Horvath, Salter power Lions past Bombers

CFL.ca Team

WINNIPEG — Zander Horvath and Kaidon Salter led the way as the BC Lions stunned the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 35-19 at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday night.

Horvath scored a hat-trick of touchdowns, punching in a short-yardage major in the first half before breaking off two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. With James Butler sidelined, Horvath took over, rushing for a CFL season-high 191 yards on just 17 carries.

Making his first career CFL start, Salter struggled to find a rhythm through the air early but ignited the Lions’ offence with his legs. The rookie quarterback and Horvath powered BC to 105 rushing yards in the first half, capped by Horvath’s late touchdown run that gave the visitors an unexpected 7-6 lead heading into halftime.

Salter went seven for 15 in the passing game for 96 yards, but his legs caused issues all night for the Blue and Gold defence. The rookie quarterback scrambled his way to 160 yards on the ground on just 10 rushes. Salter would record his first touchdown pass to Jermaine Jackson, while also pulling in a two-point conversion reception.

Keon Hatcher Sr. was Salter’s go to option, but the trusty wideout was only able to bring in one of the six targets for 32 yards. The veteran wideout also notably through the two-point convert to Salter late in the fourth quarter. Kieran Poissant brought in all four of his targets to tie Hatcher Sr. for the receiving lead with 32 yards.

It was defensive dominance in the first half with 305 yards of total offence and just 13 points on the board. The run game was churning for both teams, as four ball carriers had over 25 yards at the break. Winnipeg had a balanced, efficient attack but BC’s defence stood strong in the red zone.

Brady Oliveira was the focal point for the Bombers’ offence as he was used early and often, as he rumbled his way to 107 yards. The star running back added one catch for nine yards on the night.

Dru Brown left the game in the fourth quarter after taking a hit as he scrambled close to a first down. Brown had an effective night going 18 for 21 through the air for 180 yards and a touchdown pass. Rookie signal caller Taylor Elgersma came in to finish out the game and went one for four through the air completing his only pass for 10 yards.

Tim White recorded the only touchdown for the Bombers, as he brought in all five targets for 51 yards. Ontaria Wilson led the game in receiving with 67 yards on four receptions

The defensive juggernauts were on full display Thursday evening as Winnipeg’s Jake Ceresna and Willie Jefferson, and BC’s Mathieu Betts all recorded a sack to co-lead the CFL with six on the season. Bombers’ linebacker Tony Jones racked up six tackles as he takes over the league lead in the category, with the Leos’ linebacker Darnell Sankey tying for a game high eight defensive stops.

The Bombers four-game winning streak against the Lions comes to an end at the hands of the rushing rampage of the Leos.

SCORING PLAYS

Sergio Castillo 16-yard field goal (05:16, Q1) | BC 0, WPG 3
Sergio Castillo 12-yard field goal (01:23, Q1) | BC 0, WPG 6
Zander Horvath one-yard touchdown run (00:00, Q2) | BC 7, WPG 6
Sergio Castillo 32-yard field goal (08:51, Q3) | BC 7, WPG 9
Sean Whyte 43-yard field goal (06:50, Q3) | BC 10, WPG 9
Dru Brown two-yard touchdown pass to Tim White (00:00, Q3) | BC 10, WPG 16
Sean Whyte 42-yard field goal (10:25, Q4) | BC 13, WPG 16
Sergio Castillo 49-yard field goal (06:18, Q4) | BC 13, WPG 19
Kaidon Salter 24-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Jackson (04:50, Q4) | BC 20, WPG 19
Zander Horvath 58-yard touchdown run, Kaidon Salter two-point conversion (02:48, Q4) | BC 28, WPG 19
Zander Horvath 35-yard touchdown run (2:09, Q4) | BC 35, WPG 19

NEXT UP

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers head into a bye in Week 10 before returning to action in Week 11 to host the Ottawa REDBLACKS at Princess Auto Stadium. The Blue and Gold erased a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun Ottawa 36-34 in overtime at TD Place Stadium when the teams met in Week 7.

The BC Lions return home in Week 10 to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Save-on-Foods Field at BC Place. In the teams’ Week 3 meeting, Bo Levi Mitchell threw five touchdown passes as Hamilton handed the Lions a 41-27 defeat at Hamilton Stadium.

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