defence rallied to the football in the second half and Streveler kept the ball moving enough to give his team an 8-point lead before the three-minute warning. Despite a being pushed to the brink by the Eskimos who came back to win it off a Sean Whyte field goal, head coach Mike O’Shea seemed pleased with his rookie quarterback’s demeanor.
“He had a lot of poise obviously, I thought he did really well,” O’Shea said of Streveler. “I thought he handled the quarterback position as a pro. For his first start, as a 23-year-old, I thought he was very calm and I think he gave his teammates a lot of confidence.”
The next challenge awaits in Montreal in Week 2, as the Bombers travel east to take on the Alouettes on June 22 in the Als’ home-opener. These early-season games are critical for the Bombers, who are trying to weather the storm without their starting quarterback, as they look to stay afloat in the highly-competitive West.
If Thursday night is any indication, Streveler gives the Bombers a chance to do just that as Nichols remains an observer.
