Getting off on the right foot is important in most aspects of life.

Even more so in football, where players and teams have fewer chances to prove themselves in competition simply because of the nature of the game.

That’s why the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were happy to open the season with a 30-28 road win at Calgary on Friday. Their result gives them momentum entering their Thursday home opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“These early-season victories are more important than you think,” Winnipeg defensive tackle Jake Ceresna said.

The Blue Bombers showed the ability to run and pass in Calgary, getting 113 yards on the ground from Brady Oliveira and 233 yards in the air from Zach Collaros. And after their defense looked shaky in the first half, when they gave up 21 points, they were able to get key second-half stops.

Ceresna was a big part of that, busting through the Stampeders’ offensive line for three sacks. Willie Jefferson also logged a sack.

“We got a lot of pressure and converted those into sacks in the second half,” Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea.

Meanwhile, Hamilton comes into town after a 30-27 overtime loss to visiting Montreal in its season opener on June 4. The Tiger-Cats owned a 24-10 third-quarter lead but couldn’t put the Alouettes away, hurt by a critical pick-six and then a lost fumble on their overtime possession that led to the winning field goal.

“It comes down to the wire and those ones are deep, those ones hurt,” Tigers-Cats fullback Ante Litre said. “But this will continue. There’s 17 more games to go.”

Hamilton wasted a good game from quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who completed 34 of 39 passes for 307 yards. However, the second-half mistakes turned out to be too much to overcome.

“There were plays out there that we have to be better on,” Mitchell said. “You’re never going to be perfect, but we have to find a way to win. We have to learn how to win again.”

–Field Level Media