The Canadian Press
CALGARY — Demerio Houston is used to being a force on the defensive side of the ball, but he never had the chance to be the game’s only scorer for his Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
That was until Friday night when the defensive back jumped a pass by quarterback Jake Maier and returned it to the end zone for the only touchdown of the 19-18 Bombers win over the Calgary Stampeders.
It’s just another day in the office for the league-leader in interceptions with seven total picks in 2023.
“I knew my team and my defence needed a play,” said Houston to TSN’s Farhan Lalji. “It came my way and it was a great moment.”
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Houston’s score was the only major of the game on a night that both offences could not find a way to get into the end zone, instead having to settle for 10 combined field goals on 12 attempts.
The touchdown also came at a time when the Blue Bombers were trailing by three as the offence struggled to move the ball against a stingy Stampeders’ defence.
The Blue Bombers went 0-for-4 in the red zone and the Stampeders didn’t do any better on their two trips to the final 20 yards.
“They didn’t come up with any touchdowns or we were able to hold them to three points. If you can’t score touchdowns it’s hard to win ball games that way.”
Calgary’s offence converted only two of 17 second downs while gaining 245 yards of net offence against Winnipeg’s defence.
After throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in Week 10, quarterback Dru Brown completed 17 of 27 attempts for 171 yards, relying on running back Brady Oliveira (14 carries for 80 yards) to move the ball as the offence did just enough to complement the defensive effort.
The Bombers next challenge is a matchup in Winnipeg on Thursday, Aug. 24 against the Montreal Alouettes to open Week 12.
