Written by: Andrew Parker
Photo by: Dave Darichuk
Hamilton had said their mission was to silence Swaggerville, but 30,338 screaming fans came out to watch their Winnipeg Blue Bombers edge out the Tiger-Cats tonight at home, by a score of 30-27. With this huge win after the bye week Winnipeg is now 7-1 on the season, while Hamilton settles to an even 4-4.
While the Winnipeg offence got off to more or less of its usual slow start, the defence was strong and turned things up halfway through when Jonathan Hefney nearly scooped up an interception. On the following play however, there was no doubt. Jovon Johnson caught an interception and ran it back 67 yards, front flipping into the end zone for the huge score and first blood.
The defence didn’t quit there, with Alex Suber getting a near interception knockdown of his own. When Winnipeg got the ball back, it was a rare glimpse into the razzle dazzle for a 39-yard catch from newly-returned Greg Carr. A handoff, a reverse, and finally a pitch back to Buck Pierce gave him room to find Carr deep, a play that got the Bombers close enough for Justin Palardy to rip a 22-yard field goal, putting Winnipeg up 10-0.
Hamilton would move the ball down enough to hit a field goal of their own, but it was Winnipeg that had the ball at the end of the first quarter, building momentum to head into the second with a 20-yard catch from Terrence Edwards. Winnipeg continued into the second quarter with first downs from Fred Reid and Cory Watson, bringing them to Hamilton’s 17-yard line. From there, Pierce pumped and threw to Clarence Denmark for another six points, putting the Bombers up 17-3 after Palardy added the convert.
The TiCats were quick to strike back however, with a 49-yard bomb from Kevin Glenn to Chris Williams to bring Hamilton closer. They continued with solid offence to score again with four minutes left in the half. After a sack from Odell Willis and two missed field goals by Hamilton, both teams left the half with 17 points.
Heading into the third quarter, Bomber fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Glenn’s near touchdown pass on the first play was fumbled one-yard short of a Hamilton touchdown. The fumble was forced by Joe Lobendahn and recovered by Hefney. The third quarter saw moments of talented offence with a drive that resulted in a field goal. The Bombers opened with a big 24-yard catch by Carr, then passed up the middle to Terrence Edwards for another 14 yards. Reid did his best impression of The Flash with a 16-yard burst, and set up Palardy to hit from 27 yards out.
With only a few minutes left in the quarter, a pass interference call in the end zone put Hamilton at first and goal on the one yard line, making it easy for backup quarterback Quinton Porter to sneak it in for a TiCat touchdown, putting them up 24-20 after the convert.
Not long into the final quarter, Hamilton knocked down another field goal to put them up by a solid seven points, but the Bombers still had plenty of fight. A deep ball over Edwards’ shoulder gave him a pretty 53-yard catch. After a few tries and another pass interference call, Pierce found Edwards again with a crisp pass in the end zone to tie the game with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
The next Bomber break came with – you guessed it – another pass interference penalty. This time on a bomb to Denmark, it gave Winnipeg a huge gain and put them deep in Hamilton territory. Another catch from Denmark and a couple runs by Reid gave the ball back to Palardy, who hit again from 21 yards to give Winnipeg a three point lead with just under six minutes left.
With some impressive work on offence and incredible defence, Winnipeg was able to hold that lead for the dying minutes of the game. The Bombers’ defence put huge pressure on Glenn for his final two plays, forcing him to throw incomplete on both tries, and letting Pierce take two knees to kill the clock and turn this winning streak into five games.
