Blue Bombers pick ‘Riders apart in Banjo Bowl

WINNIPEG – Redha Kramdi forced a fumble and made a game-saving interception to help the Winnipeg Blue Bombers edge the Saskatchewan Roughriders 19-6 in the annual Banjo Bowl at Princess Auto Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Kramdi added a major boost to the Bombers’ defence, returning from a hand injury that sidelined him for six games. All week, his teammates talked about his importance to the group, notably his playmaking ability and high football IQ.

Both were on full display Saturday as Kramdi forced a critical fumble midway through the first quarter with the Roughriders threatening, and then picked off Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris midway through the fourth quarter with the Bombers protecting a 10-point lead.

Winnipeg improved to 7-6 with the win and are back in the thick of the West Division playoff race. They still have work to do, with the Edmonton Elks (9-3) and Roughriders (8-5) ahead, and the B.C. Lions (6-6) and Calgary Stampeders (5-7) trailing. The Stampeders, Lions and Elks were all playing Saturday night.

The Bombers are now 14-8 in the Banjo Bowl and have won the annual Labour Day Classic rematch in nine of the last 11 years. Winnipeg also gets revenge for last week’s 32-26 overtime defeat in Regina.

With the season-series now tied one game apiece, and with no other games to be played this season between the two clubs, the Bombers claim the series tiebreaker owing to a higher point differential between the two games. Therefore, if the Bombers and Roughriders were to tie in the regular season standings, Winnipeg would earn the higher spot.

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros had been playing some of his best football in recent weeks, converting 70 per cent of his passes and has a five-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio over the past three games. He would last just three quarters before being pulled with an undisclosed injury, ending his day 13-for-19 passing for 175 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Dru Brown took over in relief and finished 4-for-5 for 46 passing yards, with zero touchdowns or interceptions.

The Bombers recorded 291 net yards on offence, with Tommy Nield scoring the lone touchdown. Sergio Castillo rounded out the scoring with four field goals, connecting from 31, 45, 44 and 36 yards.

Running back Brady Oliveira bounced back from a season-low 28 yards on nine carries last week, registering 100 yards on 14 rushes. The last time Oliveira rushed for more than a 100 yards against Saskatchewan’s defence was in the 2023 Banjo Bowl.

The Winnipeg native also became the first Canadian in CFL history to record five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

The Roughriders dropped to 8-5 with the loss, but are still firmly entrenched in second place in the West, behind only Edmonton. Saskatchewan finished with 278 yards of net offence and were a dismal 4-for-22 on second down.

Harris, who entered the game with 3,893 passing yards and 24 touchdowns — putting him on pace for career-highs in both categories — registered 231 passing yards, completing 24 of his 45 attempts, along with one interception.

The Roughriders opted to bench struggling kicker Alex Hale, instead dressing Dawson Hodge, a 24-year-old out of Coquitlam, B.C. Hodge went two-for-two on field goals, including one from 33 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.

The game opened as a defensive battle with points hard to come by.

The Bombers looked to be in position to take an early lead, moving the ball to Saskatchewan’s 43. But a deep pass up the middle deflected off the hands of Nic Demski and into the arms of Roughriders linebacker Aubrey Miller for an interception.

Saskatchewan threatened on the ensuing drive but fell short on Winnipeg’s 40, where receiver D’Sean Mimbs fumbled the ball, forced by Kramdi and recovered by Evan Holm. The Bombers took over near midfield but was forced into a two-and-out, keeping it scoreless through the first quarter.

Winnipeg’s offence found a spark early in the second frame, with Collaros connecting with Demski on a 42-yard gain. The next play, Collaros found a wide-open Nield near the left sideline for a 30-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

For Nield, who has struggled since signing with the Bombers in the off-season after a breakout year with the Riders in 2025, it was his first touchdown of the season.

Short-yardage quarterback Bryce Perkins turned a third-hand-inches into a 23-yard rushing TD, but offensive lineman Tui Eli was called for a holding, negating the score. Because the hold occurred after Perkins broke the line of scrimmage, the Bombers were assessed a 10-yard penalty but given a new set of downs on Saskatchewan’s 30.

Winnipeg would get as close as the eight-yard line, but a pair of sacks on Collaros forced a Castillo 31-yard field goal, increasing the Bombers’ lead to 10-0.

The Roughriders pressed to close out the half, with a Hodge 33-yard field goal making it 10-3 at the break.

After the Roughriders opened the third quarter with a two-and-out, the Bombers answered with a 45-yarder from Castillo to regain a 10-point lead, 13-3.

The game shifted further in Winnipeg’s favour on the next drive, as the Roughriders cough up another fumbled, halting another promising drive. The play required a challenge from the Bombers, after the replay clearly showed the ball dislodged from KeeSean Johnson’s hands before he hit the turf, recovered by Tony Jones on Winnipeg’s 51.

The Bombers moved into Saskatchewan territory, well into Castillo’s distance, but the drive was thwarted by an interception from Seyi Oladipo Jr., who returned the Collaros pick to Winnipeg’s 43.

A 26-yard field goal from Hodge made it 13-6 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Collaros exited the game with an undisclosed injury, giving Dru Brown controls of the offence.

Brown connected with Dorion Singer for 24 yards on his first pass attempt, before settling for a 44-yard field goal from Castillo and a 16-6 lead.

With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Roughriders desperate for points, the visitors gambled on third-and-three on their own 37-yard line. The ensuing pass was incomplete, but a defensive pass interference penalty on Ridge Texada, who was making his first CFL start, extend the drive, giving Saskatchewan a new set of downs just inside Winnipeg’s end.

Two plays later, Harris was intercepted by Kramdi, ending the threat of making it a one-score game.

The Roughriders gambled again on their next drive with just more than three minutes and were once again successful gambling on third down deep in their own end. They would find themselves in a similar situation a few plays later, only for Harris’ pass to fall incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.

The Bombers took over on Saskatchewan’s 32, only to move up 10 yards for a too-many-men penalty on defensive end Mike Rose. Castillo’s 36-yarder was the final nail, putting Winnipeg up 19-6 with fewer than two minutes remaining.

The Roughriders got the ball one more time and finished with a turnover on downs, resulting in five turnovers to Winnipeg’s two.

Roughriders: Visit the B.C. Lions on Friday, Sept. 25.

Blue Bombers: Host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, Sept. 25.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2026.