No Collaros, no Oliveira, no problem, as Blue Bombers handle B.C. Lions in season opener

Judy Owen · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 12:06 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the B.C. Lions 34-20 successful their play opener connected Thursday without starting backmost Zach Collaros and prima moving backmost Brady Oliveira.

Collaros was serving a one-game suspension for failing to respond to an off-season drug-testing request. He was replaced by Chris Streveler, who threw 2 of his 3 touchdown passes to Nic Demski.

Streveler completed 15 of 24 walk attempts for 246 yards and 1 interception successful beforehand of a sellout of 32,343 astatine Princess Auto Stadium.

Oliveira, the CFL's reigning astir outstanding subordinate and apical Canadian, went to the locker country aft a Winnipeg scoring thrust successful the archetypal 3 minutes of the game. The Bombers (1-0) announced helium wouldn't instrumentality due to the fact that of an upper-body injury.

Rookie Matthew Peterson from Brooks, Alta., took his place, scoring his archetypal vocation touchdown disconnected a 38-yard tally successful the 2nd quarter. He ended up with 23 carries for 130 yards.

B.C. backmost Nathan Rourke near the crippled midway successful the 4th fourth aft an evident injury. He was 12 of 27 passing for 249 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. He besides ran 2 yards for a score.

Rourke was replaced by Jeremiah Masoli arsenic the Lions fell to 1-1.

Keric Wheatfall had Winnipeg's different TD reception, finishing with 5 catches for 127 yards.

Sergio Castillo booted tract goals from 49 and 50 yards for Winnipeg, but missed from 47 yards out. He made 3 of his 4 person attempts and the Bombers besides picked up a constituent disconnected a punt single.

Keon Hatcher caught a 77-yard TD walk for the Lions and finished with 4 catches for 150 yards. Sean Whyte deed tract goals from 21 and 37 yards and connected connected 2 converts.

The Bombers led 10-3 aft the archetypal quarter, 18-10 astatine halftime and 28-20 heading into the fourth.

Winnipeg opened the crippled with a four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Oliveira burst retired of the gates for a 43-yard gain, the longest transportation of his career.

Streveler followed up with a 20-yard TD walk to Demski successful the extremity portion astatine 2:29, marking his 72nd consecutive crippled with astatine slightest 1 reception. Oliveira went to the locker country aft the score.

The Bombers boosted their pb aft his departure, acknowledgment to a turnover. Defensive backmost Marquise Bridges intercepted a tipped Rourke walk attempt, starring to Castillo's 49-yarder and a 10-0 pb astatine 8:39.

Rourke, who was pressured by Winnipeg's defence each game, ran for 36 yards to get his squad to Winnipeg's 13-yard enactment but the Lions settled for Whyte's 21-yarder astatine 10:23.

Peterson notched his touchdown astatine 7:25 of the 2nd 4th and Winnipeg got the punt azygous 4 minutes aboriginal to spell up 18-3.

Rourke ran 2 yards for a people with 9 seconds remaining successful the half.

After Wheatfall's 30-yard TD drawback astatine 7:57 of the 3rd quarter, Hatcher made an over-the-shoulder drawback for his 77-yard score. Whyte's 37-yard tract extremity squeezed the people to 28-20 astatine 11:28.

Demski hauled successful a four-yard TD drawback successful the country of the extremity portion astatine 3:48 of the fourth.

Winnipeg got different turnover disconnected a fumbled B.C. kickoff return, but the accidental ended with Castillo going wide connected his field-goal effort and the shot was tally out.