Bombers face Stamps

There are two football stadiums that seem to have the Winnipeg Blue Bombers number. Wins in these cities have been few and far between. Two weeks ago the Bombers lost their eighth straight Labour Day weekend classic at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field in Regina when they were bounced 52-0 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Believe it or not - Winnipeg’s next road test may be even more difficult. The Blue Bombers will meet the Stampeders in Calgary on Friday night and the Winnipeg Football Club hasn’t won at McMahon Stadium since 2002. Throw in the fact that the Stamps are firing on all cylinders after back-to-back wins over the Edmonton Eskimos while the Blue Bombers are trying to rebound after two straight losses to the Roughriders.

“There’s an old saying that winning cures everything so we’re going in with the mind set to win the game,” said receiver Terrence Edwards on the task of winning their first road game of the season on the heels of the football club’s 25-24 loss to the Roughriders this past Sunday at Canad Inns Stadium. “We’re not going in hoping and wishing to win – we’re going in to win. We know it’s going to be a tough test to go into Calgary and get a win but I think we have the talent and the guys really believe that we can win - if we play the way we did and we score touchdowns we’re going to have a great opportunity to win."

Scoring touchdowns has been a challenge for the Winnipeg offence. The Blue Bombers have gone nine quarters without an offensive touchdown. They’ll need to cross the Calgary goal line more than a couple of times in order to end their futility at McMahon Stadium.

The other issue facing the Bombers is the Calgary offence led by Jon Cornish who was named the CFL’s Canadian Player of the Week for the fifth time this season. “Cornish is in a league of his own,” commented Winnipeg’s Jason Vega who was selected the CFL’s Defensive Player of the Week. “He’s definitely proven that in the last two years that I’ve been in the league. They’re well rounded and they have guys who can catch the ball and run the ball so they’re good."

Running back Carl Volny will return to the Winnipeg lineup. Receiver Isaac Anderson is the designated import on offence as he replaces running back Will Ford. Receiver Jade Etienne will not play. By the way if the Blue Bombers win their final eight games they will match the football club’s 2011 record of 10-8.