It’s almost a carbon copy of their last trip to Winnipeg six weeks ago. Better yet, it’s been a pretty consistent theme throughout the 2024 season. The 5-2-0 BC Lions are back at it after a brief bye week and now have their sights set on putting a serious dagger into any hopes of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers reeling them in before time runs out on the race to the West Division playoffs. At 2-6-0, Zach Collaros and company are in unfamiliar territory.
This also means they will treat this Thursday night affair like they are fighting for their lives. Alexander Hollins and the Lions know they just have to approach it like they have all season long: records don’t mean anything once the ball is kicked off.
“We’re all ready to play some football,” said Hollins on getting back to the grind.
“They’re still the Blue Bombers. Their season might not be going how they want it to, but everyone is capable of turning it around at this stage. We’re ready to play some good BC Lions football and come away with the win.”
The Bombers defence has shown signs of that championship mentality in a few of their losses, especially in last week’s setback at Toronto where they only allowed six points and no offensive touchdowns. You can certainly expect a test in the trenches.
“I don’t think their record dictates how good they are,” explains Sukh Chungh.
“It’s a tough matchup against Winnipeg, we respect our opponent and have had great battles against them the last few years and we’re looking forward to a battle on Thursday night.”
Hollins led the way with over 200 yards receiving and two touchdowns as the Lions escaped with a 26-24 victory back on June 21, dropping the Bombers to 0-3. Now they have a chance to wrap up the regular season series and essentially open up a nine-point lead in the standings before the halfway point.
Even more good news: Keon Hatcher will return to the lineup, giving Vernon Adams Jr. yet another elite weapon to work with. To say the mood has been high at the practice facility leading up to this week would be a massive understatement.
“Awesome to have big 4 back,” added Hollins.
“It’s like a new album is being released. I know he’s ready to roll and ready to make some plays.”
And let’s hope that album debuts high on the charts this week.
The Quarterbacks
# 3 Vernon Adams Jr.- the CFL’s leader in passing yards and touchdown strikes, Adams is motivated for a bounce back after a season-low of each of those totals in the loss at Calgary. As a starter with the Lions, he holds a regular season record of 3-2 against Winnipeg.
# 8 Zach Collaros- despite the Bombers’ struggles to start this season, you can never count out the two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player. The big strike capability is always there with the veteran pivot and you can look no further than the long bomb touchdown to Ontaria Wilson that helped force overtime in Toronto.
3 Lions To Watch
WR # 4 Keon Hatcher- ‘Hatch’ makes his long-awaited return seven months after rupturing his Achilles tendon in this same venue and one week after T.J. Lee returned following the same injury just a few plays later. It remains to be seen how much he will be called upon in his first game back, but his presence in the lineup makes this offence more intriguing. We chronicled Hatch’s path to return in this piece HERE.
DB #1 Garry Peters– the week three victory in Winnipeg was GP’s busiest night of the season with nine defensive tackles. It’s on Garry and the secondary to neutralize Wilson and make Collaros pay for throwing it downfield.
LB # 20 Bo Lokombo– the season-ending injury to Josh Woods has resulted in the veteran Lokombo returning to a starter’s role. The second level of this defence will be big as the unit looks to keep Brady Oliveira in check.
Extra Yards
The game can be seen on TSN and RDS in Canada while viewers south of the border can stream the action on CFL+. Bob Marjanovich and Giulio Caravatta have the call on 980 CKNW and the Lions Audio Network beginning with pre-game coverage at 4:30 pm. Harp Pandher and Taqdeer Thindal call the action on Lions Radio Punjabi while listeners can also tune in on Sirius XM Canada Talks channel 167.
Offensive line shuffle: Michael Couture returns to his starting centre role after missing all but the season opener with his back injury. Tyler Packer slides over to left guard after filling in for Couture for the last six weeks. David Knevel returns to the lineup in a backup role with Andrew Peirso, Anu Una and Chris Schleuger headed to the injured list.
On the defensive side, Nathan Cherry makes his 2024 debut after recovering from a torn ACL suffered last August in Saskatchewan. The full defensive shuffle can be seen on the depth chart posted above.
The Lions will look to wrap up a season series with Winnipeg for the first time since 2017. The third and final regular season meeting is set for week 11 on Sunday, August 18 at Save-On-Foods Field.
Adams Jr. was held to only 192 yards in the loss at Calgary, just the second time in his last 22 starts he has failed to reach 200 in a game. The return of Hatcher looms large.
The quest for Justin McInnis’s 2,000 receiving yards is alive. The CFL’s All-Honour roll recipient for top offensive player is on pace for 2,006 and is also looking to become the first Canadian to lead the CFL in receiving since Andy Fantuz back in 2010.
Lucky Whitehead is set to make his season debut for Winnipeg after re-joining his original team earlier this month. The former Lion’s last game action came in the Western Final last November where he caught four passes for 62 yards after taking over when Hatcher went down.