WINNIPEG – Willie Jefferson didn’t mince words when explaining the importance of safety Redha Kramdi to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence.
asserted
Jefferson → mince → defence
Back from a full stint on the six-game injured list with a broken bone in his left hand, Kramdi looked no worse for wear, forcing a fumble and making a late game-sealing interception to help beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 19-6 in the annual Banjo Bowl at Princess Auto Stadium Saturday afternoon.
“Having him on the field, being able to communicate to the back end, but then being able to step into the box and let the linebackers and the defensive line know how we want the defence to move on certain downs and distance
asserted
defence → injure → downs
,” Jefferson said.
asserted
Jefferson → say → ?
“(He) played a huge role.”
asserted
He → play → role
Indeed, Kramdi’s skill set was on full display, with the 29-year-old Kramdi forcing a critical fumble midway through the first quarter with the Roughriders threatening, and then picking off Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris midway through the fourth quarter with the Bombers protecting a 10-point lead.
asserted
Bombers → force → lead
“Guys know where to go to for the answers after hours when coaches are off planning, and they need to watch more film or text somebody, they go to Redha,” Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said.
asserted
O’Shea → know → Redha
“He’s not underrated in this building.
asserted
He → ’ → building
I don’t think he’s underrated in the league, either.”
asserted
he → think → league
Winnipeg improved to 7-6 with the win and are back in the thick of the West Division playoff race.
asserted
Winnipeg → improve → race
The Edmonton Elks (9-3) and Roughriders (8-5) remain ahead, while the B.C. Lions (6-6) and Calgary Stampeders (5-7) trail just behind.
asserted
Lions → remain → ?
The Stampeders, Lions and Elks were all playing Saturday night.
asserted
Stampeders → play → ?
With the season-series now settled, tied one game apiece, the Bombers claim the series tiebreaker owing to a higher point differential in the two games.
uncertain
Bombers → settle → games
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“It was a total, three-phase win.
asserted
It → get → news
Our defence played lights-out,” running back Brady Oliveira said.
asserted
Oliveira → play → ?
“They were hitting from the first snap to the last snap.”
asserted
They → hit → snap
Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros lasted fewer than three quarters before being pulled with an undisclosed injury.
asserted
Collaros → last → injury
He exited with a stat line of 13-for-19 passing for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
asserted
He → exit → yards
Collaros took a beating before leaving, suffering four of the Roughriders’ five sacks.
asserted
Collaros → take → sacks
Jake Ceresna had the lone sack for Winnipeg.
asserted
Ceresna → have → Winnipeg
Dru Brown took over in relief and finished 4-for-5 for 46 passing yards, with zero touchdowns or interceptions.
asserted
Brown → take → touchdowns
The Bombers recorded 291 net yards on offence, with Tommy Nield scoring the lone touchdown.
asserted
Nield → record → touchdown
Sergio Castillo rounded out the scoring with four field goals, connecting from 31, 45, 44 and 36 yards.
asserted
Castillo → round → yards
Oliveira registered 100 yards on 14 rushes.
asserted
Oliveira → register → rushes
The last time Oliveira rushed for more than a 100 yards against Saskatchewan’s defence was in the 2023 Banjo Bowl.
asserted
Oliveira → rush → Bowl
The Winnipeg native also became the first Canadian in CFL history to record five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
“This is an incredible milestone, something I’m extremely proud about.
asserted
I → become → seasons
No one else has ever done it,” Oliveira said.
asserted
Oliveira → do → it
“But I’ve been very fortunate to have great offensive lines in front of me, year after year.”
asserted
I → have → year
The Roughriders are still firmly entrenched in second place in the West, behind only Edmonton.
asserted
Roughriders → entrench → Edmonton
Saskatchewan finished with 278 yards of net offence and was a dismal 4-for-22 on second down.
asserted
Saskatchewan → finish → down
Harris struggled to find a rhythm, registering 231 passing yards and completing 24 of his 45 attempts, along with one interception.
asserted
Harris → struggle → interception
“We didn’t really get to stay on the field and get into a rhythm,” Harris said.
asserted
Harris → get → rhythm
“There were a few plays there where I thought we could have made, but they did a good job defensively.”
uncertain
they → be → job
The Roughriders opted to bench struggling kicker Alex Hale, instead dressing Dawson Hodge, a 24-year-old out of Coquitlam, B.C.
asserted
Roughriders → opt → Coquitlam
Hodge went two-for-two on field goals, including one from 33 yards.
asserted
Hodge → go → yards
Dhel Duncan-Busby led all receivers with 80 yards on seven catches, with running back Quali Conley limited to 35 yards on seven carries.
asserted
Conley → lead → carries
The game opened as a defensive battle, with the first quarter scoreless and just a combined 13 points by halftime.
asserted
quarter → open → halftime
The Bombers opened the scoring early in the second quarter, with Collaros connecting with Nield on a 30-yard touchdown.
asserted
Collaros → open → touchdown
Castillo added a field goal from 31 yards to increase Winnipeg’s lead, before Hodge split the uprights on a 33-yarder to make it a 10-3 game at halftime.
asserted
it → add → halftime
For Nield, who has struggled since signing with the Bombers during the off-season after a breakout year with the Riders in 2025, it was his first touchdown of the season.
asserted
it → struggle → season
After the two sides exchanged field goals in the third quarter to keep it a one-score game, 13-6, the Bombers added two more from Castillo to round out the scoring and secure the win.
asserted
Bombers → exchange → win
…and 4 more, not listed.
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