Winnipeg 25 Montreal 23
MONTREAL — Buck Pierce threw touchdown passes to Greg Carr and Terrence Edwards as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won a showdown for first place in the CFL East Division with a 25-23 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday afternoon.
Fred Reid also ran in a TD as Winnipeg (8-3) moved four points clear of second place Montreal (6-5).
A strong effort by the Blue Bomber defence held Montreal to a Brian Bratton TD and three field goals and a single from Sean Whyte, until they mounted a late 11-play 85-yard drive capped by an 11-yard TD pass to Jamel Richardson.
They failed to tie the game on the 2 point convert attempt and were stopped on a late possession with 1:30 left to play.
Winnipeg was coming off a pair of losses to Saskatchewan, while the Alouettes lost a fifth game in their last eight.
There was little to cheer for the home crowd of 24,642 on a sunny afternoon on which neither team mounted many long drives. Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo struggled throughout the game and league receiving leader Richardson did not get his first catch until the fourth quarter.
The Bombers used big plays to take an early 14-0 lead.
Pierce’s first pass went 92 yards to the Montreal 9 as Cory Watson shook off tackles from Jeff Hecht and Billy Parker before he was finally brought down. Two plays later, Pierce hit Carr for the touchdown 5:16 into the game.
A 37-yard pass to Edwards was followed by a 47-yard TD run up the middle by Reid after Ibrahim Khan opened a gaping hole with a block at 12:44.
The Alouettes lost slotback S.J. Green to an upper body injury but managed to chip away at the lead in the second quarter. After Whyte’s field goals of 39 and 26 yards, Brandon London recovered a Tim brown fumble on a kickoff at the Bombers 26.
Calvillo then found Bratton for a 13-yard TD pass.
Montreal tied it at 14-14 with a single, but Pierce led a final drive to set up Palardy’s 46-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half.
The third quarter was particularly uneventful until Pierce hit a wide open Edwards for a 39-yard TD strike on the final play.
The final quarter saw Eric Deslauriers fumble but rookie Hecht get the ball back for Montreal on the next play with his first interception at the Winnipeg 20. They settled for Whyte’s 15-yard kick to make it an 8-point game.
The four Bombers who missed the team flight on Saturday and had to catch a later plane were all in the lineup. Coach Paul LaPolice said defensive back Deon Beasley left his photo ID at home, while DB Jerry-Ralph Jules and defensive linemen Fernand Kashama and Kenny Mainor had car trouble. All were to be fined.
Middle linebacker Shea Emry was a surprise scratch for Montreal. He was due to return after missing two games with concussion symptoms. Winnipeg was without star linebacker Joe Lobendahn, out for the year with a knee injury.
Als receiver Kerry Watkins caught his 500th career pass, second in team history behind Ben Cahoon’s 1,017.