Blue Bombers top Lions in CFL West final, will face Alouettes in Grey Cup

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are heading to the Grey Cup game for the fourth season in a row.

The hometown Blue Bombers got a big first half from star running back Brady Oliveira and sacked B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. nine times in a 24-13 win in the CFL West final on Saturday before the fifth consecutive sellout crowd at IG Field.

Winnipeg will be the favourite next Sunday against the Montreal Alouettes — who upset the Toronto Argonauts in the East final — in the Grey Cup in Hamilton. The Blue Bombers lost to the Argos in last year’s Grey Cup after winning the previous two championships.

Winnipeg is the first team to go to four consecutive Grey Cup games since the Edmonton dynasty won five in a row from 1978 to ’82.

Saturday’s game was a rematch of last year’s West final, won 28-20 by the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg.

After falling behind 18-3 in this year’s edition, the Lions rallied to make things interesting — but couldn’t get over the hump.

Winnipeg kicker Sergio Castillo made it a two-possession game with 3:10 left when he hit a 35-yard field goal to put his team up 24-13.

The Lions cut the deficit to 18-10 with a touchdown on a Hail Mary on the final play of the first half. Adams Jr. rolled out and fired a high ball into a crowd in the end zone, which was tipped back to Justin McInnis for the highlight-reel grab.

Oliveira scored on an eight-yard touchdown run on the Bombers’ first drive. He finished the first half with 101 rushing yards, but was mostly held in check in the second half.

Special-teams ace Nick Hallett put Winnipeg up 15-3 in the second quarter with a huge play — he blocked a punt, scooped it up and ran 15 yards into the end zone, fighting to cross the line with a defender on him at the end of the play.

The Lions lost a pair of 2023 CFL all-stars in the first quarter — team-leading receiver Keon Hatcher suffered a non-contact lower-body injury while running a route before defensive back T.J. Lee went down with a lower-body injury.

Winnipeg had its own big injury near the end of the first half as star linebacker Adam Bighill limped off with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. Bighill is a three-time winner of the CFL’s top defensive player award.

The Bombers were playing without top receiver and all-star, Dalton Schoen, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.