Liegio, who also handles the punting duties, was relieved of the kicking role midway through last season and replaced by veteran Sergio Castillo. Lieggio has returned to both roles this season, but has struggled at times. In a 20–17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on August 11, he missed a 32-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and a 37-yard field goal in overtime. His 55 on Sunday, which is the most of Liegghio’s career, came with three minutes left in the game and gave the Bombers their first lead in the tense CFL contest. “We believe in legs. We believe in him more than he believes in himself, he is tearing himself down. But as teammates, as his friends, we tell him to keep trying because we’ve got your back,” Bombers linebacker Willie Jefferson said. “Don’t look to the past, look to the future, look forward and everything will be fine. He did his routine, put it in and put it in.” Winnipeg won the coin toss early in the game and elected to take the wind in the second and fourth quarters. The Bombers went on to score all their points with the wind, 17 in the second quarter and Liegghio’s game-winning goal in the fourth. “He hit a bunch going that way in the warmup. He’s been accurate and he’s been hitting them well, so you know he’s already feeling good about it, from this point anyway,” Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said. “We got it when we needed it, it was a beautiful kick. I’m very happy for him.” After Liegghio’s field goal, the Riders drove deep into Winnipeg territory and appeared to be on the verge of regaining the lead. Starting at their own 40-yard line, the Riders drove 44 yards in three plays and a Winnipeg offsides penalty. At the Winnipeg 26-yard line with 1:55 to play, quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a pass down the middle of the field to running back Frankie Hickson. The ball slipped through Hickson’s hands and Winnipeg’s Nick Hallett was in the right place at the right time to make the interception at the 14-yard line. Some thought Jefferson tipped the pass, but he said his contribution to the play was to put pressure on Fajardo’s hand. “I think we made Cody throw the ball a little earlier than he wanted to. We had a chance to get our hands on it and went down with it. Nick came down with it and I wish he would have finished it, but it’s all good, it gave our offense an opportunity to go out there and sell it, do what we needed to do,” Jefferson said. The win clinched a spot in the CFL playoffs for the 11-1 Bombers who are favored to win their third straight Gray Cup. Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros credits his impressive run of success to a never-quit attitude. “I think it just speaks to the love we have for each other. We stay together and believe in each other. It’s something that’s built into the culture here. So regardless of the score, we think we have a chance to win a football game,” said Kolaros, who finished 15-of-24 passing for 214 yards and two touchdowns. “All three phases tonight did a great job of sticking together and coming out of here in a hostile environment and getting the win.” The 6-6 Riders have struggled with penalties this season and Sunday’s game was no exception as they committed 12 penalties for 99 yards. The costliest penalty came during a drive early in the fourth quarter with the game tied 17-17. Starting at their own nine-yard line, the Riders moved into Winnipeg territory. Kyran Moore caught a pass seven yards to the Winnipeg 44-yard line and was forced out of bounds by the Saskatchewan bench. The Riders received a game misconduct penalty after Duke Williams, who is out with an ankle injury, was penalized for yelling at a Winnipeg player. One play later, after a holding penalty, the Riders were forced to punt. The riders’ coach, Craig Dickenson, did not hold back when asked about the Williams penalty. “I can tell you this much, moving forward there will be no players on the bench who are either not playing or not fully involved in coaching because that has been very disappointing. That hurt us and it hurt us badly,” Dickenson said. “It was a stupid penalty and Duke feels bad about it, and they should. Hopefully he has expressed that to his teammates. “He is an emotional guy and his emotions took advantage of him. I think they said it pretty tight. I don’t know what he said to the guy, but it wasn’t free. I’ll talk to (Riders GM) Jeremy O’Day and see what we can do. That hurt our team. He feels bad about it, and he should.” Nick Demski and Dalton Schoen had receptions for the Bombers, while Liegghio added two field goals. Fajardo scored at a slip of length for Saskatchewan. Brett Lauther hit three field goals, while shortstop Kaare Vedvik had two singles. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 4, 2022.
