Congi's last-second kick lifts Riders over Bombers

Luca Congi booted a 29-yard field goal with no time remaining as the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders overcame a huge deficit to defeat the Blue Bombers 34-31 on Sunday.

Winnipeg was leading 31-14 after three quarters when Riders quarterback Michael Bishop engineered drives that led to rookie Weston Dressler's second touchdown of the game and another by Vincent Marshall.

With 1:11 remaining, Congi booted a 17-yard field goal to tie the game 31-31.

Aided by a 45-yard catch by Gerran Walker, the Riders marched again and Congi connected on a 29-yarder to secure the win.

"I'm very happy with Michael," Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller said of Bishop, who was acquired in a trade with Toronto Aug. 23.

"When we went into the fourth quarter, I really went through a period where if he had gone another series or so and not been productive, I was thinking about possibly making a change.

"And then we started moving the ball like gangbusters and then he made the plays that really helped us win the ball game."

Bishop, who led the Riders to a 19-6 victory over Winnipeg last week in his first game with Saskatchewan, completed 24 of 30 passes for 370 yards.

"In a situation like that, you want to have a chance to win at the end," Bishop said.

"There was no doubt in my mind that we had a chance to win. Our defence played hard for us and got the ball back."

The victory gave the defending Grey Cup champion Roughriders an 8-2 record. Winnipeg drops to 2-8.

"We're in a big hole, but who knows what can happen," Winnipeg linebacker Ike Charlton said. "Mentally, we've got to find a way to claw out of it."

Bombers slotback Milt Stegall had three catches for 51 yards, leaving him 16 yards shy of Allen Pitts's CFL career receiving record of 14,891 yards.

Saskatchewan running back Wes Cates also scored on a three-yard touchdown run and finished with 14 carries for 92 yards.

Winnipeg receiver Terrence Edwards caught a pair of touchdown passes from Kevin Glenn in the loss, while Fred Reid and new running back Joe Smith each scored on one-yard runs.

Alexis Serna added a 41-yard field goal for the Bombers.

Smith, acquired in a trade last week from B.C. in exchange for Winnipeg all-time leading rusher Charles Roberts, was cheered by the crowd from his first rushing attempt and finished the day with 11 carries for 33 yards.

"We didn't have a killer instinct as far as playing hard," said Glenn, who was 21-of-29 for 256 yards.

No shortage of early offence

Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening drives in front of a capacity crowd of 29,770 at Canad Inns Stadium, many green-clad Riders fans.

Cates's major capped off a six-play, 65-yard opening drive and Reid's touchdown finished off Winnipeg's seven-play, 66-yard march on its first possession.

Winnipeg took a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter when a facemask penalty on Saskatchewan gave the Bombers the ball at the Roughriders' 16-yard line. Glenn hit Edwards with a 13-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

Saskatchewan got its second touchdown of the game after a challenge by Riders head coach Ken Miller resulted in a fumble call on Bombers receiver Jason Armstead.

After the call reversal, Bishop connected with a wide-open Dressler in the end zone on a 31-yard strike to help cut the Winnipeg lead to 17-14 by halftime.

Edwards and Smith had the only scoring of the third quarter, but Saskatchewan had a great opportunity late in the frame.

The Riders got down to Winnipeg's three-yard line, but an incompletion and a catch for a loss was followed by Bishop being sacked. When Congi attempted a field goal, the snap was mishandled by receiver Rob Bagg and he was tackled for a nine-yard loss.

Bishop found Dressler with a 45-yard touchdown pass at 4:28 of the fourth quarter and Marshall hauled in his 32-yard reception for a major at 10:10.

Both teams were also hit by injuries.

Saskatchewan defensive end John Chick, who just got back from injury, left the game in the second quarter with a suspected broken finger.

Winnipeg linebacker Joe Lobendahn, who replaced an injured Barrin Simpson early in the season, was helped off the field in the second quarter with a knee injury.