Henry Burris, Luca Congi lead Tiger-Cats past Blue Bombers 37-18

WINNIPEG – Henry Burris threw for 333 yards and one touchdown and Luca Congi booted three field goals in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 37-18 win Friday that handed the reeling Winnipeg Blue Bombers their fifth straight loss.

Backup quarterback Dan LeFevour also threw one TD pass and ran in another to put the Ticats on a two-game winning streak and bump their record to 3-4.

The Bombers (1-6) drew 32,409 fans to their new $200-million Investors Group Field, but they have yet to win at home in four tries plus one pre-season game.

The loss came a week after Winnipeg made sweeping changes on and off the field that brass hoped would shake up the team in a good way when team president and chief executive officer Garth Buchko and general manager Joe Mack were fired last Friday.

That was followed by a switch at starting quarterback to CFL rookie Max Hall, the signing of kicker Sandro DeAngelis and the hiring of former Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille as an offensive consultant.

But it was Hamilton’s offence that showed creativity and confidence.

Rookie fullback John Delahunt caught a one-yard pass from LeFevour and Andrew Jones hauled in a 25-yard pass over his shoulder from Burris.

LeFevour punched in for a one-yard TD run and running back C.J. Gable took a direct snap and ran 15 yards into the end zone after Hall was intercepted.

Congi made field goals from 41, 46 and 27 yards and went wide left on a 37-yard attempt.

Hall did record his first touchdown in his CFL debut when he threw a six-yard pass to Rory Kohlert in the second quarter.

Bomber linebacker Ian Wild returned a fumble 54 yards for a late TD, DeAngelis made his one and only field-goal attempt for his new team and connected on an 18-yarder and Mike Renaud had a punt single.

Hall completed 18-of-30 pass attempts for 241 yards with the one TD and two interceptions.

By contrast, Burris was 22 of 36 with one TD and no picks.

Hamilton led 10-0 after the first quarter, 17-7 at halftime and 24-7 after the third quarter.

Penalties help both teams in their early touchdown drives.

After a pair of Greg Ellingson catches of 14 and 23 yards in their first series of the game, the Ticats moved down the field, but only came away with Congi’s 41-yard field goal at 3:35.

A Bomber penalty led to Delahunt catching his second career TD.

Winnipeg defensive back Alex Suber was flagged for tripping Ellingson in the end zone, setting the ball on Winnipeg’s one-yard line. LeFevour then stepped back and lobbed the ball to a wide-open Delahunt.

The eight-play, 101-yard scoring drive — including a 42-yard catch by Gable — stretched Hamilton’s lead to 10-0 at 10:29.

Winnipeg had what appeared to be a 96-yard punt return for a TD by rookie Aaron Woods wiped out 23 seconds into the second quarter after Bombers fifth-year linebacker James Green was called for offside and seven-year cornerback Jovon Johnson was flagged for illegal participation.

The Bombers rebounded and marched 103 yards down field for Kohlert’s six-yard TD catch in the corner of the end zone.

Hamilton DB Rico Murray (pass interference) and linebacker Simoni Lawrence (illegal contact) took penalties in the series.

Winnipeg veteran receiver Terrence Edwards kept the drive alive by grabbing a pair of 22-yard passes before he limped off the field for a bit, but returned. Bomber receiver Chris Matthews had already exited the game with a foot injury.

Hamilton stretched the lead to 17-7 after Burris placed a 25-yard pass over Jones’s left shoulder as he beat two Bomber defenders into the end zone at 12:22.

Veteran Winnipeg quarterback Buck Pierce replaced Hall with just over five minutes left in the third quarter when it looked like Hall hurt his stomach.

The only scoring of the third quarter was LeFevour’s one-yard plunge with 1:03 left that made it 24-7.

Renaud had a 66-yard punt single seven seconds into the fourth. Hall returned to sail a 60-yard pass to Edwards, but the drive ended with DeAngelis’s field goal at 3:16.

Rico Murray intercepted Hall midway through the final quarter, setting up Gable’s fifth TD of the season and third on the ground.

But the Bombers did give the fans something to cheer about late in the game when Hamilton receiver Bakari Grant fumbled and Wild ran 54 yards for the TD with 2:39 left.

Congi ended the scoring and the game with his 27-yarder as time ran out.