Bombers blow out Als in preseason opener

June 13, 2010
THE CANADIAN PRESS

WINNIPEG — Winnipeg quarterback Buck Pierce guided his new teammates to a pair of touchdowns Sunday as the Blue Bombers beat the Montreal Alouettes 34-10 in CFL exhibition play.

Pierce engineered an 11-play, 104-yard drive on Winnipeg’s first possession that ended with running back Fred Reid’s four-yard touchdown dash.

Pierce ended the first quarter with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Brock Ralph as time expired to make it 14-1. Pierce also got into a series in the third quarter.

Signed in the off-season as a free agent after being released by the B.C. Lions, Pierce’s debut may have eased some of the concerns about his durability.

Pierce, who has a long list of past injuries, ran three times for 34 yards, got hit a number of times and was 6-of-10 passing for 105 yards in front of 28,792 fans at Canad Inns Stadium.

Steven Jyles replaced Pierce for the second quarter and the former Saskatchewan backup showed he will challenge for the top job.

Jyles mounted a six-play, 68-yard drive — including running for 19 yards — that ended with running back Daryl Stephenson’s one-yard TD plunge to up the Winnipeg lead 21-1.

Blue Bombers receiver Adarius Bowman dropped a catchable ball in the end zone and a couple of other miscues affected Jyles’ stats.

After going in for a third-quarter series that ended with an interception, Jyles completed 2-of-8 pass attempts for 42 yards. He also carried the ball five times for 54 yards.

The Alouettes didn’t bring veteran pivot Anthony Calvillo, so third-year backup Adrian McPherson started before giving way to Chris Leak part way through the second quarter.

Leak set up Montreal’s lone TD with a 24-yard pass to Tim Maypray, followed by a successful two-point convert pass to D.J. Boldin midway through the third to make it 21-10.

Leak was 21-of-32 for 181 yards and McPherson completed two of four pass attempts for 21 yards.

Adam DiMichele and Alex Brink also had turns leading the offence for Winnipeg, with DiMichele under centre for running back Emmanual Marc’s one-yard TD to make it 28-10 in the third quarter.

Blue Bombers kicker Alexis Serna connected on field goals from 28 and 48 yards late in the fourth quarter.

Colt David had a pair of singles for the Alouettes, but hit the post on a 33-yard field-goal attempt.

Notes: Blue Bombers offensive lineman Glenn January left the game early with an injury to his right arm. … Montreal left many veterans at home, including receivers Ben Cahoon and Jamel Richardson and running back Avon Cobourne.