Buck Pierce leads Bombers to victory over Argos

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This article was published 23/07/2011 (5222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Led by the near perfect day of quarterback Buck Pierce, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Toronto Argonauts 33-24 Saturday afternoon.

The Winnipeg pivot, struggling to lead a struggling offence through the first three weeks of the season, came alive against the Argos at Rogers Centre. The 29-year-old hit his first eight passes of the game, en route to a 22-of-27 for 361 yards and three touchdown passes.

It was Pierce’s first 300-yard game of the season. Prior to the game, he had yet to crack the 200-yard barrier. And the Bombers (3-1) needed the offence Saturday, as the Argos offence came out with some urgency.

The home side wasted no time getting things started, marching the ball down 64-yards on the opening drive, a drive capped off with an 11-yard touchdown run by running back Chad Kackert at the 3:23 mark of the first quarter.

Toronto (1-3) extended their early lead to 10 points when kicker Noel Prefontaine booted a 30-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the quarter. The Argos short drive was set up by a Fred Reid fumble.

Toronto QB Cleo Lemon had to leave the game prior to the field goal attempt, when Winnipeg LB Joe Lobendahn made a hard tackle on him, forcing the pivot to lose his helmet.

Dalton Bell replaced Lemon at quarterback for the Argos. Lemon did not return. The Argos said he suffered a chipped tooth on the play and needed some dental work taken care of.

The Bombers responded with an eight-yard field goal from the leg of kicker Justin Palardy. The visitors deserved a better fate, given the scoring drive covered 82 yards over 14 plays.

Wideout Sammy Tranks scored on the last play of the second quarter — a 22-yard catch and run — to give the Boatmen a 17-3 lead after the first quarter.

After Prefontaine hit the upright on a 43-yard attempt (the ball fell back into the field of play), Palardy nailed a 43-yard try with 5:47 to go in the half.

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Winnipeg finally found the endzone when Pierce found Terence Jeffers-Harris for a seven-yard TD early in the third quarter. Winnipeg’s drive was helped out by a rough play penalty on Argos linebacker Ejiro Kuale, when he nailed Pierce with a late hit, leading with his helmet. Kuale was ejected from the game. Pierce then hit Edwards for a 63-yard touchdown catch and run with 4:21 to go in the quarter. Prior to that catch, Edwards had only one catch in the contest.

Edwards has three TDs this season.

A minute into the fourth quarter, Kacket was back at it again, running to his left for a one-yard TD score. That was shortly followed by an 84-yard TD reception by Jeffers-Harris — the longest play from the line of scrimmage in the CFL this season.

Winnipeg pushed its lead to six-points when Palardy hit a 37-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play in the game. He capped his 3-of-4 effort off with a 32-yard field goal with 43 seconds left.

The Bombers fly back to Winnipeg tonight and after a day off Sunday will be back on the practice field Monday, in preparation for a home tilt with the winless B.C. Lions Thursday night.