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Blue Bombers down Roughriders

Jun 28, 2015 - 3:24 AM Regina, SK (SportsNetwork.com) - Drew Willy threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers past the Saskatchewan Roughriders 30-26 in the season opener for both teams.

Paris Cotton gained 108 yards on the ground, and Clarence Denmark and Nick Moore each had 94 receiving yards for Winnipeg (1-0), which had lost 11 straight road games against Saskatchewan.

The Roughriders lost more than just the football game. Star quarterback Darian Durant, who missed eight games last season with an elbow injury, completed 13- of-18 passes for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns before leaving the game with what is feared to be a torn Achilles. His replacement Kevin Glenn also went 13-for-18, but was intercepted once and kept out of the end zone.

Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup in 2013 and started 8-2 last season before Durant's injury. It won just two games the rest of the regular season.

Winnipeg opened the scoring near the end of the first quarter. Willy completed three consecutive passes of 17-plus yards to different receivers and found Cotton out of the backfield for a 6-yard touchdown.

Durant's 36-yard touchdown to Taj Smith early in the second tied the game at 7-7.

The two teams traded blows the rest of the way. Cameron Marshall's 2-yard touchdown plunge restored Winnipeg's lead at 2:09 of the second quarter, and less than a minute later, Durant found Ryan Smith for a 53-yard score.

Saskatchewan's offense came out of halftime without Durant and marched right down the field for a score. Glenn hit Ryan Smith for 12 yards before Jerome Messam ran it 53 yards to the end zone to put the hosts in front 22-15.

It was 23-15 following a single, but Willy and Marshall connected for a 14- yard score, and Marshall converted the two-point try to tie it at 23.

Chris Milo's 19-yard field goal put the Roughriders in the driver's seat with just under 10 minutes to play. Willy spoiled their home opener however, finding Denmark for 41 yards to jumpstart the game-winning TD drive. Moore's 18-yard touchdown proved to be the difference.

Game Notes

Denmark has at least one reception in 34 straight games ... Saskatchewan went 0-2 in the preseason ... Telvion Clark had a game-high 10 tackles for Saskatchewan, twice as many as anyone else in the game.