One tough customer

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This article was published 02/07/2011 (5246 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON — In a season in which he was the biggest question mark, Buck Pierce provided the most emphatic answer imaginable at Ivor Wynne Stadium Friday night.

The answer? The oft-injured Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback cannot only take a hit — he just took what might prove to be the hardest hit on a quarterback we see in the CFL this season and promptly went on to help author an epic Bombers victory afterward.

“That was a good hit and I’m sure it will be shown on CFL (highlight) loops for years and years,” Pierce said afterward. “So thanks, Jamal Johnson, for that.”

Thanks? With the Bombers trailing 16-9 and five minutes left in the third quarter, the Hamilton linebacker got loose in the Bombers backfield and delivered a devastating hit on Pierce that was so forceful it knocked the quarterback’s helmet off.

As the helmet rolled away, there was a temptation to look inside to see if Pierce’s head was still in it. But not only did Pierce hang on to his melon, he also hung on to the ball.

But perhaps most amazing was that he actually got up, trotted off the field and then put in a clutch performance as the Bombers outscored Hamilton 15-0 the rest of the way to earn a gutsy 24-16 victory.

“No one’s ever questioned that Buck is a tough guy,” said Bombers defensive tackle Doug Brown. “And hopefully that’s a sign that his body is catching up with the rest of his toughness. I don’t know many people who would have been able to respond and play the rest of the game after a hellacious shot like that.

“Blind-side man? That could end a career, let alone a season.”

The entire effort — the come-from-behind win, the comeback from a dislocated elbow that ended his season last year and then his comeback after Johnson’s hit — had Pierce talking about gratitude Friday night.

“I don’t want to talk about myself,” said Pierce, “but it was a long journey to get to this point at this time right now. And so to have this feeling, it was all worth it.”

Pierce’s final numbers were nothing particularly memorable — 12-of-26 for 151 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT — but he was clutch when he needed to be.

With the Bombers trailing 10-0 in the first quarter and the game in danger of getting out of hand, Pierce found slotback Terrence Edwards on a 49-yard touchdown strike to keep his club within reach. And then after the hit, Pierce not only stayed in the game but mustered some first downs and kept his team in the lead long enough for the Bombers defence to simply take over in the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t the prettiest victory, but perhaps that is precisely what made it so valuable to a Bombers club that seemed to fold every time last season at the first hint of adversity.

“We fought through some tough moments,” said Pierce, “and that’s the important thing to take away. We didn’t fold at the end. We finished a ball game on the road.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca